Engineering Education and Research Engineering Education and Research 

Ju e 22 2009Ju e 22 2009

for an Interdisciplinary Futurefor an Interdisciplinary Future

June 22, 2009June 22, 2009

Henry T YangHenry T. YangChancellor, UC Santa Barbara

A Perspective Using UC Santa Barbara as an Example

Focus on Priorities

Development of an                intellectual environment andintellectual environment and interdisciplinary culture

Recruitment of talents

Retention of talentsRetention of talents

Quality and Diversity

Students Attract FacultyStudents Attract Faculty

Faculty Attract Students

StudentsStudentsStudentsStudents

Recruitment Receptions for Admitted Students with Top Quality and Diversity

74 receptions since 1995, meeting with over p g46,000 prospective students and family members

Freshman Applications

47 083

50,00047,083

44,673

40,91539 858

40,000

45,000

31 25734,022

34,70337,599 36,946

37,52239,858

30 000

35,000

pplic

ants

23,697

26,952

31,257

25,000

30,000

Ap

17,06218,291

19,23220,711

15,000

20,000

'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 09

College of Engineering Freshman Applications & EnrollmentFreshman Applications & Enrollment

Faculty

October 5, 2006 Los Angeles Timeshighlights             Nobel Prizes at          UC Santa Barbara

Helsinki, FinlandSeptember 8, 2006

Professor Shuji Nakamura, inventor of blue laser and blue, green & white LEDs

Distinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior Faculty

Award Amount Total (2004‐2008)

NSF CAREER $400‐$500,000 over 5 years 20

Packard Fellowship $625,000 over  5 years 3

Sloan Fellowship $45,000 over    2 years 9

B k Y $300 000Beckman Young  Investigator

$300,000 over  3 years 3

35TOTALTOTAL

Distinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior Faculty(on a per capita basis, 2004‐2008)

CaltechMIT (tied with Caltech)MIT (tied with Caltech)UC Santa BarbaraUC Santa BarbaraUC San DiegoBerkeleyBerkeleyPrinceton (tied with Berkeley)

Developing Strengths in ResearchDeveloping Strengths in Research Clusters

Unique

Highly interdisciplinary and collaborativeand collaborative

Highest qualityHighest quality

Interdisciplinary collaboration b lmust become an institutional 

culture and motivational spirit,culture and motivational spirit, not just some dotted lines 

i bconnecting boxes on an organization charto ga i a io a

W d t k t thWe need to work together on the grand challenge of a new e g a a e ge o a eparadigm shift to overcome:

• Institutional barriers

• Field biases

• Disciplinary walls

Some ExamplesSome Examples of Interdisciplinary p yResearch Clusters

Co‐directors:Professor Shuji Nakamura                                                

2006 Millennium Technology Prize winnerProfessor Steven DenBaars

“Suddenly, the world had changed…What we are seeing g ghere is the beginning of the end of the light bulb.”

“We are not talking about doing things better, but about doing things we never could before.”things we never could before.

~Nobel Laureate Herbert Kroemer, speaking at UCSB press conferencef Sh ji N k ’ ifor Shuji Nakamura’s prize

Nobel Laureates Alan Heeger, Herbert Kroemer, and Walter Kohn at Nakamura’s press conference

Light Up the World FoundationBringing Light to the Developing WorldBringing Light to the Developing World

Professor Nakamura donated funds from his Millennium Technology Prize winnings to the Light Up the World Foundation

Young girl in Amazon village, studying by light of a white LED        y g y g

(visit www.lutw.org for more info)

Documentary by UCSB Nobel Laureates Walter Kohn & Alan Heeger, 

t d b J h Clnarrated by John Cleese

Director: Professor David Gross2004 Nobel Laureate in Physics

Funded by NSF and endowmentFunded by NSF and endowment from the Kavli Foundation

f h hFour areas of research emphasis:• Astrophysics

h• Biophysics• Physics of matterS h• String theory

AC lif i I i f S i dA California Institute for Science and Innovation, located at UC Santa Barbara 

d UCLAand UCLA

Multidisciplinary approach to nano‐Multidisciplinary approach to nanosystems innovation 

ConnectingConnecting science with the arts and humanities

Two centers focused on the social impact ofTwo centers focused on the social impact of new technologies

Partners in campus’s new Ph.D. emphasis in Technology and Society

Station Station QQQQ

d b h l dDirected by Dr. Michael Freedman,                    Fields Medalist

Q is for Quantum Computing 

AMi ft h t UC S t B bA Microsoft research group at UC Santa Barbara, bringing together world‐leading researchers from math physics and computer sciencefrom math, physics, and computer science

$10 million MacArthur grant for national program i l i d l diinvolving two dozen leading universities, centered at UC Santa Barbara and directed by yProfessor Michael Gazzaniga

Di t P f St G iDirector: Professor Steven GainesBrings together faculty, researchers, and 

• Marine, coastal zone, and freshwater students from 14 disciplines for:

research (example: Sustainable Fisheries Project, funded by Paul Allen/Vulcan Inc.)

• Marine policy studies• Educational outreach in marine scienceEducational outreach in marine science

ARPANETARPANET: UC Santa Barbara i bi th l fis a birthplace of 

the Internet

On October 29, 1969 10 301969, 10:30 p.m., first message was 

e t o e thesent over the ARPANET 

Digital Humanities

Professor Patricia Fumerton and the English Ballad Archive

Professor Alan Liu and his Voice of the 

the English Ballad Archive

fShuttle project, a dynamic web database

A Closer Look at a Few Very ySpecial Interdisciplinary 

Collabo atioCollaborations

Institute for Energy Efficiencytl l t dwas recently selected as an 

Energy Frontier Research Center,  one of 46 such national centersone of 46 such national centers announced by the White House. 

Will receive $19 million over the initial five‐year award period.y p

Led by the University of California, Santa Barbara, in y ycollaboration with MIT, Caltech, the U.S. Army, and industry partners.

An interdisciplinary alliance transforming biological inspiration into technological innovation.

Conducting unclassified, fundamental scientific research in five major areas:o Biomolecular Sensors o Bio‐inspired Materials and Energy o BioDiscovery Tools o Bio inspired Network Scienceo Bio‐inspired Network Science o Cognitive Neuroscience 

Pioneering research at the interface between biotechnology

• Congressionally chartered, A d UARC

the interface between biotechnology and engineering

Army‐sponsored UARC• Powerful alliance of UCSB, industry, and army partners; subcontracts to y p ;Caltech, MIT

• >$52M in first 5 years; >$65M projected for next 5 yearsprojected for next 5 years

• 50 interdisciplinary research  teams in 8 departments, 2 ll 200 d d2 colleges; 200 students and postdoctorals

Biology exhibits remarkably high performance unequaled by human engineering:• The gecko can run on vertical surfaces; it can run inverted on a ceiling.• The human brain is a paragon of massive parallel information processing; it can heal around an injury, and learn, in ways our present electronics can’t.

• Efficiency of photovoltaic energy transduction in every green plant is virtually 100% ‐compared to the much lower efficiency in devices.

ICB approach:• Use biotechnology to dissect and identify fundamental mechanisms responsible for this uniquely high efficiency.

• Translate results to “hard” engineering, chemistry and physics.  

Dynamically Adaptive Photonic Materials

Dynamically adaptive optical properties driven by unique biomolecular mechanisms changing reflectance color and texturemechanisms changing reflectance, color, and texture.

ICB approach:Identify the mechanism, and translate to practical materials synthesis and engineering for improved optical communications.

Revolutionary, InterdisciplinaryAlan Heeger ‐ Nobel Laureate, 2000

Angela Belcher PhD fromAngela Belcher, PhD from UC Santa Barbara

Recent winner of MacArthur Award; now MIT CoordinatorAward; now MIT Coordinator 

for ICB; pioneer in bioelectronics

His plastic wires and light sources enabled “Flexible Displays”

Shuji NakamuraKnown as “the Thomas Edison of Japan” for his invention of the Gallium Nitride laser and LEDs; Millenniumof the Gallium Nitride laser and LEDs; Millennium Technology Prize winner, 2006

Internationally Acclaimed Science

A New NSF Initiative for Emerging Frontiers in Research 

and Innovation (EFRI):and Innovation (EFRI): Bio‐Inspired Sensing p gand Bio‐Inspired 

A tuatio Te h olo yActuation Technology

Inspired by NatureInspired by Nature

The sensors and actuators of bio‐organisms have evolved over millions of years through countlessmillions of years, through countless cycles of evolution, to make the organisms smart resilient efficientorganisms smart, resilient, efficient, and sustainable.

Yang, Hansma, MorseApril 15, 2009p

Next Generation Infrastructure Systems Bio-Inspired AutonomyYang, Morse, and Hansma

Bone fracture on the

n nomete nanometer length scale

Force vs. Displacement Displacement

plots for abalone shell

and bone

J J hJeremy Johansen, a legally blind student

Received Ph.D. in engineering 2008engineering, 2008

Thesis: “Sensing andThesis:  Sensing and control of building structures duringstructures during earthquakes”

ACURA(Association of Canadian Universities for Research in 

Astronomy)

California Institute of Technology

University of 

CaliforniaAstronomy) Technology California

How far back can we see with TMT?How far back can we see with TMT?

NASA/WMAPTMT

10m & 8m telescopes

Following a worldwide survey, site selection was a o ed do i May 2008 to t o o tionarrowed down in May 2008 to two options:• Cerro Armazones, Chile• Mauna Kea Hawaii• Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Final choice will be made by the TMT Board on July 20 21 2009July 20‐21, 2009

Cerro Armazones, Chile Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Thank YouThank You