2013-2014 A Message from the Dean

Since it welcomed its first students in 1945, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has been at the forefront of advanced interdisciplinary research and engineering education. Among its notable achievements, the school is well-known as the birthplace of the Internet, for developing the first reverse-osmosis membrane for the desalination of water, for major contributions to the development of technologies underlying mobile devices, and for many other activities that have led to new breakthroughs and changed the way we interact with the world around us.

Our faculty members and their students are leaders in new frontiers of applied science and engineering research, in emerging areas such as clean and renewable energy, clean water technology, personalized healthcare, wireless sensing and sensor systems, cybersecurity, information technology, bioengineering, nanomanufacturing, microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems, and nanoelectronics.

UCLA Engineering is ideally situated to engage in interdisciplinary research and educational initiatives with others on campus and across Southern California. It benefits from proximity to the world-renowned David Geffen School of Medicine and the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, as well as the Los Angeles entertainment and media industries, Silicon Valley, the defense and aerospace industries, and a growing biotechnology sector.

Our curriculum—with its emphasis on breadth of knowledge as well as depth—prepares our students for success in meeting the ever-changing demands of the engineering profession. In addition, undergraduate student research opportunities are widely available, and we encourage our students to take advantage of them.

Students may choose to work with individual faculty members or to participate in any of the school’s world-class interdisciplinary research centers. These include the NSF-funded Center for Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic Systems, SRC Focus Center on Function Accelerated nanoMaterial Engineering, NRI Western Institute of Nanoelectronics, DOE-funded Center for Molecularly Engineered Energy Materials, NSF Center for Domain-Specific Computing, Smart Grid Energy Research Center, Wireless Health Institute, and NSF Named Data Networking Project. We encourage students to spend one summer as interns in industry. Our faculty members and students are also active partners in the California NanoSystems Institute located at UCLA. In addition, the school is developing its research breakthroughs into the commercial sector through the off-campus Institute for Technology Advancement (ITA).

Our distinguished faculty is composed of recognized experts in their fields, including 26 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and many junior faculty who are widely acclaimed for their work. Many faculty members are award-winning educators, and every faculty member, no matter how senior, teaches at least one undergraduate course each year.

UCLA Engineering is also committed deeply to public service. This includes translating research discoveries made here into applications and innovations that benefit the state and nation. It also includes partnerships in the community and with K-12 schools to inspire more young people to take an interest in science and engineering careers.

The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is seeking exceptional and dedicated students who share our desire to positively contribute to the engineering profession and society. I invite you to consider becoming a UCLA engineer.

 

Vijay K. Dhir

Dean

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science