2021 UCLA Samueli Awards UCLA Samueli held its annual awards dinner May 7 at the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center celebrating alumni, students and faculty for their outstanding achievements. A video that highlights UCLA Samueli 75 Years in the Making in the 2020-2021 academic year was also debuted at the event. The full awards dinner program is available on YouTube.
UCLA Engineers Develop Phage Therapy to Kill Bacteria UCLA biomolecular engineers led by professor Irene Chen and their colleagues are developing an alternative therapy to treat wound infections using phages – viruses that infect bacteria – to kill bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
UCLA-Developed Technology Enables Single-Cell Sorting by Function With microscopic, bowl-shaped hydrogel containers called “nanovials,” a UCLA research team led by bioengineering professor Dino Di Carlo and colleagues recently demonstrated the ability to select cells based on what type they are and which compounds they secrete.
How Spiders Fly: Untangling the Mystery of Arachnids’ Electrically Charged Ability to Soar Thanks to UCLA mechanical and aerospace engineering assistant professor M. Khalid Jawed and others, whose research repurposed Hollywood special effects, scientists can now more fully understand how tiny spiders escaping predators can soar two miles up into the air and then “balloon” hundreds of miles from home.
UCLA and Amazon Announce Inaugural Recipients of Research Gifts and Amazon Fellowships The UCLA Science Hub for Humanity and Artificial Intelligence, a collaboration with Amazon, announced its first cohort of 12 Amazon fellowships and six gift-funded research projects.
Funded by Amazon and housed at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, the UCLA Science Hub was launched last October, marking Amazon’s first such alliance with a public
university.
Making Accessibility a Top Priority in UCLA’s Digital Spaces Many physical spaces on UCLA’s campus are designed to accommodate Bruins of all abilities. But to what extent is this reflected in digital spaces where we spend much of our time? The UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program oversees the campus’ efforts to make its digital spaces accessible.
Women in Engineering (WE@UCLA) Five-Year Anniversary May 2022 marks the five-year anniversary of the establishment of the Women in Engineering (WE@UCLA) at UCLA Samueli. Mechanical and aerospace engineering adjunct professor and founding director of the program Audrey Pool O’Neal shares her insights on this milestone.
UCLA’s Student-Organized Women in STEM Summit Returns for Second Year The annual Women in STEM: Breaking Barriers (WiSTEM) conference at UCLA connected students and professionals with prominent women in STEM for the second consecutive year, featuring dozens of speakers in 28 sessions, including U.S. Department of Defense undersecretary for research and engineering Heidi Shyu M.S. '81, Engr. '82.
UCLA SAMUELI IN THE NEWS
Fight Climate Change Through How and What You Eat UCLA civil and environmental engineering professor Jennifer Jay explained how we can fight climate change and reduce the carbon footprint by altering how we shop for food and what we eat.
Researchers Look at How Biofilters Can Protect Waterways UCLA Samueli doctoral candidate Onja Davidson Raoelison and her advisor, civil and environmental engineering professor Sanjay Mohanty, discussed in this interview their biofilter research designed to help conserve California’s water resources.
Can Nano Robots Help Treat Hard-to-Reach Cancers?
Song Li, professor and chair of the UCLA Bioengineering Department, was featured in this article on the potential of nanoscale robots with video capabilities in cancer treatments.
The 1997 Chess Game that Thrust AI into the Spotlight Richard Korf, a computer science professor at UCLA, spoke with Agence-France Presse about the history and development of artificial intelligence, especially in the area of computer vision that enables us to do things that used to be impossible. The story was carried by French public radio station RFI.
60 Ways L.A. Changed the World The birth of the internet in the lab of UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock was one of the major breakthroughs featured in this piece on how Los Angeles has helped reshape the globe for at least six decades.
Focused Ultrasound: a Potential Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes? UCLA bioengineering professor Dino Di Carlo is part of a multi-institutional research team highlighted in this article about using ultrasound neuromodulation as an alternative treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
UCLA Engineering 2021 Alumnus of the Year, Tyson Tuttle M.S. '92 Over his 30-year career in the semiconductor industry, including the last decade as CEO of global technology company Silicon Labs, Tyson’s focus has always been about trying to simplify the connection of things, information, networks and people.
IN MEMORIAM
Oscar Stafsudd, Jr., Professor Emeritus and Micro-Optoelectronics Expert Oscar Stafsudd, Jr. '59, M.S. '61, Ph.D. '67, a professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, died April 14 at the age of 85. He was known for his enthusiasm and passion for teaching, his broad expanse of knowledge, as well as his generosity to UCLA Samueli and the scientific community.