
Research Centers & Institutes
A proud partner of numerous research centers and institutes.
MAJOR EXTERNALLY FUNDED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS
Break Through Tech AI
The Break Through Tech AI Program helps students gain the skills they need to get jobs in the fastest-growing areas of tech: data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Developed by industry and academic leaders, students begin with a summer ML Engineering curriculum that teaches the critical, practical skills that help qualify candidates for entry-level jobs in the field including skills in building data analysis pipelines, training and validating ML models, while gaining experience with common ML/AI libraries.
Center for Domain Specific Computing (CDSC)
Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Expeditions in Computing program, CDSC is developing high-performance, energy efficient, customizable computing that could revolutionize the way computers are used in healthcare and other important applications.
Center for Encrypted Functionalities (CEF)
The Center for Encrypted Functionalities tackles the deep and far-reaching problem of general-purpose program obfuscation — which aims to make an arbitrary computer program “unintelligible” while preserving its functionality. CEF is supported through a National Science Foundation Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace FRONTIER Award.
Center of Excellence for Green Nanotechnologies (CEGN)
The Center of Excellence for Green Nanotechnologies (CEGN) undertakes frontier research and development in the areas of nanotechnology in energy and nanoelectronics. It is funded through the Joint Centers of Excellence Program (JCEP) at King Abdualaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
Center for Function Accelerated nanoMaterial Engineering (/FAME)
FAME’s mission is to revolutionize the semiconductor and defense industries by accelerating innovations in analog, logic and memory devices. To accomplish this, the scientists and engineers at FAME are creating atomic scale engineered materials and structures of multi-function oxides, metals and semiconductors. FAME is a STARnet research center funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation and DARPA.
Named Data Networking (NDN)
The Named Data Networking (NDN) project aims to accommodate emerging patterns of communication by developing a new Internet architecture that can capitalize on strengths — and address weaknesses — of the Internet’s current host-based, point-to-point communication architecture. The NDN project is funded by the National Science Foundation under its Future Internet Architecture Program.
Science Hub for Humanity and Artificial Intelligence
Amazon and UCLA have collaborated to establish the Science Hub for Humanity and Artificial Intelligence, marking the technology company’s first such alliance with a public university. Based at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, the research hub will aim to leverage the cross-pollination of industry and academic research on artificial intelligence to address society’s most pressing challenges and develop solutions that will ultimately benefit humanity. The collaboration will support doctoral fellowships, research projects and community outreach programs./p>
Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC)
The UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center, or SMERC, is working on wireless communications and sense-and-control to enable the Smart Electric Grid of the future. By optimizing the integration of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles, a Smart Grid offers greater efficiency, flexible electricity pricing, and increased consumer participation. Additional SMERC projects include Automated Demand Response, Electric Vehicle Integration (G2V and V2G), Microgrids, Distributed Renewable Integration, Storage Integration, Cybersecurity, and Consumer Behavior.
Center for Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic Systems (TANMS)
A National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC), TANMS is working to engineer a revolution in miniature electromagnetic systems through the development of a new class of nanoscale multiferroic materials.
Western Institute of Nanoelectronics (WIN)
WIN’s mission is to explore and develop advanced research devices, circuits and nanosystems with performance beyond conventional scaled CMOS. WIN was established with Nanoelectronics Research Initiative grant funded by six major semiconductor companies — Intel, IBM, Texas Instruments, AMD, Freescale and MICRON, plus an additional $12 million from Intel, and a UC Discovery Grant from the Industry-University Cooperative Research Program.
Institute for Technology, Law & Policy
To explore how new technology affects society, privacy, government and public policy, the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and UCLA School of Law launched the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy. The cross-disciplinary institute examines advances in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, robotics and new forms of digital media to identify the benefits and risks they represent.
INTERNAL RESEARCH CENTERS
These centers emphasize research that is multi-disciplinary in nature. They allow faculty from different departments, disciplines and even universities to work together on some of society’s most critical issues.
Center for Information and Computation Security (CICS)
CICS promotes all aspects of research and education in cryptography and computer security.
Center for Research in Engineering, Media, and Performance (REMAP)
REMAP is a joint effort between UCLA Samueli and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Its mission is to explore new enriching cultural forms and empower social situations through the thoughtful interweaving of engineering, the arts and community development.
UCLA Center for Heterogeneous Integration and Performance Scaling (UCLA CHIPS)
The center was established in 2015, at the Samueli School of Engineering, to address the dramatic changes taking place in the electronic hardware arena. The immense cost of semiconductor development and manufacturing, together with the saturation in cost-power-performance metrics, has led to a consolidation of semiconductor fabrication into mega foundries. Even more far-reaching is a similar consolidation in the chip-design area. Computing paradigms are evolving as systems become more data centric and heterogeneous. This calls for a fundamental re-thinking of IC and system design and manufacture.
Institute for Carbon Management
ICM is an interdisciplinary research center that focuses on engineering solutions that could be applied toward decarbonizing heavy industry.
Scalable Analytics Institute (ScAi)
The goal of ScAi is to promote the development of new computer systems and algorithms for big data management and mining, and to foster the deployment and utilization of these systems and algorithms in big-data science projects.
PREVIOUS CENTERS
Center for Materials Research in Art and Archaeology (CMRAA)
CMRAA studied material culture across space and time, based on integrated multidisciplinary research and education combining science, archaeology, conservation and forensics. It’s a collaborative effort at UCLA between the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology.
Center for Cell Control (CCC)
CCC focused on a new approach to engineering systems that could be applied toward the regulation of cellular functions, such as cancer eradication, stem cell differentiation, and controlling the onset of viral infections. The center was a National Institutes of Health Nanomedicine Development Center.
Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS)
Funded by the National Science Foundation, CENS focused on developing wireless sensing systems and applying this revolutionary technology to critical scientific and societal pursuits. Embedded Network Sensing (ENS) systems are massively distributed collections of smart sensors and actuators embedded in the physical world.
Center for Energy Science and Technology Advanced Research (CESTAR)
CESTAR is an interdepartmental research center whose mission is to provide a common focal point for collaboration and synergy among researchers at UCLA involved in energy-related research.
Functional Engineered Nano Architectronics Center (FENA)
FENA’s mission was to discover new nano-electronic materials and physical processes of devices. This enabled extendable information processing systems with enhanced functionality, while creating new applications for the semiconductor and defense industries. It was sponsored by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a consortium of the world’s leading technology companies.
Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense (CNID)
CNID facilitated the rapid transition of research innovation in the nanosciences into defense sector applications. The center was sponsored by two federal agencies: the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and Defense MicroElectronics Activity (DMEA).
News
Scientists devise method to prevent deadly hospital infections without antibiotics
Novel surface treatment developed at UCLA stops microbes from adhering to medical devices like catheters and stents. A hospital or medical clinic might be the last place you’d expect to pick up a nasty infection, but approximately 1.7 million Americans do
$5 million from Boeing will support UCLA quantum science and technology research
UCLA has received a $5 million pledge from Boeing Co. to support faculty at the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering. The center, which is jointly operated by the UCLA College Division of Physical Sciences and the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
UCLA CHIPS and SEMI Win $300K in NIST Funding to Create Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap
The UCLA Center for Heterogeneous Integration and Performance Scaling (UCLA CHIPS) and SEMI today announced that they have won a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute
From Chemistry to Engineering
Science has long fascinated fourth-year materials engineering student Annie Zhao, who will soon join the class of 2022 to engineer change in the real world. “I remember when I was 6 years old and my grandma was reading this kids encyclopedia to me,” Zhao said. “That’s when I first learned what an atom was and I was
Making Accessibility a Top Priority in UCLA’s Digital Spaces
From the wheelchair ramp zigzagging up Bruin Walk to Braille on elevator buttons in campus buildings, many physical spaces on UCLA’s campus are designed to accommodate Bruins of all abilities. But to what extent is this reflected in other spaces where we spend
How Spiders Fly: Untangling the Mystery of Arachnids’ Electrically Charged Ability to Soar
It was a Halloween mystery that baffled Charles Darwin to the end of his days.
On Oct. 31, 1832, thousands of tiny red spiders suddenly started dropping from a clear sky onto Darwin’s ship, the HMS Beagle, prompting shock,