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 for Education of Microchip Designers (CEMiD)
Part of a nationwide effort to address workforce challenges faced by the U.S. semiconductor industry, the Center for Education of Microchip Designers is a federally funded center to train the next generation of microchip designers through the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.

Center for Heterogeneous Integration and Performance Scaling (UCLA CHIPS)
Established in 2015 at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, the center aims 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.

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 Quantum Science and Engineering (CQSE)
The Center for Quantum Science and Engineering (CQSE) was established by the Samueli School of Engineering and the Division of Physical Sciences at UCLA to coordinate research and teaching activities in the emerging field of quantum information science and technology. CQSE is also developing new approaches to education in this emerging discipline.

Center of Excellence on New Mobility and Automated Vehicles at UCLA
Funded by the Federal Highway Administration — an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation —  with a five-year, $7.5 million grant, the Mobility Center of Excellence was launched November 2023. The multi-institutional hub will conduct research on the impacts of new mobility technologies and highly automated vehicles on the evolving transportation system when deployed at scale.

The B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences
The Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences is structured to be the umbrella organization of research centers in the University of California, Los Angeles to address domain-specific research and development needs.

Institute for Carbon Management (ICM)
ICM is an interdisciplinary research center that focuses on engineering solutions that could be applied toward decarbonizing heavy industry.

Institute for Technology Advancement (ITA)
Here, we help transition innovative research from UCLA into the commercial sphere. We host startup competitions to promote entrepreneurship across campus and an NSF I-Corps node to help prospective startups learn customer discovery techniques and reduce the risk of commercialization.

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.

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.

Office for Commercialization and Industry Collaboration (OCIC)
OCIC’s mission is to bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering a thriving ecosystem of innovation and collaboration. It is dedicated to facilitating industry engagement, providing access to state-of-the-art equipment, cutting-edge models, and top-tier personnel, while cultivating a culture of commercialization.

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.

Semiconductor Hub
Broadcom, Applied Materials, GlobalFoundries, Meta and Synopsys have joined forces to launch a $125 million, first-of-its-kind Semiconductor Hub at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering as founding members. The hub aims to accelerate AI-powered chip research to strengthen U.S. leadership and support workforce development in an industry critical to economic growth and national security. The initial five-year funding will establish a long-term academia-industry collaboration across the semiconductor ecosystem, spanning chip design, software, manufacturing, equipment and advanced materials.

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.

The Smart Manufacturing Company
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII) is a non-profit that brings over $140 million in public-private investment to radically improve the precision, performance and efficiency of U.S. advanced manufacturing. CESMII is the 9th Institute of the Manufacturing USA, established by the White House to spur U.S. innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.

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.

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.

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 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.

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).

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.

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.

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.