Research Centers

Multidisciplinary research centers require faculty who can connect the scientific research developments with improvements in technology. The faculty in MSE apply this paradigm in several campus-wide research centers. Within the university and HSSEAS, the importance of materials research is reflected in this level of participation.

Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)

The National Science Foundation funds the MRSEC program. MRSECs support interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary materials research and education while addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering that are important to society. The MRSEC consists of independent research groups, an educational and outreach component, and seed project opportunities. Professor Bruce Dunn in MSE will lead the effort, and IRGs, educational /outreach, and seed projects have been identified with teams already formed.

The Functional Engineered Nano-Architectonics Focus Center (FENA)

This multi-disciplinary center aims to create and investigate new nanoengineered functional materials and devices, and novel structural and computational architectures for new information processing systems beyond the limits of conventional CMOS technology. FENA is part of the Focus Center Research Program initiated by the Semiconductor Research Corporation in an effort to expand pre-competitive, cooperative, long-range applied microelectronics research at US universities. The center, which was established in 2003, will receive $13.5 million over the first three years, and as much as $70 million over 10 years. .FENA seeks to create and explore the next generation of nanoscale semiconductor technology to the borders of ultimate CMOS and beyond: inventing heterogeneous interfaces of new nanosystems, enabling a combination of biological and molecular functions, and revolutionizing paradigms of information processing and sensing. These new nanostructured materials will provide the basis for the creation of new applications of monolithically integrated (CMOS, molecular and biomolecular) nanosystems. FENA has 28 distinguished principal investigators from broad areas such as Materials Science, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Bio Engineering, Mathematics, Applied Physics, and Computer Engineering, from 11 of America's most elite research universities. FENA embraces the current opportunity to create and explore the next generation of nanoscale semiconductor technology to the borders of ultimate CMOS and beyond: inventing the heterogeneous interfaces of new nanosystems, enabling a combination of biological and molecular functions, and revolutionizing the paradigms of information processing and sensing. These new nanostructured materials will provide the basis for the continued expansion of the semiconductor industry and the creation of new applications of monolithically integrated (CMOS, molecular and biomolecular) nanosystems. FENA involves faculty from several institutions including UCLA, UCSB, UC Riverside, UC Berkeley, USC, Caltech, Stanford, MIT, New York University, University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, and SUNY. Kang L. Wang, Ph.D. is director. (Professors Ozolins, Dunn, Y. Yang, Xie, and Huang are members)

Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine (ISCBM)

The UCLA Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine (ISCBM) is committed to a multidisciplinary, campus-wide, integrated, collaboration of scientific, academic, and medical disciplines for the purpose of understanding adult and human embryonic stem cells. The ISCBM supports innovation, excellence, and the highest ethical standards focused on stem cell research with the intent of facilitating basic scientific inquiry directed towards future clinical applications in the treatment of disease. The ISCBM was launched by Chancellor Albert Carnesale and Deans of the UCLA Schools and College on March 6, 2005, with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years. Allocated resources include recruitment of 12 new faculty. The Co-Directors of ISCBM are Owen Witte, MD, Judith Gasson, PhD, Utpal Banerjee, PhD. (Professor Dunn is a member)

URL: www.iscbm.ucla.edu

California NanoSystems Institue (CNSI)

The institute is a research center that is run jointly by UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. CNSI was established in 2000 with $100 million from the State of California and an additional $250 million in federal research grants and industry funding. Its mission is to encourage university collaboration with industry and enable the rapid commercialization of discoveries in nanosystems. In particular, CNSI is working to: · Establish a world-renowned center for nanosystems Research and Development · Develop commercial applications of CNSI's technology · Educate the next generation of scholars in nanosystems R&D · Promote regional development through commercial use of nanotechnology, · Generate public appreciation and understanding of nanotechnology CNSI members, who are on the faculty at UCLA and UCSB, represent a multi-disciplinary team of some of the world's preeminent scientists in the fields of materials science, molecular electronics, quantum computing, optical networking and molecular medicine, to cite but a few examples. (Professors Dunn, Y. Yang, Huang, and Ozolins are members.)

URL: www.cnsi.ucla.edu

Cell Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE)

As part of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA, The Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE) is a URETI funded by NASA with yearly budget of $3.5 million, of which more than 90% goes to research and technology development. Started in Sept. 2002, this multidisciplinary institute involves seventeen faculty members from six universities and approximately 45 post-doctorates and students. Among them, 3 faculty are from the school of medicine, 11 faculty are from engineering schools involving 6 different types of engineering field, and 3 other from the physical science school. CMISE uniquely combines the researchers from the schools of engineering, medicine and chemistry and facilitates collaboration amongst them. This allows medical researchers to engineer nano-devices and engineers to develop a new wave of biotechnology tools. (Professor Dunn is a member)

URL: www.cmise.ucla.edu