UCSD Division Energizes Community with First-ever

Poster Session
Poster Session


QUALCOMM's BREW exhibit

9.29.03 - A Calit² directors' retreat held in February produced the idea that, in addition to an annual All-hands Meeting, Calit² should have large group meetings more frequently, say every six months. The directors further determined that these meetings should be organized as "Calit² Day@campus" separately on each campus, focusing on the local community so as to broaden the base of participation. Both campuses took this charge to heart with the first event held last week at UCSD and the first planned for UCI on November 3.

Weeks of planning and promotion produced an astounding 500+ attendees representing a very broad cross section of faculty, students, staff, current and prospective industrial partners, political figures, and interested others from as far away as the University of Michigan. The program featured 24 technical presentations across 9 breakout sessions, industrial and faculty demos, and student posters; side "tours" on the CyberShuttle2, to UCSD's construction site, and to the immersive visualization theater at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and a closing session on emerging research opportunities and a conversation with UCSD deans addressing the issue of how Calit² is changing the campus culture.

Ramesh Rao
Ramesh Rao, Director, UCSD Division, Calit², and lead organizer of the event

Marsha Chandler Marsha Chandler, Sr. Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, UCSD, and Interim Chancellor designate

Larry Smarr Larry Smarr, Director, Calit²

Given the power of wireless Internet connectivity, enthusiastic comments began to flow in even before the conclusion of the event. We have heard from a variety of participants:

"Congratulations to all at Calit² for putting on a great event! Strong turnout, impressive speakers and technical scope, smooth logistics, and most importantly a clear and united message about what the institute is creating. The open day set a very high standard."


--Sarah Peach, Industry-University Cooperative Research Program



"Great work!"
--Greg Broderick, Wave3 Software



"I thought you did a wonderful job on the event yesterday. It was well organized."


--Bill Whitmarsh, HNS



"I thought everything worked smoothly."
--Per Johansson, Ericsson



"I know you've been working around the clock, and I'd like to thank Calit² for making Sun's participation flow smoothly. I look forward form hearing the feedback from my team. Thanks again and best regards."


--Steven Perez, Sun Microsystems



"AMCC was happy to be a part of this event. Thank you for all your efforts!"


--Mary Pund, AMCC



"It was a real team effort, and I am glad things went well. Looking forward for the next event :)-"
--Babak Jafarian, Calit² researcher (UCSD Division)



"I must say, you guys made it as easy as possible. Great job!"
--Bill Griswold, UCSD Computer Science and Engineering



"I walked through the exhibits -- it was great. Lots of people, high energy, lots of activity."


--Yvonne Muzzy, UCSD Publications



"My compliments and congrats for organizing an outstanding meeting! Excellent job! Very good interactions, and many interesting and NEW (!) people showed up. The event was inspiring."


--Gabriele Wienhausen, Provost, Sixth College



"You were a pleasure to work with--from start to finish. It was so nice to have all the information I needed provided to me ahead of time. You covered all the bases and made planning a breeze.
Aaron and I had a great time staffing the booth, and working with you and your team."


--Stephanie Koval, QUALCOMM



"Congratulations on such a great event!"
--Frederick W. Powell, nbbj Design



"I attended last week's 'Calit²Day@UCSD' ... it was marvelous! I enjoyed the program sessions and the tour to view your new building. It was a wonderful day. Keep up the TERRIFIC work."
--Michael D. Briggs, Attorney at Law

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