Joins AT&T, UCSD Units to Support Undergrad Team Projects Benefiting Society
Update: The TIES Web site is now available for students to apply. Students can choose among a number of project areas, including wireless/sensors (the area that Calit² is most likely to support).
5.3.04 – The UCSD Division of Calit², the AT&T Foundation, the Jacobs School of Engineering, and the Sa
n Diego Supercomputer Center have teamed to support the “Teams In Engineering Service” (TIES) program. This program will put UCSD undergraduates to work for San Diego non-profit organizations. In conjunction with rigorous academic coursework and training, multidisciplinary teams of UCSD students will design, build, and deploy projects that solve technology-based problems for community partners.
These projects will enable students to put their technical skills to work to address societal needs; gain tangible experience in design, engineering, and communication; and work in interdisciplinary teams of 8-15 students. TIES projects start the fall of 2004.
UCSD TIES is part of the national EPICS program, led by Purdue University, which is operating at 10 universities nationwide. The projects students have worked on include
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developing a customized, distributed database to track clients of the Homelessness Prevention Network, which is still in use five years after the project was completed
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developing custom play environments to enhance the skills of disabled and developmentally delayed children
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engineering exhibits for an interactive children’s science and space museum
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developing a system to treat agricultural runoff that was causing water pollution
UCSD is in the process of identifying the community partners that will host the teams and the projects they will work on. By May 15, students can use a Web signup to indicate their interest in the course and project areas that would be of most interest relative to their skills. Students can also sign up for ENG 100 (2 credits) and ENG 101 L (2 credits) for the fall quarter using StudentLink. To be eligible for ENG 100L, students must have taken (or concurrently enroll in) ENG 100 or 101. Participating students can continue to earn 2 credits per quarter via continued enrollment in ENG 100L.
More information on the program can be found at http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/TIES/. (The application form will be posted at this URL by May 15.) Questions and requests to receive updates on this program can be addressed to ties@soe.ucsd.edu.
For a related story about the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) program that is coming to UCSD in 2005, go to http://www.calit2.net/news/2004/5-4_cosmos.html