UCSD Division Awards Undergrad Research Scholarships
4.26.2005 – The UCSD division selected 18 students from 10 departments for undergraduate research scholarships for the coming summer.
These students will work 10 weeks on research projects and with advisors of their own choosing, then report on their results in a group poster session at the end of the summer. They will also attend a series of lunchtime programs with topics that focus on their needs: the differences between working in academia vs. industry, introduction to undergraduate research, how to write a research proposal, dos and don’ts interacting with the media, and how to submit a journal publication. The students will also present their posters as part of Calit2’s building dedication October 28.
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The research projects range from physics and biochemistry to computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, economics, and the arts. More specifically, these projects include
- Analyzing the airline industry to study the effect of the expansion of the Internet on price levels.
- Creating the building blocks (called “qubits”) from which future quantum computers can be constructed.
- Extending an algorithm to discover conserved patterns in DNA sequences.
- Determining a user’s position in the Calit2 building from Bluetooth signal strength received from a cell phone.
- Characterizing the severe second-order polarization mode dispersion intrinsic to chirped Bragg gratings to achieve high transmission speeds for telecommunications.
- Developing software and hardware to meet the needs of first responders, including location-based services and a tactile guiding system to direct the user to a specific location along a specific route.
- Understanding Internet access in Africa : what types of access are available, the problems the continent faces in establishing Internet access, programs promoting use, and foreign companies and organizations helping to fund, and provide, access.
Three students are returning scholars: Andrew Collins (Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts Major), Crescentia Miscisin (Physics and Electrical Engineering), and Edward Shyu (Computer Science and Biology). Embracing the Calit2 spirit of interdisciplinarity, several students chose advisors for their projects in disciplines other than their majors.
Calit2 continues expanding participation in this program by engaging six new faculty members as advisors: Robert Bitmead (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), John Crowell (Chemistry and Biochemistry), Eleazar Eskin (Computer Science and Engineering, Biology), Joseph Goguen (Computer Science and Engineering), Cristin McVey (Sociology), and Ross Starr (Mathematics). Two Calit2 academic professionals, Paul Blair and Ingolf Krueger, will also serve as advisors to student projects.
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