Summer Undergrad Research Program Names 2007 Fellows

Irvine, Calif., May 11, 2007– For the third consecutive summer, surf’s up at Calit2@UC Irvine.

Seven UCI undergraduates were named this week as 2007 Calit2 SURF-IT fellows. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology pairs undergraduate student researchers with UCI faculty across a range of disciplines for 10 weeks of hands-on research experience.

SURF-IT fellows include: front row  – Danish Khan and Connie Tran; back row –Sam Kaufman, Phillip Haralson and Nathaniel Pope.

The program is administered and sponsored jointly by Calit@UCI, with support from Emulex Corp., and the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Students will earn a $3,000 stipend.

SURF-IT is designed to help students gain first-hand experience and training in state-of-the-art facilities and techniques. By working closely with faculty mentors, they develop knowledge and skills that will help them pursue graduate studies or careers in telecommunications and information technology.

This year’s fellows were chosen from a field of 17 applicants. Each will work full-time during the summer with a faculty mentor, gaining experience in a variety of IT-related fields.

In addition, the students will attend regular seminars highlighting the ongoing projects, which will give them the opportunity to enhance their knowledge about telecommunications, and IT systems and applications. They will also participate in joint activities with students in other UROP summer research programs. 

At the end of the 10-week program, the students will present their research findings at a poster session held in conjunction with a closing reception.

This year’s students represent a wide range of majors and minors, including information and computer sciences, physics, electrical engineering, digital arts, management, economics, film and media studies, international studies, anthropology and education.

“Calit2 is very multidisciplinary, conducting research in many diverse areas of information technology,” said Calit2’s Stu Ross, SURF-IT research coordinator.  “We’re very pleased with the broad, multidisciplinary backgrounds these students are bringing to the program.”

UROP director Said Shokair added, “SURF-IT is a unique program that gives students the opportunity to experience the impact that various disciplines have on information technology applications. We’re pleased that the program has been such a success and is continuing for a third year.”

This year’s students, faculty mentors and projects include:

Phillip Haralson (electrical engineering, physics) and Phil Collins (assistant professor of physics and astronomy) – Electronic Circuits with Single-Molecule Components;

Sam Kaufman (informatics) and Donald Patterson (assistant professor of informatics) – Nomatic Gaim;

Quin Kennedy (computer sciences, digital arts) and John Crawford (assistant professor of arts and dance – Active Space: Visualizing Motion Capture Data;

Danish Khan (informatics, management) and Donald Patterson – Nomatic Aid;

Nathaniel Pope (economics, film and media studies) and Peter Krapp (associate professor of visual studies) – Beyond Play: Artificial Worlds and Gaming Capital;

Mark Sueyoshi (international studies, East Asian cultures) and Bill Tomlinson (assistant professor of informatics) – Blog Readers;

and Connie Tran (anthropology, education) and Mark Warschauer (associate professor of education) – The Use of Digital Media in Teaching and Learning Activities.