UC San Diego Engineering Alumnus Builds Bridge Between China and the U.S.

San Diego, Feb. 12, 2010 -- UC San Diego alumnus Junling Sun, Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, Class of '93, recently visited the La Jolla campus to present a gift to support educational and outreach efforts of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

(left to right) Junling Sun (Structural Engineering ’93) presents gift for Calit2 in honor of UCSD’s 50th Anniversary to Armin Afsahi, assistant vice chancellor, alumni affairs; Ramesh Rao, director of the UCSD division of Calit2; and Steve Relyea, vice chancellor of external and business affairs.

In making his $16,000 gift to Calit2, Sun noted that he was impressed with the institute's interdisciplinary focus. Sun and a delegation from China's Ministry of Railways visited Calit2 and UCSD last November. Noted Sun: "We look forward to future collaborations between Calit2 and the Ministry of Railways."

The gift was also made in honor of UCSD's upcoming 50th anniversary, and Sun said he plans to encourage other alumni living in China to follow suit and make gifts to the university during its 50th anniversary year. "There is a wise saying in China that three factors determine success," Sun said. "First, you must have what it takes; second, you must have opportunity; and third and most importantly, you need someone to help who creates opportunity for you. In my case, UCSD, and my mentor professor Frieder Seible, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering, provided me that opportunity and guidance. I feel I owe so much to UCSD."

Sun, who received his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from UCSD in 1993, is president of Sun Engineering Consultants International (SECI), which specializes in bridge design for highways and railways. Now he hopes to build a new bridge with his fellow alumni in China.

Sun is the founding president of the UCSD Chinese Student and Scholars Alumni organization. Over the past year, he has been working to bring alumni together for dinners and symposia, and looks forward to the next gathering this March, when a delegation from UCSD and Global Connect visit Beijing.

Jun Zhou (left), president of the UCSD Chinese Students and Scholars Association, with Junling Sun, president of the UCSD Chinese alumni organization now being formed.

Sun sees tremendous potential for an active alumni network in China. “As UCSD alumni, we share a common past,” he said. “Now we can build a bridge in the present, so that we can beneficially walk together as a community in the future.”

One way that alumni can connect with UCSD is through the Jacobs School of Engineering's Team Internship Program, in which companies host multidisciplinary teams of two-to- five students to work together on defined projects. This summer, three UCSD student teams will work in China, including teams at SECI, Solar Power, Inc. and Qualcomm.

"There are several hundred people who have graduated from UCSD and are now working on the front lines of industry in China," Sun said. "We can become a strong link between China and the United States through UCSD."

Sun is building a formal UC San Diego alumni chapter in China, and encouraged other Chinese alumni of UCSD to become involved by sending an email to Junling Sun at junlingsunusa AT sunengineering DOT cn.

Media Contacts

Andrea Siedsma, 858-822-0899, asiedsma@soe.ucsd.edu or Cheryl Harris, 858-822-7656, cdharris@ucsd.edu

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UC San Diego Engineering Alumnus Builds Bridge Between China and the U.S.