Nicholas Foundation Prize for Cross-Disciplinary Research Awarded at UCI

April 18, 2005 / By Anna Lynn Spitzer

04.18.05 – The first Nicholas Foundation Prize for Cross-Disciplinary Research will be divided among four proposals, including a computation platform for use in environmental education and an in-home integrated computing/communication system that can send updates on the progress of patients with spinal cord injuries to their doctors. The award recipients were announced today by Calit2 Irvine Division Director Albert Yee.  

Henry Nicholas III

“Calit2 is dedicated to bringing together the most innovative research from all disciplines at UCI and creating collaborative relationships that will produce new and valuable results,'' said Yee. “The research emerging from this competition will further that mission significantly.”

The $300,000 prize will support the four proposals, each of which advances the cause of multidisciplinary research. The grant recipients include:

• Bill Tomlinson, assistant professor of informatics and drama, and F. Lynn Carpenter, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, who are collaborating on the EcoRaft Project ($80,000). The EcoRaft is a combination fixed/mobile interactive environmental exhibit incorporating ecologically accurate, animated models of humans, animals and plants. Tomlinson and Carpenter hope to have the exhibit installed at science museums around the country in order to teach environmental science to children;

• Steven C. Cramer, assistant professor of neurology, and Cristina Lopes, assistant professor of informatics ($80,000). Cramer and Lopes propose an integrated computing/communication platform that will measure and transmit physical therapy data from the homes of spinal cord-injured patients via the Internet to UCI, allowing for more detailed monitoring of patient recovery;

• Kenneth J. Shea, professor of chemistry, and Abraham Lee, professor of biomedical   engineering, who are developing a general method for synthesizing nano-sized “monoclonal” plastic antibodies ($80,000). These antibodies will create highly specific synthetic receptors for targeted molecules, enabling researchers to construct new forms of sensitive chemical sensors with important applications in medical diagnosis and environmental science

• Chen Tsai, professor of electrical engineering and computer science; Regina Ragan, assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science; John Hemminger, professor of chemistry; Ruqian Wu, professor of physics and astronomy; and Guann Li, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, who will collaborate on the first silicon-based current-injection lasers for integrated optoelectronic circuits ($45,000). These lasers will vastly expand capabilities and applications in communication, signal processing, sensing and computing systems.

The Nicholas Prize for Cross-Disciplinary Research, offered by the Nicholas Foundation to promote new collaborations among faculty members on high-risk, high-yield pilot research relevant to Calit2's mission, was first announced at the Calit2 Building opening last November. Twenty four proposals were submitted to the competition and were evaluated by a committee of UCI faculty members with experience in multidisciplinary research.

The Nicholas Foundation, founded in 1998 by Dr. Henry T. Nicholas III, co-founder and retired co-chairman and CEO of Broadcom Corp., is committed to enhancing the quality of life by providing grants to nonprofit organizations, primarily in education, performing arts, humanities and science. Other Nicholas Foundation philanthropic activities in Orange County include gifts to UCI engineering, St. Margaret's Episcopal School, the South Coast Repertory, the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the UCI crew program.

About Calit2: The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (www.calit2.net) integrates multidisciplinary intellectual capital and industry expertise to conduct cutting-edge research. More than 130 leading California computer, telecommunications, software and applications companies partner with Calit2 faculty participants to investigate areas as diverse as transportation, emergency response, public safety, the environment, security, health care, business, education, the arts and entertainment.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California , Irvine is a top-ranked public university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County , UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3 billion.