Frederic Yui-Ming Wan, Vice Chancellor for Research and
Dean of Graduate Studies
Research and graduate education, two major areas of responsibility of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, are vital and integral parts of academic life at UCI. Programs leading to doctoral or master's degrees are offered in about 100 academic and professional areas. Many of UCI's graduate programs and research activities have achieved national reputations for excellence, and several are internationally recognized as leaders in their respective fields. UCI graduate programs continue to grow and to evolve in directions that are consistent with the University's teaching, research, and public service missions. Graduate study at UCI provides the excitement and satisfaction that spring from the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge, as well as from meeting new challenges.
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies has general administrative responsibility for research and graduate education. In the area of research, the Vice Chancellor has responsibility for the administration of extramurally funded research and training grants, general research administration, and research policy development and implementation. Graduate education responsibilities include admissions, graduate student services, degree awards, fellowship and assistantship administration, and the Graduate and Professional Opportunity Program, which facilitates the involvement of minority students and women in graduate education.
The Office of Research and Graduate Studies also is administratively responsible for Organized Research Units, Irvine Research Units, Focused Research Programs, contract and grant administration, University/Industry relations, and other campus research activities.
The University of California is the State's primary research institution. Most scholarly research and creative activities are supported by University funds or by grants and contracts from federal and state agencies, foundations, corporations, and individual sponsors. Faculty at UCI participate in activities in many traditional fields of endeavor as well as in "new" interdisciplinary pursuits. For example, in the humanities, UCI has become a world center for the study of critical theory. In physics, UCI scientists are involved in ongoing studies on the nature of subatomic particles. Members of the Chemistry faculty are leaders in the study of atmospheric phenomena such as ozone depletion. Faculty research in biomedical sciences covers a wide range of areas including neuroscience, molecular biology, genetics, and cancer-related studies.
The Vice Chancellor for Research has responsibility for activities including research administration, research policy, research development, organized research activities, UCI-industry relations involving research, animal research administration, and research committee support. In addition, the Vice Chancellor is responsible for contract and grant administration which includes the submission of proposals, acceptance of grant and contract awards, and negotiation of all awards for extramurally funded research, training, fellowship, and public service programs.
While most research takes place at the academic unit level, the academic quality of many of UCI's educational programs is enhanced by interdisciplinary research activity represented in Organized Research Units, Irvine Research Units, and Focused Research Programs that extend beyond unit boundaries.
The Office of University/Industry Research and Technology (UIRT) fosters and coordinates relationships between UCI and industry in sponsored research and technology transfer programs. Specific services for faculty include assistance with invention disclosures, patentability assessment, technology marketing and licensing, industry-sponsored research agreements, and copyrights. Specific services for business and industry include access and linkages to faculty researchers, licensing technology, assistance with research contracts, intellectual property, research materials transfer, and technology information. UIRT acts as a coordinating focal point for many elements necessary for faculty to establish formal research and technology linkages with companies.
The UC-ACCESS Program facilitates research partnering, technology transfer, and resource sharing throughout the UC system and with outside entities, particularly industry. Headquartered at UCI within UIRT, UC-ACCESS is an online system of databases and matchmaking services available via the World Wide Web. Covering resources available at UC's nine campuses and three UC-managed Department of Energy National Laboratories, UC-ACCESS includes information on faculty expertise, equipment and facilities available for sharing, research centers, technologies available for licensing, and company technology needs. Search capabilities allow the University user to discover collaboration opportunites within the UC system, identify potential industry research sponsors, and locate suitable technology licensees. For assistance in locating and utilizing the UC-ACCESS system, please call (714) 824-7295 or send e-mail to ucaccess@uci.edu.
The University of California Humanities Research Institute, located at UCI, was founded in 1987 to serve as the humanities center for the nine campuses of the University of California. HRI's distinctive mission is to foster intellectual community across campus boundaries, to mobilize the strength of the University of California humanities faculty as a whole, and to promote innovative collaborative and interdisciplinary research in the humanities and related disciplines. An advisory committee represents each campus and advises the HRI Director on programs.
At the heart of HRI's activities are the Residential Research Groups which bring together both UC and non-UC faculty and advanced UC graduate students to work in collaboration on interdisciplinary topics. The Institute also offers the possibility of multi-year programs of coordinated residential research groups and conferences. Office space for up to 23 resident fellows and modest housing on the UCI campus is provided.
HRI sponsors scholarly conferences both at the Institute and on the various UC campuses, as well as seminars and workshops for a variety of planning purposes. In addition, HRI has an agreement with the University of California Press regarding publication of scholarly work from its conferences and residential groups; scholarly work done under the auspices of HRI has also appeared under a variety of other imprints.
Faculty who wish to propose research projects, conferences, workshops, disciplinary forums, or other programs should contact the HRI Director, Professor Patricia OÕBrien, University of California Humanities Research Institute, 307 Administration Building, Irvine, CA 92697-3350; telephone (714) 824-8177; e-mail: UCHRI@uci.edu.
Organized Research Units (ORUs) normally consist of an inter-departmental group of faculty, students, and other researchers engaged in a continuing program of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research, supported by both University and extramural funding. The work of some ORUs is directed toward the solution of complex contemporary problems, while others conduct basic research essential to the understanding of natural or social phenomena or of humanistic ideas and expressions. The following ORUs have been established on the Irvine campus by The Regents of the University.
The Cancer Research Institute provides leadership and support for researchers working toward understanding and controlling cancer. The Institute serves as a means of focusing, coordinating, and directing efforts of scholars in basic and clinical sciences from several departments of the School of Biological Sciences and the College of Medicine. It provides a central source of information concerning cancer-related research, as well as a forum in which basic researchers and clinicians can assess advances that may be of immediate value in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and in the detection of chemicals or conditions that cause cancer. Ongoing and projected research activities involve the regulation of cell function, viral carcinogenesis, immunology, and basic molecular processes relevant to cancer. The Cancer Research Institute serves as the basic science arm of a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center, which also includes the Chao Family Clinical Cancer Research Center and the Cancer Surveillance Program of Orange County.
The Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (CNLM) is a multidisciplinary research institute founded on the Irvine campus in 1983 to foster and support collaborative research investigating the brain processes underlying learning and memory. CNLM's research teams, consisting of faculty, research associates, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, and visiting scholars, are involved in this effort at several levels of analysis--from studies of molecular and cellular processes to studies of the effects of pharmacological agents on memory in animal and human subjects.
Current research projects include investigations of the role of specific genes in memory formation, mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, learning-induced changes in cortical functioning, theoretical modeling of neuronal processes and memory, the roles of brain systems in emotionally influenced memory, and effects of drugs and stress hormones on long-term memory. The Center's basic research has important implications for the treatment of human disorders and diseases of learning and memory.
CNLM organizes seminars and colloquia throughout the year, as well as periodic workshops and international conferences for the neuroscience community. In addition, it sponsors programs for local schools and the general public, including a lecture series on health issues related to brain and memory.
CNLM members include faculty from the UCI Departments of Psychobiology, Cognitive Sciences, Pharmacology, and Physics and Astronomy, as well as faculty from several other UC campuses and the University of Southern California. CNLM is located in the Bonney and Qureshey Research Laboratories of the Herklotz Research Center.
The Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO) is a multidisciplinary Organized Research Unit that conducts theoretical and empirical research in the field of information technology (IT). CRITO focuses on the management, use, and impact of IT in the emerging global, competitive marketplace, and the policy issues raised by its use. Under its umbrella, CRITO researchers pursue three programs of study: organizational implications of information technology, management of information technology, and technology policy and societal issues.
Faculty from the Graduate School of Management, the Department of Information and Computer Science, the School of Social Sciences, and the Department of Education conduct research through the unit. There are approximately 15 faculty associates and 3045 students involved in research administered by CRITO.
CRITO's research projects also reflect a multidisciplinary nature. Ongoing studies include how computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) and world-class manufacturing practices assist coordination in manufacturing firms; the study and survey of the impacts of computing on work groups in office settings; the analysis of the effects of IT on the restructuring of work, employee performance, quality of work life, and differences in these outcomes based on gender; and studies of global growth of use of computers and other information technologies. Faculty research also involves the effects of computerization on work in organizations; interorganizational systems; information, control, and organization performance; IT investments; effectiveness of computers in government; computer support systems for group decision making; computers in the home; informatization of society; and estimation of demand for computing the U.S.
In support of these research programs, CRITO sponsors regular seminars among faculty and students; cosponsors and hosts talks by nationally and internationally distinguished researchers in the field; assists in the preparation of proposals to government, foundations, and industry for extramural funding to support research programs and training of the next generation of researchers; and maintains a working paper series of reports and publications documenting its research. In addition, CRITO works with the campus academic units to match students with graduate assistantships and work-study positions that are available in conjunction with CRITO research projects.
The Critical Theory Institute provides a locus for the conduct and support of collaborative, interdisciplinary research focused on the theoretical underpinnings of such fields as history, literature, philosophy, art, and politics. The Institute's principal function is to provide a forum for debate among competing movements in contemporary critical theory so that existing theoretical models can be challenged and refined. The Institute's research consists not only of the application of theory to data but also of self-reflexive investigation of theoretical presuppositions in order to produce alternative theoretical constructs and strategies.
The Institute investigates problems according to three-year research programs, which are concluded with the publication of results. A recently completed research project of the Institute concerns the complex relations among politics, theory, and contemporary culture in current critical theories. The results are published in Politics, Theory and Contemporary Culture, edited by Institute Director Mark Poster (Columbia University Press, 1993).
Research on "Culture and the Problem of the Disciplines" investigates how and why the question of culture has become a focus of theorizing in several disciplines and intellectual currents. The goal in this project is both to explore the role that cultural presuppositions and theories of culture have played in critical theory and to explore the theoretical presuppositions underpinning the notion of culture in its various historical and disciplinary forms.
The Institute's newest research project, "The Transnational Networks of Globalization," will investigate four networks contributing to new theories of international and global organization: corporate, cultural, technological, and environmental. This project began with research contributions from members of the Institute and distinguished visitors to the Institute in 1995 and will be completed in 1998.
The Institute also sponsors various research ventures with other institutions of higher education, including the 1995 Summer Institute on "American Literature, Multiculturalism, and Critical Theory," sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Education, and involving faculty from high schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities in the Southern California region.
The Institute organizes colloquia, lectures, seminars, and workshops in which leading theorists from the United States and abroad participate in its research projects. It also sponsors the annual Wellek Library Lectures in which a leading theorist gives a series of lectures on a topic of importance in critical theory.
The Developmental Biology Center (DBC) provides focus and support for research in developmental biology in several departments of the School of Biological Sciences and the College of Medicine. The research activities are concerned with identifying the activities of cells that convert the fertilized egg into a fully formed and functioning organism. DBC investigators are studying the processes of cell division, migration, and differentiation at the molecular, genetic, and cellular levels using a variety of experimental organisms, as well as human material. DBC manages shared facilities for confocal microscopy, computer-based image processing and analysis, flow cytometry and single-cell microinjection. These facilities are part of the Optical Biology Shared Resource Facility of UCI's National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center.
Two National Institutes of Health training grants administered by DBC, one in developmental mechanisms underlying congenital defects and one in developmental neurobiology, provide support for both graduate students and postdoctoral investigators.
DBC sponsors regular seminars; organizes local, national, and international conferences; and hosts visiting scientists for collaborative research. The results of the work will contribute to the understanding of normal development, growth control, and the regeneration of body parts as well as abnormalities that lead to birth defects, cancer, and nervous-system malfunction in the human body.
Additional information is available on the World Wide Web at http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/dbc/index.htm.
The goal of the Institute is to mobilize and unify University resources to discover meaningful ways to prevent decline in brain function with aging prior to its inception and to reverse loss of function once it has occurred. The elusive, yet attainable goal of "successful aging," maintaining functionality in one's later years, is one of the great challenges facing the nation in the next century. While many individuals continue to maintain and even improve their intellectual and cognitive skills, others suffer a serious and seemingly irreversible loss of cognitive function and develop dementias, most commonly Alzheimer's disease. The Institute is a fully integrated basic science/clinical research program that operates: a Dementia Assessment and Treatment Clinic; a Brain Imaging Acquisition/Analysis Unit; a Tissue Repository for cellular and molecular analysis of the aged and Alzheimer's brain; and a comprehensive database of clinical and research data. Research is multidisciplinary employing the latest techniques in computer science, artificial intelligence, molecular biology, and neuroscience. The Institute also sponsors a specialized educational track in brain aging and dementia for advanced students who wish to develop a career opportunity in an exciting and expanding field. The Institute is the site of a National Institute on Aging Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (jointly with the University of Southern California) and a State of California Department of Health Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Center.
Faculty from the Departments of Psychobiology, Neurology, Radiology, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Cognitive Sciences, Information and Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the School of Social Ecology comprise the Institute's core group of investigators.
The goal of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences is to foster research in the application of mathematical methods to describe and to better understand human behavior, both individual and social. The Institute sponsors specialized seminars and colloquia, a visiting scholars program, summer workshops, and focused research groups of faculty, students, and visitors, and it maintains a Technical Report Series. Facilities include a computer network for research purposes. Participants include faculty from the Departments of Cognitive Sciences, Economics, Politics and Society, Anthropology, and Sociology in the School of Social Sciences; the Department of Mathematics in the School of Physical Sciences; the Department of Philosophy in the School of Humanities; the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the School of Engineering; and the Graduate School of Management.
The Institute for Surface and Interface Science (ISIS) brings together faculty and researchers in the fields of chemistry, physics, and electrical engineering for collaborative projects aimed at advancing knowledge through interdisciplinary research. ISIS affiliates engage in the study of phenomena which occur at the boundaries between phases of matter. The properties of surfaces and interfaces control a wide variety of technologically important effects and processes. Among these are corrosion and lubrication incidents, the behavior of semiconductor devices, the fabrication of integrated circuits, and the performance of catalysts used in automobile exhaust systems and throughout the chemical industry. Research conducted within the Institute is funded by a variety of extramural sources including private industry as well as several federal agencies. Collectively, research funds also help support a number of ISIS-sponsored activities, including a Distinguished Lecturer Program which brings senior scholars from around the world to UCI, visiting fellows programs, postdoctoral fellowships, seminar presentations, student research forums, and workshops.
The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), a University of California Organized Research Unit with branches at Irvine, Davis, and Berkeley, was established to foster research, education, and training in the field of transportation. A fundamental goal of the Institute is the stimulation of interdisciplinary research on contemporary transportation issues. ITS research at UCI involves faculty and students from the Schools of Engineering, Social Ecology, and Social Sciences; the Graduate School of Management; and the Department of Information and Computer Science. The Institute also hosts visiting scholars from the U.S. and abroad to facilitate collaborative research and information exchange, and sponsors conferences and colloquia to disseminate research results.
Research at ITS covers a broad spectrum of transportation issues. Current funded research projects at ITS Irvine focus upon: intelligent transportation systems, particularly advanced transportation management systems; planning and analysis of transportation systems; transportation systems operation and control; artificial intelligence applications; transportation engineering; transportation safety; fiscal and administrative issues in public transit; and environmental and energy issues.
The Institute is part of the University of California Transportation Center, one of 10 Federally designated centers for transportation research. The ITS Advanced Transportation Management Systems (ATMS) Laboratories provide facilities for the teaching, research, and development of intelligent transportation systems. These laboratories form the backbone of the State of California's research initiative in ATMS.
The transportation research program at UCI is supported by the ITS Transportation Library at UC Berkeley. In addition, ITS at UCI subscribes to all transportation research journals and offers a variety of computer-based information retrieval services.
The Institute maintains a regular publication series which documents research conducted within its programs. ITS also is the editorial headquarters of four international journals--Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice; Transportation Research Part B: Methodological; Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies; and Accident Analysis and Prevention. These journals are received by over 2,000 subscribers worldwide.
The Institute works closely with campus academic units to enhance graduate education in the areas of transportation planning, engineering, management, and policy. Courses of study leading to graduate degrees in the Schools of Engineering, Social Ecology, and Social Sciences are available for students interested in transportation studies. ITS extends its support to a large number of graduate students from these various disciplines, enabling students to enrich their studies by participating in ongoing research.
Irvine Research Units (IRU) are established on the Irvine campus for the purpose of providing an organizational structure for the conduct of research that is difficult or infeasible to be carried out within the normal school or departmental structure. IRUs normally are established for a period of five years, and may provide the basis for establishment of extramurally supported research centers or Organized Research Units.
The IRU in Advanced Computing (known as RUAC) was created with the purpose of providing a common research home for all investigators who use highly complex and advanced computing in theoretical or experimental research. RUAC promotes focused or interdisciplinary research where high-performance computing or computational sciences are the main tool or objective. RUAC has also initiated an Industry/University Consortium Center for Numerical Algorithm Development. Its activities include, but are not limited to: seminars, public lectures, symposia, formal or informal gatherings, and one-day work group sessions which include industry. Undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and continuing education research opportunities are actively pursued as part of RUAC's activities.
The Program in Animal Virology combines basic science and clinical faculty in the Departments of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in the School of Biological Sciences, and the Departments of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, and Pathology in the College of Medicine in an interactive and collaborative environment united with a common interest in aspects of animal virology. The program is also an integral part of the National Cancer Institute-designated Chao Family Clinical Cancer Research Center at UCI. The major goal of the program is to provide a collaborative resource for the dissemination of expertise in a number of animal virus systems as models and vectors for the study of molecular aspects of pathogenesis, gene expression, and gene delivery. It also sponsors a seminar series, symposia, and laboratory training for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in animal virology and viral-based gene therapy.
The IRU in Computer Systems Design includes faculty from the Department of Information and Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering who are interested in methodologies, tools, and designs of complex information and computer systems for consumer, industrial, communication, automation, military, automotive, entertainment, medical, scientific, and engineering applications. Faculty and students are involved in a variety of projects in parallel processing, algorithms, software tools, parallel compilers, distributed computing, networking, real-time systems, VLSI architecture, computer-aided design, estimation, fault tolerant and highly reliable systems, software/hardware codesign, and design science.
The goal of the IRU is to provide a broad spectrum of research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, to enhance interaction with distinguished scientists from both industry and universities from the United States and abroad, and to foster greater cooperation between the University and industry in solving real-world problems.
Although housed in the School of Social Sciences, participating faculty in the IRU in Global Peace and Conflict Studies are also drawn from the Schools of Humanities and Social Ecology, and from the natural sciences. The goals of the IRU are: (1) interdisciplinary research on the international and domestic conditions necessary for the avoidance of war or civil strife, and the creation of a stable and fruitful peace; (2) education of graduate and undergraduate students about these conditions; (3) enhancement of international studies in general at UCI; and (4) dissemination of research and education in the community at large.
Five interconnected themes characterize the cross-disciplinary research of the cooperating faculty: the interaction of foreign policy making and domestic affairs, the strategy and ethics of armament and disarmament, the role of international organizations in the creation of a more enduring peace, global ecological and environmental factors in peace and conflict, and the shaping of human attitudes and perceptions with respect to peace and conflict.
In support of its research activities, GPACS annually awards two graduate fellowships to incoming doctoral students as well as six to eight faculty research grants. In addition, GPACS sponsors a public forum series, research seminars, and a colloquium series on international society and institutions. GPACS publications include the annual student journal and the GPACS working papers.
The IRU in Health Policy and Research fosters multidisciplinary studies on access to medical care and prevention among special populations. Faculty from the College of Medicine, the Schools of Social Sciences and Social Ecology, and the Graduate School of Management comprise the core group of investigators.
The IRU's goals include conducting multidisciplinary research to address important questions related to access to medical care and prevention in special populations; exploring interventions and health policy options that will improve access to medical care and prevention in these groups; helping to guide policy makers in their decisions about health care initiatives for special populations; and facilitating the collaboration of faculty, students, and the professional community through the expertise, facilities, and activities of the unit.
Ongoing studies include: (1) evaluation of cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among Latino and American Samoan populations; (2) assessment of AIDS prevention strategies among Latinos; (3) investigation of injury prevention among children; and (4) exploration of access to medical care and the somatization disorder among Latino refugees.
In support of research, the IRU sponsors seminars during which faculty associates and guests discuss ongoing or planned research; guest lectureships conducted by nationally distinguished researchers and practitioners; and workshops on topics related to the unit's focus for faculty, students, government officials, and community members. In addition, the IRU helps health policy researchers to develop and submit grant proposals and administers grants which have been funded.
Computer software development and maintenance is a major component of the county's, state's, and nation's economy. The IRU in Software (IRUS) is focused on enhancing abilities to design, produce, assess, and maintain diverse types of software through a program of applied research and technology partnerships with industry. Technical emphases of IRUS include software processes and process improvement, user interface software technology, computer-supported cooperative work, analysis and testing, metrics and measurement, and software understanding.
In support of these objectives IRUS sponsors monthly technical interchange meetings, which bring over 100 professionals from California industry to campus each month. One of these meetings is the Southern California Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN). Another meeting series is focused on software engineering tools and techniques. IRUS also sponsors several annual events, including a symposium on software technology.
Information on IRUS and its regular activities can be obtained on the World Wide Web at http://www.ics.uci.edu/IRUS, or by telephone at (714) 824-2260.
