Masanobu Shinozuka retires

A small crowd gathered recently to celebrate the long, illustrious career of UC Irvine Distinguished Professor Masanobu Shinozuka, who retired in May.

A world-renowned expert in earthquake and structural engineering, Shinozuka joined the faculty at the UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering in 2001. He served as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) for nine years. A member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1978, Shinozuka has contributed to the development of a national vision for engineering research, education and practice.

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UC Irvine’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is holding its annual Art Gala fundraising event this Friday, May 17 at 7 p.m. The gala, featuring food, wine, live music and a silent art auction, will be held at the Norman Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo.

EWB is a national non-profit organization that partners with developing communities around the world to improve their quality of life through engineering projects. UCI’s student chapter develops student teams with interests and expertise in many disciplines: from engineering and public health to education and business. Proceeds from the Art Gala will support the group’s international projects.

UC Irvine Chancellor’s Professor Chen Tsai has devoted nearly half a century to seeking innovation in the field of electrical engineering and applied science. His efforts recently were recognized by the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society, which awarded him its 2013 lifetime achievement award.

Tsai, who came to The Henry Samueli School of Engineering in 1980 from Carnegie Mellon University, was recognized with the society’s highest honor for his pioneering contributions to the “science and technology of integrated acousto-optics and magneto-optics, scanning acoustic microscopy, and ultrasonic monodisperse micro-droplet generation.”

Public Impact Fellowship supports Seema Ehsan’s efforts to develop a better way of testing cancer drugs

The cost of bringing a new drug to the marketplace, from discovery to clinical trials, ranges from $55 million to more than $1 billion. Seema Ehsan aspires to change that, particularly for cancer drugs. A chemical engineering doctoral candidate, she spends eight to 10 hours a day in the laboratory growing tumors.

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UC Irvine’s engineering students won first place at the 17th annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition in Tucson, Arizona in April.

“We expected to place in the top 10, given our preparation and effort,” says John Wei-Han Chen, senior engineering student and DBF project manager. “It definitely felt good to see all of our hard work coming together. We are extremely happy to bring back first place to UCI.”

A partnership between the AIAA Foundation, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Raytheon Missile Systems, the DBF competition provides students an opportunity to design and build a radio controlled aircraft to perform specific missions. Participants who complete a letter of intent and submit a report on time are invited to bring their plane to a central location for a fly off. Winners are determined by a combination of their report score and their flight score.