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| Kritin Karkare, a UC San Diego bioengineering student, COSMOS TA together with quondam COSMOS student. |
COSMOS is organized into clusters, which focus on fields that are largely unexplored inward keen particular inward typical high schoolhouse curriculums: earthquake engineering, synthetic biology, biodiesel fuel technology scientific discipline together with more. Students focus on 1 cluster during COSMOS. Aside from lecture together with lab time, students hold plain trips to places related to their field; in conclusion summer, Cluster 7 (Synthetic Biology) visited Illumina, the pioneering genome sequencing company, together with Cluster 3 (Living Oceans together with Global Climate Change) visited the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Students besides exercise their scientific discipline communication skills—something non typically taught inward high schools—by learning how to write a technical study together with an ethics essay that is submitted to the COSMOS Ethics Science together with Technology Contest. In the in conclusion 2 weeks, students arrive at a terminal projection to showcase the cognition they receive got learned together with introduce it to parents, professors together with peers.
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| Charles Tu, UC San Diego COSMOS programme director |
The next is an interview amongst Professor Charles Tu, UC San Diego COSMOS Program Director together with Electrical together with Computer Engineering Professor Emeritus. At UC San Diego, COSMOS is run past times the Jacobs School of Engineering. The responses receive got been lightly edited for clarity.
How did yous acquire involved amongst COSMOS?
About 12 years ago, I was associate dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. There were iii COSMOS faculty directors inward unlike departments: 1 inward biology, 1 inward chemic engineering, together with 1 inward engineering. The programme was run out of the School of Engineering from the Dean's office, together with I was assigned to last inward charge. Little did I know it would locomote a really of import component of my life at UC San Diego.
What do yous do for COSMOS exterior of the summertime programme itself?
As director, during the schoolhouse yr I effort to interact amongst other directors of COSMOS because at that spot are iii other sites: Davis, Santa Cruz together with Irvine. I besides speak to faculty who powerfulness last interested inward starting novel clusters hither at UC San Diego. If instructors convey a sabbatical for a yr or receive got to convey a suspension for other reasons, it is upwards to me to detect an teacher for that cluster. I besides effort to expand to to a greater extent than clusters to improve the programme for students. This yr nosotros had 800 applicants only tin alone receive got 200 since we’re express past times budget together with the number of beds inward the dorm. Twelve years ago, nosotros alone had vii clusters, together with instantly nosotros receive got 10. I’m ever looking for ways to expand educatee access to the programme to encounter that need.
What receive got been some of your favorite memories from COSMOS?
These commonly come upwards from the students themselves. For example, I consider students perhaps a block or a edifice away waving at me proverb ‘Good morning, Dr. Tu’. That makes me experience really good. I scuba dive regularly, together with 1 fourth dimension I didn't know that the students were at La Jolla Shores. I went diving, together with when I came out I saw the COSMOS students at that spot together with nosotros had fun talking inward a unlike environment. So that was a keen opportune moment.
What takeaways should students acquire from COSMOS?
One of import takeaway is teamwork, because hither nosotros emphasize squad projects. In existent life projects are really complex together with require multi-disciplinary teams of people.
What receive got been some of your favorite squad projects?
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| COSMOS students larn close biodiesel from renewable sources |
I recall a Cluster 1 squad projection developed a robot that had an arm that picked upwards trash, similar crumpled upwards paper. Then the arm would pick it upwards together with motility it to a trash can. In Cluster 4 nosotros receive got students who laid structures amongst glue, saccharide or some sticks together with and then set them on a milk shiver tabular array thus they milk shiver together with autumn apart, together with then receive got them laid a similar 1 amongst reinforcement. In my ain cluster five I was impressed amongst a dyad of students who proposed their ain projects, since nosotros commonly suggest projects for students to function on, though students tin suggest their own. One matter a grouping proposed together with genuinely did was laid a Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation keyboard, which was a really impressive project.
What would yous tell is your favorite component of COSMOS?
My favorite component would last the students, peculiarly coming together amongst them. Another favorite component is genuinely didactics COSMOS students, who are eager to larn together with all really practiced students. They inquire keen questions! Yesterday, the Discovery Lecture speaker told me at the destination that all the COSMOS students asked to a greater extent than questions than the students inward her class. I intend that's my favorite component is that there's to a greater extent than interaction. It's practiced to know that the students are curious.
Anything for the students to await forrard to inward COSMOS?
They should await forrard to finishing their project. The projects are opened upwards ended thus they demand to function difficult to the really end. With projects it's ever amazing to consider the departure betwixt the initial concept together with the destination product. You don't know what's going to tumble out since at that spot are obstacles. Students acquire to experience this feel of achievement together with accomplishment. I don't intend they volition await forrard to departing at the destination from their friends.
Favorite dependent plain inward high school?
My favorite dependent plain inward high schoolhouse was math. I liked to solve puzzles.
How did yous acquire interested inward scientific discipline together with engineering?
I grew upwards inward Taiwan together with moved to this the world inward Grade 10, only my English linguistic communication was non really good. I could non study biological scientific discipline since the names were thus long together with difficult to pronounce. Math was a universal linguistic communication together with much easier for me, together with physics used a lot of math.
What close electrical engineering? You're instantly inward EE.
I did my Ph.D. inward applied science. Then I was hired past times ATT/ Bell Labs. I was doing something called service scientific discipline together with used a technique called spectroscopy to mensurate the holding of metallic surfaces together with used similar techniques to study semiconductors together with the surface of devices. Then I was hired into Bell Labs together with was assigned to convey over a lab which grows semi-conductors inward sparse films together with transistors. At that time, transistors was electrical engineering. I was inward a really practiced seat inward the fellowship together with good supported. However, my fellowship wanted to motility my subdivision from New Bailiwick of Jersey to Pennsylvania to last some the factory. I idea if I receive got to move, I powerfulness every bit good await around. So I ended upwards hither at UC San Diego.
Do yous detect that yous similar enquiry improve than industry?
I detect that I made the correct determination to come upwards to academia. We are a enquiry academy together with nosotros receive got to acquire grants to hire graduate students. Each professor is an entrepreneur—we are basically a small-scale company. I'm ever interacting amongst brilliant Ph.D. students, thus I larn a lot from my students. Research is generating novel knowledge. Through this interaction amongst students it enriches my life. I intend that I made the correct choice.
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