The Center for Wireless Communications (CWC) at the University of California, San Diego, has been awarded $1.5 million in matching funds from the State of California, to complement roughly $2 million in corporate funding for five separate research projects in the wireless arena. The grants from the University’s Communications Research (CoRe) Program will fund research for two years effective August 15, with industry funds coming from twelve CWC member companies including Hughes Network Systems, Texas Instruments, Nokia, Fuji, Conexant, Intersil, STMicro, IdeaEDGE, Ericsson, AMCC, KDDI and Qualcomm.
“This is a vote of confidence in our mission to leverage the synergies of the state, member companies and faculty resources to do the research that will keep the State of California and the nation on the cutting edge of wireless technology,” said Lawrence Larson, CWC director and Communications Industry professor of electrical engineering at UCSD’s Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering. “The CoRe program allows more research to be accomplished in areas that are crucial to the future of society and the wireless telecommunications industry.”
“Our ability to attract this kind of support from our industrial partners and the State underscores the value to industry of our faculty at the CWC and the Jacobs School,” said Robert Conn, dean of the School and a primary force in the creation of the wireless center in 1995. “The success of the CWC is directly attributable to the loyal and increasing support of industry and the State, as well as to the excellence of our faculty research staff.”
“Governor Gray Davis is a champion for industry-university cooperative strategies that advance research and education while simultaneously strengthening the competitiveness of California businesses,” said Susanne Huttner, Associate Vice Provost for Research in the University of California system and Executive Director of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Program (IUCRP), comprised of CoRe and five other targeted matching grant programs. “CWC, and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology in which it participates, are proving that his concept of teaming university researchers, companies and the States is a winning formula that will help California retain businesses and attract new companies and investments.”
The grant—awarded following a rigorous scientific peer review of the research proposal—will be used primarily to support Ph.D. students performing wireless research on five projects, including Enhanced Coverage of High Data Rate Wireless Systems, and Space-Time Processing for Wireless. Larson, who will be a principal investigator on one of the five projects, added: “These projects address some of the most urgent issues facing the wireless world, issues such as achieving higher data rates for wireless internet access and lowering the cost of wireless access for all citizens. At the same time we are educating outstanding Ph.D. students. We want to thank the State and our member companies for making this new commitment to excellence in wireless research.”
About CWC
The Center for Wireless Communications at UCSD offers a cross-disciplinary program of research and education targeted at the emerging needs of the cellular and wireless communications industry. Founded in February 1995, the Center is committed to developing the strong university-industry partnership needed for producing a relevant program of systems and technology-oriented research. With funding from 17 industrial members, the Center places high priority on strategic planning, collaboration, technology transfer, and the generation of highly- trained graduates at all degree levels to meet industrial human resources needs. For more, see http://www-cwc.ucsd.edu/.
About CoRe
CoRe was launched in November 1998 as part of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Program of the State of California. It provides matching funds up to $2 million a year for industry-sponsored research at University of California campuses in the telecommunications area, especially on communication systems and components that will enable anywhere, anytime communications. CoRe is helping to address the problem that no one currently knows how to support the increased level of traffic and the rapidly expanding array of voice and non-voice applications, such as internet access, multimedia e-mail, videoconferencing, entertainment video-on-demand, picture phone, and other new telecommunications applications. More information on CoRe and the IUCRP is available at http://uc-industry.berkeley.edu/sectors/core.htm.
About the Jacobs School
The Jacobs School of Engineering is a premier institution in the midst of vibrant growth. Its strategy is to lead in targeted research areas critical to national technological leadership, the economic prosperity of the region, and the quality of life for people everywhere. Student enrollment includes 3,776 undergraduates and 788 graduates, and 144 faculty are involved in research projects that attracted $112 million in government, industry and endowment funding in the latest fiscal year. Partnership with industry and our community is at the core of the school’s mission: to put the knowledge that the Jacobs School develops to work. The school proactively creates new ways to transfer innovations to the private sector to benefit people everywhere. For more go to http://www.soe.ucsd.edu/.