UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
Name	UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
Established	1945
Type	Private-public research
Dean	Kristina M. Johnson
City	Los Angeles
State	California
Country	United States
Campus	Westwood

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is the engineering school of the University of California, Los Angeles, formed to advance research and education in applied science and technology. It contributes to innovation in areas ranging from electrical engineering and bioengineering to aerospace and computer science, partnering with industry leaders, federal laboratories, and international institutions. The school supports interdisciplinary work that intersects with organizations and events such as NASA, DARPA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy.

History

The school's origins trace to post‑World War II expansion and ties to industrial partners like Lockheed, Northrop, and Hughes Aircraft, and to federal programs such as the G.I. Bill. Early leadership collaborated with figures associated with the Manhattan Project, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and RAND Corporation, while alumni contributed to Silicon Valley companies including Hewlett‑Packard, Intel, and Fairchild Semiconductor. Throughout the Cold War era, faculty engaged with projects linked to Bell Labs, IBM Research, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the campus hosted conferences featuring delegates from MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and Princeton. Philanthropic gifts from alumni and companies including Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Henry Samueli reshaped facilities, echoing support patterns seen at institutions such as Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Academic Programs

Undergraduate curricula include programs comparable to offerings at Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign, with bachelor's degrees in fields that mirror majors at Columbia University and Cornell University. Graduate programs award master's and doctoral degrees aligned with standards of the California Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, and twin professional degrees interface with law schools and business schools such as Harvard Law School and the Wharton School. Joint programs and certificates draw collaborative frameworks from partnerships like those between Yale University and the National Institutes of Health, and dual‑degree tracks reference models at the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University.

Departments and Research Centers

Departments include analogues to those at Stanford University and the University of Michigan: Bioengineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Research centers emulate multidisciplinary initiatives at institutions such as the Broad Institute and Salk Institute, with centers focused on robotics, quantum information, nanotechnology, and sustainable infrastructure. Affiliated centers collaborate with national laboratories including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, and international partners such as ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, and Tsinghua University.

Admissions and Student Life

Admissions competitiveness parallels selective programs at Brown University, Dartmouth College, and Rice University, with applicants entering from high schools like Phillips Exeter Academy, Stuyvesant High School, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Student organizations reflect models at UCLA, Princeton University, and the University of Chicago, including chapters of professional societies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Society of Automotive Engineers. Career fairs and recruiting events feature employers like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, SpaceX, and Northrop Grumman, and students pursue internships at Intel, Tesla, Facebook, and Pfizer, while participating in competitions hosted by ASME, IEEE, and DARPA.

Facilities and Campus

The school occupies buildings on the Westwood campus adjacent to landmarks such as Royce Hall and Powell Library, with facilities renovated through campaigns resembling those at the Rockefeller University and the University of Oxford. Laboratories house equipment comparable to cleanrooms at the Cornell NanoScale Facility, wind tunnels similar to those at the University of Southampton, and high‑performance computing clusters used in collaborations with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The campus incorporates maker spaces, teaching labs, and innovation hubs modeled after the MIT Media Lab and the Stanford d.school, supporting student teams working on projects with Boeing, General Dynamics, and Samsung.

Research and Innovation

Research output aligns with publications in journals like Nature, Science, IEEE Transactions, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and faculty secure grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Institutes of Health. Technology transfer activities resemble programs at Columbia Technology Ventures and the Stanford Office of Technology Licensing, yielding startups that join incubators like Y Combinator, Plug and Play, and Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. Collaborative projects have produced contributions to semiconductor advances associated with Intel and IBM, optical communications tied to AT&T Bell Labs, and biomedical devices comparable to innovations from the Scripps Research Institute.

Notable Faculty and Alumni

Faculty and alumni have affiliations or honors connected to institutions and awards including the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the Turing Award, the IEEE Medal of Honor, and the MacArthur Fellowship. Graduates have held leadership roles at companies such as Netflix, Oracle, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and Cisco, and in government and research organizations like NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Communications Commission. Distinguished visitors and collaborators have come from universities and labs including Harvard University, Yale University, Caltech, the Salk Institute, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Category:University of California, Los Angeles