Broadcom Fellows Come Together to Exchange Ideas
May 17, 2017 - Twenty electrical engineering and computer science graduate students -- 10 from UC Irvine and 10 from UC Los Angeles -- gathered at UCI’s CALIT2 for the first Broadcom Fellows Student Research Workshop and Symposium, May 10-11, 2017.
Supported by the Broadcom Foundation and under the guidance of Professor G.P. Li at UCI and Professor Ken Yang at UCLA, the fellowship program was established last year. Fellowships at UCI focus on sensors, actuators, controllers, electromagnetic components and 3-D packaging technology, while the fellowships at UCLA center on complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit design, embedded systems design and related areas.
The two-day workshop and symposium provides an opportunity for the 20 students to assemble and share their knowledge and scientific research. Each fellow explained his or her research in a three-minute oral presentation and with a poster session. The students then voted for the best overall winner ($1,000) and runners up ($500) in each category.
The fellows chose Sun Jun Park, UCI, as the overall winner for his work on a wearable sensor for detecting a human’s motion and physiological signals. UCI’s Sina Askari earned runner up in the poster category for his project “Augmenting MEMS-based vestibular prosthesis with smart and connected health.” And UCLA fellow Hani Esmaeelzadeh won runner up in the research presentation category for his study of a robust fast startup technique for high Q oscillators.
Henry Samueli, chair of the Broadcom Foundation and chief technical officer of Broadcom Limited, attended the symposium. “As a former professor, I believe that creating opportunities to share knowledge and explore ideas outside of the laboratory is an essential component of higher education and important for innovation in companies such as Broadcom,” Samueli wrote in a welcome letter printed in the program.
The Broadcom Foundation Fellowship Program provides $25,000 annually to 10 students at each school. Graduate students who have passed their Ph.D. preliminary exams are invited to apply for fellowship funds by submitting research proposals that are evaluated for innovation, creativity and technical merit. Students accepted as Broadcom Foundation Fellows are funded for one year; they may apply for one additional year and will be considered on merit once again. As a required component of the program, all fellows participate in the joint UCI/UCLA annual spring symposium.
UCI fellow Amodh Kant Saxena served as the student chair of the two-day event, which included networking and social activities. Next year’s gathering will be held at UCLA.
– Lori Brandt
