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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY MAY 16, 2008 VOL. 78, NO. 9S engineeringNews Congratulations graduates! You have much to be proud of.You’ve had your learning curve and your capacity for knowledge tested by some of the brightest teachers and researchers on the planet. You’ve survived all they could throw at you: the coursework, the problem sets, the labs and the late nights. You’ve mastered the hardest majors Berkeley has to offer. That in itself is no small feat. But you have not just learned about cool new technologies. You have acquired the tools to create new knowledge and to be technology leaders in a global arena. I’m confident that each of you will soon be leading teams of innovators and providing solutions to the most complex problems confronting society. I look forward to reading about your accomplishments in newspapers and journals years hence. As you head out into the world to shape your individual careers, I encourage you to look not just at the technology you’re creating or the system you’re building, but at the people around you—even the ones you’ll never meet—and their many needs. You have the capacity to make their lives better. That is the hallmark of a Berkeley Engineer. In honor of your past and future accomplishments, we dedicate this issue of Engineering News to you. Please keep in touch with one another and with us; we’d love to hear your next success story. On behalf of all of us at the College, best wishes and, again, congratulations! —S. Shankar Sastry, Dean UC Berkeley College of Engineering 2 0 0 4 – 2 0 0 8 < special commencement issue > AARON WALBURG PHOTO AARON WALBURG PHOTO
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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
MAY 16, 2008 VOL. 78, NO. 9S
engineeringNews
Congratulations graduates!You have much to be proud of. You’vehad your learning curve and your capacityfor knowledge tested by some of thebrightest teachers and researchers on theplanet. You’ve survived all they couldthrow at you: the coursework, theproblem sets, the labs and the latenights. You’ve mastered the hardestmajors Berkeley has to offer. That initself is no small feat.
But you have not just learnedabout cool new technologies.You have acquired the tools tocreate new knowledge and to be
technology leaders in a global arena.I’m confident that each of you will soon be leading
teams of innovators and providing solutions to the mostcomplex problems confronting society. I look forwardto reading about your accomplishments in newspapers andjournals years hence.
As you head out into the world to shape your individualcareers, I encourage you to look not just at the technologyyou’re creating or the system you’re building, but at thepeople around you—even the ones you’ll never meet—andtheir many needs. You have the capacity to make their livesbetter. That is the hallmark of a Berkeley Engineer.
In honor of your past and future accomplishments, wededicate this issue of Engineering News to you. Please keep intouch with one another and with us; we’d love to hear yournext success story. On behalf of all of us at the College, bestwishes and, again, congratulations!
—S. Shankar Sastry, DeanUC Berkeley College of Engineering
2004
–2008
<special commencement issue>
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RichardBlumstands
quite tall. Atwell over sixfeet, he’s atoweringfigure in theworlds ofbusiness and
philanthropy.He’s also a mountaineer and
world traveler, a Cal graduate and thisyear’s keynote speaker.
In 1981, Blum found himself at17,600 feet above sea level, organizer ofan American expedition to chart the
Class of 2008 Facts
2 MAY 16, 2008engineeringNews
678Students receiving bachelor’sdegrees
18Percentage who are women
93Percentage who are fromCalifornia
34Percentage with a GPA of 3.5or higher
5Students with a GPA of 4.0
27Percentage who transferredas juniors
19Age of youngest graduate
55Age of oldest graduate
Senior moments from Engineering News
CEE senior Elyse Wong, an NCAAAcademic All-American on the CalWomen’s Gymnastics team, becameone of four Cal student athleteshonored with a $3,000 Pac-10Postgraduate Scholarship for futuregraduate work. Next year, she’ll goto Stanford for graduate school instructural engineering.
Last year ME senior Dan Dzoan solveda 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube one-handed in17.9 seconds, setting what was then aworld record in speedcubing. Dzoanalso led cubing classes and helped foundthe Rubik’s Cube Club on campus. Notbad for someone who learned to solvethe puzzle two years earlier.
It was BioE senior David Shis’s lasttango in Berkeley. Shis competed withthe UC Berkeley Ballroom Dancersteam for the final time in April, havingrisen to its championship level ofcompetition within a few years. He andhis dance partner placed third, sealingtheir reputation as one of Cal’s bestdancing duos.
“Q. Did you hear the one about thedyslexic devil worshiper? A. He soldhis soul to Santa.” You can find thisjoke on “Jester: Jokes for Your Senseof Humor” and rate whether it’s funnyor not. Based on the results, Jesterrecommends other jokes suited toyour taste. The researcher behind thesoftware was EECS senior TaviNathanson, who turned Jester into aserious project: his master’s thesis.
Class of 2008 makes College of Engineering headlines
NEXT GENERATION: In February, seven engineeringsocieties hosted “Engineering for Kids Day,” a newoutreach event conceived of and run entirely byBerkeley students to introduce engineering to localschoolchildren. The popular event was organizedby ME senior Nick Galano, pictured here with ayoung participant.
first modern route up the eastern flankof Mount Everest. Ultimately, the teamwas forced to abandon its summitattempt, but Blum’s life continued onan upward trajectory.
Today, the Berkeley MBA graduate ischairman of his own investment firm,Blum Capital Partners, which manages$3 billion in assets. He’s married toDianne Feinstein, former San Franciscomayor, now a U.S. senator. He chairsthe UC Board of Regents and enjoysfriendships with the Dalai Lama, AlGore and Jimmy Carter.
Yet the 72-year-old continues tofollow his passion for the Himalayas,inspired by its geography and people.He started a nonprofit called the
American Himalayan Foundation,which builds schools, health clinicsand clean water systems in the region.
Recently, Blum organized a team toconquer another great height: globalpoverty. In 2006, he donated $15 mil-lion to launch UC Berkeley’s Richard C.Blum Center for Developing Economies,an interdisciplinary teaching andresearch center to alleviate poverty.
Berkeley Engineering, says Blum,plays a key role in the center’s transferof technology to the developing world.“This is where innovation is making adifference,” he says. “Engineering is thenuts and bolts of how you improvepeople’s lives.”
View from the summit: Richard Blum, financier andphilanthropist, to deliver 2008 Commencement remarks
<class of 2008>
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3MAY 16, 2008 engineeringNews
Widya Mulyasasmita, BioEHometown: Jakarta, IndonesiaGPA: 4.0Best Berkeley moment: “Watchingthe total lunar eclipse from theBig C during freshman year.”Plans after graduation: Graduateschool at Stanford in bioengineeringWords of wisdom: “Stop and smellthe roses!”
John McLaughlin, CEEHometown: Davis, CaliforniaGPA: 3.96Best Berkeley moment: “Competingin spring break tournaments inAustin,Texas, with the CalUltimate Frisbee team.”Plans after graduation:Work at IRISEnvironmental, an environmentalconsulting firm in OaklandWords of wisdom: “Leave time forwhat you enjoy.”
Matt Johnson, EECSHometown: Hillsborough, CaliforniaGPA: 3.97Best Berkeley moment: “Being a TAfor CS 61C and EE 126. It’s beenrewarding and fun to help my fel-low EECS majors and discovermy own passion for teaching.”Plans after graduation:Graduateschool at MIT in EECSWords of wisdom: “The cake isn’ta lie.”
MeghanaVishvanath, Eng.Sci.Hometown:Cupertino, CaliforniaGPA: UndisclosedBest Berkeley moment: “Moving intoBarrows House sophomore yearand getting the opportunity to livewith and meet wonderful people!”Plans after graduation: Graduateschool at Stanford’s Institute forComputational and MathematicalEngineeringWords of wisdom: “Optimism, dili-gence, passion and humor.”
Asmita Karandikar, IEORHometown:Concord, CaliforniaGPA: 3.96Best Berkeley moment:“Remembering all the fun timesI’ve spent with my closest friends.”Plans after graduation:Graduateschool at Stanford in managementscience and engineeringWords of wisdom: “Never stopdreaming.”
To sayBioE/MSE
senior WidyaMulyasasmitahas a phe-nomenal aca-demic recordis an under-
statement. She gradu-ates with a perfect GPA, including
more than 20 A+’s, and top honors from the BioEdepartment (see citation winners above). Mulyasasmita has alsovolunteered at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital and conductsgraduate-level research in BioE/MSE professor Kevin Healy’sBiomimetic Materials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, whereshe’s exploring biomedical materials. (Next year, she’ll headacross the bay to Stanford for a Ph.D. in bioengineering.) Butdon’t think this native of Indonesia is all work and no play.You’ll find her hiking the Berkeley hills and unwinding at thepiano. “UC Berkeley has been my dream school,”she says.
BioE junior Tim Fei brings an unbridled enthusiasm formath and science to all his tutoring activities. As a graduatestudent instructor for his favorite class, organic chemistry, hevolunteers to lead an extra discussion group above andbeyond his routine responsibilities so students can ask ques-tions and explore ideas. “OChem is a cool mental workout,”says Fei, who has a 3.8 GPA. “I just love the synthesis.” Inaddition to his GSI job, he tutors for the campus AcademicService Center and volunteered at Berkeley High School, help-ing local teenagers. He recently lobbied the BioE departmentto start a peer advising and tutoring program, which now fea-tures four volunteers helping their fellow majors. And thistutor can jive; Fei dances with a local swing troupe.
Daan Stevenson, MEHometown: Los Altos, CaliforniaGPA: 4.0Best Berkeley moment: “Finding CalCycling, and every weekend I gotto race bikes.”Plans after graduation: Either afellowship in Geneva, Switzerland,or work and travelWords of wisdom: “Find your nicheand enjoy.”
KarenYee Man Cheng, MSEHometown:Hong Kong, ChinaGPA: 3.97Best Berkeley moment: “Taking napsin the library.”Plans after graduation:Graduateschool at Stanford in mechanicalengineeringWords of wisdom:“Eat, sleep andtravel lots!”
Tingzhou Fei, NEHometown: Shenyang, ChinaGPA: 3.84Best Berkeley moment: “Studyingwith friends in a study group. Itdoesn’t make homework easier butmakes learning more fascinating.”Plans after graduation:Graduateschool at MIT in nuclear scienceand engineeringWords of wisdom: “Rainbows alwayscome after a storm.”
BechtelAchievementAward:Widya Mulyasasmita, BioE/MSEBechtel Engineering Scholarship: Tim Fei, BioE
CitationWinners
CITED: From left, Meghana Vishvanath, Matt Johnson, Karen Yee ManCheng, John McLaughlin, Widya Mulyasasmita, Asmita Karandikar, TingzhouFei and Daan Stevenson. These students have been recognized by theirrespective departments for distinguished excellence in their majors.
<award-winning>
HIGHEST COLLEGE HONORS: Widya Mulyasasmita won the BechtelAchievement Award, which is given to a senior with outstanding scholasticachievement and service to the College, campus and community. Tim Feiwon the Bechtel Engineering Scholarship, which is awarded to a sopho-more or junior for scholastic performance, student leadership and potentialfor success in an engineering career.
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F A L L 2 0 0 7 TO S P R I N G 2 0 0 8<the year in pictures>
4 MAY 16, 2008engineeringNews
BUGS TO BLOOD
: A team of Cal undergr
aduates,
including BioE st
udents, demonstrat
ed how genetically
modifiedE. coli
bacteria might be
converted into a
cheap and safe blo
od substitute. The
engineered produc
t,
called“Bacto
blood,”addres
ses a globalshortag
e
of human blood for tra
nsfusions.
RECORD RESEARCH: EECS sen-ior Henry Wang is helping torestore valuable recordingsfor Project IRENE, which ispreserving collections ofmusic, speeches and other
audio recordings for the Libraryof Congress.
STEPPING UP: EECS/BioE/MEprofessor Shankar Sastrybecame the new dean ofthe College on July 1, 2007.
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BALANCED: CE
E senior Elyse
Wong performs a floor ex
ercise
routine, one o
f many during her fou
r-yearcareer
with the
Cal Women’s Gy
mnasticsteam.
REFLECTINGSUCCESS: InJuly, EECSPh.D. studentDonovan Lee(with wafer)received the“Best StudentPaper Award”
at the 2007 InternationalSymposium on VLSITechnology, Systems andApplications.
KEEN EYE, STEADY HAND:ME junior Keaton Chiahopes to compete in the2012 Olympics. Chia iscaptain of the Cal Archeryteam.
IMETERS TO SPARE: ME freshman Dylan Brown checks howwell a driver fits in the frame of Cal’s formu-la-style, small-scale race car. The race carteam is steering for a top 10 finish this Juneat the Formula SAE West competition.
DATA SHARING: ME juniorNancy Huynh helps a youngparticipant build a mini rock-et at “Engineering for KidsDay,” a new, undergraduate-led outreach event to intro-duce engineering to children.
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<looking back>
1. Dance to your iPod music onthe way to Etcheverry.
2. Wear sunscreen. SPF 15 at least.
3. Never, ever, be afraid to askfor help.
4. Remember the past and futuredon’t exist — they only exist asthought.
5. Show up late to linear program-ming class rather than not at all.
6. Exercise. Your mind and bodywill thank you.
7. Remember life is five percentwhat happens and 95 percenthow you react.
8. Spend at least one sunny after-noon at the Berkeley Marina.
9. Know that you can plan to takeaction in the future, but genuineaction can only be taken NOW.
10. Do your engineering problemset ahead of time.
11. Then go to office hours.
12. Visit Bakesale Betty’s onTelegraph and 51st.
13. Share.
14. Don’t concern yourself aboutwhat others think about you.That’s their business, not yours.
15. Live beneath your means.
16. Make friends with the personnext to you in physics class. You’llboth be grateful.
17. Laugh. Most important, laughat yourself.
18. Remember that you can keepgoing long after you can’t.
Eighteen things I’ve learned in the past four yearsBy IEOR senior Audrey Fischer
6 MAY 16, 2008engineeringNews
REFLECTIONS: IEOR senior Audrey Fischer is this year’s student speaker at Commencement.
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Celebrating the life of ChrisWootton
As the Class of 2008 prepares to graduate, our engineering community honors thememory of NE senior Christopher J. Wootton, who was killed during an altercationnear campus on May 3. Wootton’s academic accomplishments were many: a 3.8
GPA; membership in Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society; research atLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and acceptance in NE’s graduate program,researching nuclear materials with associate professor Brian Wirth.
But Wootton found more than just academic success at Cal. He found brotherhood inthe fraternity Sigma Pi, where he served as an officer. He found truth in his Christian faith,where he took part in Bible study groups. He found love and friendship in his personalrelationships, where he connected with so many people.
“Time has flown by ridiculously fast,” he said, when asked to look back on his Berkeleyexperience. “I still remember the first days of class as a freshman, where everythingseemed so much larger than me. I never thought I would be able to surmount it all; but Ihave and look forward to the future opportunities that have resulted.”
Wootton will be honored at the College’s Commencement ceremony.
IN MEMORIAM: Christopher J. Wootton
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7MAY 16, 2008 engineeringNews
<looking forward>Graduates Of the Last Decade program keeps you connected!
Whether you’re off to graduateschool or to start a new job,the College invites you to
remain in touch with your new commu-nity, the Berkeley Engineering GOLDcommunity, or Graduates Of the LastDecade.
“GOLD offers young alums thechance to stay connected with theCollege and with each other,” explainsMisha Leybovich (B.S.’05 Eng. Physics).“We live and work in an increasingly
Get involved now by [email protected].
networked world, and the relationshipswe maintain enrich our lives throughfriendships and career connections.”
Get involved in these ways:
FUN EVENTS: For Bay Area alumni,GOLD offers activities such as happyhours, speed networking and sea kayak-ing with Cal Adventures. Meet up withold friends, make new ones and network!
BEYOND BERKELEY: Expand the GOLDprogram and become a liaison for your
local area. The college wants to buildlocal GOLD community groups acrossthe country; a few key areas include theBay Area, Southern California, Illinois,Massachusetts, New York, Texas andWashington State. Be a part of this effort!
GIVE BACK: The College alwaysappreciates alumni who make charitablecontributions to the Berkeley EngineeringAnnual Fund and who encourage othersto do so. The fund supports studentleadership opportunities, undergraduateresearch programs, student resources andmuch more. Compete against otherclasses in the GOLD Challenge; it’s nothow much you give but that you give.Your participation is essential!
“We want to make sure that the nextgeneration of students has the sameawesome experience that we recentlyhad at Cal,” says Leybovich. “Wealso want to be sure that our degreescontinue to mean something, and that’scontingent on the College’s continuedexcellence.”
OVER 50,000 STRONG: As a new graduate, you are now a member
of the Berkeley Engineering Alumni family, a community of more
than 50,000 graduates all over the world, including such luminaries
as Apple co-founder SteveWozniak and astronaut Leroy Chiao.You
can stay in touch in many ways: read our biannual Forefront maga-
zine, submit a class note, visit us at Homecoming and say hello to
your favorite professor, mentor an engineering student, recruit stu-
dents to your workplace, or volunteer at Cal Day and share your
insights with prospective students, to name a few.
Welcome to the BerkeleyEngineering Alumni family!
NEW SKILLS, NEW FRIENDS: Alumni get ready to sea kayak in the bay at a GOLD event.
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Go to www.coe.berkeley.edu/alumni/ andjoin Engineering@cal, our online community.
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University of CaliforniaEngineering News312 McLaughlin HallBerkeley, California 94720-1704Phone: 510 642.5857Fax: 510 643.8882
www.coe.berkeley.edu/engnews/index.html
8 MAY 16, 2008engineeringNews
Albert M. Aumentado, MSEHometown: Santa Barbara, CaliforniaPlans:Hoping to do a researchinternship and work in industry andtravel, then later graduate school.“I realized something: People arepeople. I am an engineer. Others willleave here as physicists, chemists,mathematicians, pre-law and whathave you.And for much of my time at
Cal that is how I viewed the student body.But now history, astrophysics, English
majors...They are not just faceless students.They are my friends.”
Maxwell A. Feinglass, CEEHometown: Chicago, IllinoisPlans: Stay in the Bay Area andlook for work.“Existential crisis and the end of childhood.”
Whanwook Chang, BioEHometown:Daejeon, South KoreaPlans: Graduate school at BostonUniversity in bioengineering.“I will be sure to remember the effectiveand rigorous discussions with TAs andprofessors as well as with my peers.”
AdeetiV. Ullal, BioEHometown: Saratoga, CaliforniaPlans: Ph.D. candidate in medicalengineering/medical physics atHarvard-MIT (Health Scienceand Technology Division).“I can't believe this four-year journeyis ending! My favorite part aboutcampus is that it is so filled with life.
From Zellerbach performances to Sproulduring elections to dance and singing
showcases, you can never be bored.”
<parting words>
Zorigt Bazarragchaa, EECSHometown: Hayward, CaliforniaPlans:Work in the field for a coupleof years, go to graduate school, thena startup company.“I found the most important thing, and itwas discovering myself.”
Jean M. Parks, CEEHometown:WestlakeVillage, CaliforniaPlans:Working on my Ph.D. at theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder this fall.“I feel an incredible sense of empowerment tobecome whatever I want and the freedom tochoose the path I take. I will always rememberthe smell of the stairway in Davis Hall and tobe proud of my Berkeley education.”
Q&A:What’s your reaction to graduatingfrom college? What will you remember mostabout Berkeley and your time here?
Adrienne Blair Little, MEHometown: Belmont, CaliforniaPlans: Graduate school at GeorgiaTech to study renewable energy.“I’ll remember running out of the northtunnel of Memorial Stadium for themarching band's pregame show.”
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Mactarun Malik, MEHometown:Chino, CaliforniaPlans: Systems Engineer for VITechnology in Mountain View.“I will remember my collegeexperience as not only a journeywhere I grew in the academicrealm but the social realm.Wherea young teenage boy developed into
a compassionate, ambitious andeducated young man.Where my blood
turned blue and gold. GO BEARS!!!!”
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