NSF US-China IRES Program:
Summer 2008
Program Description
Scientific and technological research and education
are increasingly global in nature. Other countries are increasing their
investments in these areas. It is critically important for the nation¡¯s science
and technology enterprise that the US scientists and engineers, at the early
stages in their careers, develop international experiences and capabilities to
support and participate in these activities. Efforts to expose future
generations of US scientists and engineers to first-hand professional
experiences beyond the nation¡¯s borders, and addition of international dimensions
to our scientific and technological education models are essential to the
future of the nation.
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
under the International Research Experience for Students (IRES) Program, Prof.
Albert Wang is leading a three-year US-China IRES Program that will offer
selected undergraduate students from the University of California System direct
international scientific and technological research and education experience.
This IRES Program will recruit four students (mainly undergraduate students
from UC, but may be opened to students from other universities too) to spend
about six weeks of summer time in China to gain international dimension in
scientific and technological education. For the 2008 IRES Program, the selected
students will travel to China in the summer and spend about three weeks in each
of the two selected hosting universities in China to participate in a series of
carefully designed academic and cultural activities with local Chinese
students. The two participating host universities in China in 2008 are the
Tsinghua University (TU) in Beijing and the University of Electronic Science
and Technology of China (UESTC) in Chengdu, Sichuan. All travel expenses are
covered by the IRES Program and a stipend will be provided as well to cover
general expenses in China. The selected students will also spend two weeks at
the LICS to prepare technically for the US-China activities.
Engineering undergraduate students at Junior/Senior
level and with good academic standing are encouraged to apply for the 2008
US-China IRES Program. Female students and those from under-represented
minority groups are particularly welcome to participate in this Program. The
students must be US citizens or legal Permanent Resident. For any inquiry,
please contact Prof. Albert Wang at 417 EUB2 or via email at aw@ee.ucr.edu.
Objectives
¡¤
To expose US
undergraduate students to a competent and vibrant micro/nano-electronics
research environment in China for first-hand experiences in international
research collaboration.
¡¤
To encourage US
students to develop a constructive and open-minded attitude in dealing, working
and co-existing with foreign colleagues and cultures.
¡¤
To offer US
students an opportunity to learn directly about China and Chinese people
through research and cultural interactions.
Research & Educational Contents
¡¤
To perform
hands-on experiments in design and fabrication of semiconductor structures for
RF and mixed-signal integrated circuits (IC).
¡¤
To learn advanced
semiconductor fabrication and measurement technologies in state-of-the-art
semiconductor facilities.
¡¤
To learn
electronic circuit design and testing skills.
Cultural Contents
¡¤
To work in pairs
with hosting Chinese students.
¡¤
To experience
cultural shocks in China.
¡¤
To explore local
historical and scenic Chinese sites.
¡¤
To experience
everyday Chinese life.
¡¤
To participate in
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Host Chinese Institutions
¡¤
Institute of
Microelectronics, Tsinghua University (IMETU), Beijing, China.
URL: www.tsinghua.edu.cn
o
Tsinghua is the
most prestigious engineering school in China and a world famous university as
well. The Institute of Microelectronics where this IRES program will be
conducted has the state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication facility including
advanced clean room laboratory and nano technology research set-ups.
o
Beijing ¨C the
Capital of China that is the home for countless of world famous historical
sites, such as, Forbidden City, Great Wall and Summer Palace, etc.
¡¤
University of
Electronics Sciences and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
URL:
www.uestc.edu.cn
o
UESTC is the one
of the most prestigious universities in China in the field of Microelectronics
and has the cutting-edge research and teaching facilities for semiconductors on
its campus.
o
UESTC is located
in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, the southwest part of China, more
than one kilometer from Beijing.
o
Yes, Sichuan is
the hometown of the famous and cute PANDA.
o
Yes, Sichuan is
the home for the world famous SPICY Chinese food.
o
And more and
more, ¡..
Financial Supports
2008 US-China NSF IRES Program Timelines
2/1-15/08 IRES
application window
2/20/08 IRES
winners announced
2/25/08 Winner
acceptance due
2/26-3/10/08 IRES
paperwork
4/1-5/31/08 IRES
pre-departure technical orientation at LICS (Time TBD)
4/1-6/20/08 IRES
pre-departure orientations (legal, language, culture, etc., Time TBD)
6/30/08 Depart
LAX for Beijing
7/1-20/08 IRES
Session-1 at Tsinghua University in Beijing
7/21-8/10/08 IRES
Session-2 at UESTC in Chengdu, Sichuan
8/11-20/08 IRES
Session-3 at Tsinghua University in Beijing
8/21/08 Depart
Beijing for LAX
9/22/08 IRES
Team Report due
10/10/08 Post-IRES
Seminar at UCR
Student Qualifications:
¡¤
Number of IRES
students to be selected: Four.
¡¤
All applications
Forms must be completed and submitted by the deadline.
¡¤
Selection
Criteria:
o US
Citizenship or Permanent Residents.
o Engineering Junior/Senior students, ECE major
preferred.
o Prior experiences in conducting research-oriented
course projects.
o Strong interests in research and self-motivation for
course projects.
o Good academic standing with GPA = 3.0+ preferred.
o Strong interests in foreign cultures, history and
environments.
o Women and under-represented minority students are
strongly encouraged.
o Demonstrated social, team and volunteer service
experiences.
Pre-IRES Preparation:
¡¤
Selected IRES
students will go through intensive technical training at the Laboratory for
Integrated Circuits and Systems (LICS). The technical training will be
conducted during the period of April 1st to May 31st,
2008. Detailed technical orientation time will be scheduled later.
¡¤
Legal, language,
cultural and travel orientations will be provided during the period of April 1st
to June 20th, 2008.
Post-IRES Activities:
¡¤
The IRES will submit a Team Report by September 22nd, 2008.
¡¤
IRES to organize a post-IRES Seminar at UCR on October 10th,
2008.
¡¤
IRES Exist Surveys will be conducted for NSF.
How To Apply?
¡¤
Please email your
Applications to aw@ee.ucr.edu
¡¤
Email Subject
line states: IRES Application.
¡¤
In the email
body, provide the following information:
o
Full name and
student ID#,
o
If US citizen or
Permanent Resident,
o
Your Majors,
o
Which Grade are
you in,
o
Your GPA = ?
o
Your contact
information including mailing address, phone number and email,
o
A brief Statement
on your motivation,
Natural and Historical Scenes
Beijing
The Great Wall
The Temple of Heaven
The Summer Palace
The TianAnMen: Center of
Beijing
August 8 ¨C 24, 2008
The Bird¡¯s Nest ¨C The National
Stadium for the Games 2008
The Water Cube ¨C National Aquatics
Center
Chengdu, Sichuan
Habitats for Great Pandas
The JiuZhaiGou Ravine
The Ermei Maintain: 3098M
above the sea where you can interact with monkeys.
Sanxingdui Museum: Ancient
civilizations of 5000 years old.
Leshan Giant Buddha: the
largest stone sculpture Buddha in world, 71M high and completed 1500 years ago.
The Dujiangyan Irrigation
System: a great water conservation work built more than 2000 years ago that is
still functioning today.