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Message
from the Dean
July 2002
Friends
of the College of Engineering,
John
Neerhout, a Berkeley mechanical engineering graduate, is
responsible for linking England and France across the English
Channel by what has become known as the Chunnel. He challenged
engineering graduates to "dare great things" at
the College's commencement last month.
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Summer is upon
us and the Campus profile has changed once again to reflect a higher
percentage of graduate students and visitors, as most of our undergraduates
head off for the summer. It has been a busy month, with highlights
including graduation at the end of May, our second annual Berkeley
in Silicon Valley day in early June, and a retirement celebration
for former Chancellor and engineering colleague Chang-Lin Tien this
past Saturday.
One of our most distinguished alumni and a recipient of our Distinguished
Engineering Alumni Award, John Neerhout (ME '53), congratulated
our graduates and their families at our traditional Greek Theatre
ceremony. John challenged our graduates to "dare great things" and
to "ask questions, listen and learn" as he described his leadership
role in the gigantic England-France Eurotunnel project—certainly
an engineering wonder of the modern world.
This year's Berkeley in Silicon Valley workshop was held
in San Jose and featured many of our most distinguished faculty
as they presented overviews of their work in Biotechnology, Nanotechnology,
and projects related to CITRIS—especially ubiquitous wireless
networks and their application in remote sensing and disaster management.
This year's meeting was co-hosted by the Colleges of Chemistry and
the Physical Sciences, indicative of the increasing levels of cross-disciplinary
work in new materials and nano-systems.
Joe
Costello, the CEO of think3, Inc., wowed attendees at this
year's Berkeley in Silicon Valley event with his talk on
the qualities of an entrepreneur.
Peg Skorpinski photo
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But the real
highlight of the meeting this year was certainly our keynote speaker,
Joe Costello. A Berkeley physics graduate, Joe has had a very
distinguished career as an entrepreneur and corporate leader. He
and I had agreed that he would speak to the topic of how one might
identify an entrepreneur, but after he saw the agenda and the titles
some of our faculty were using for their talks he modified his title
to: "Multi-pass Remote Sensing Technology for Entrepreneur Identification."
In a word, his presentation was brilliant. As chemistry dean Clayton
Heathcock said to me as he was leaving the session, "I think that
could have been the best talk I have ever heard." Joe has agreed
to come to Berkeley in the fall and repeat his presentation for
our students. We will be sure to let you know when that is happening
and make sure his presentation is webcast.
Last Saturday, Mechanical Engineering, the College and the Campus
paid tribute to one of our most distinguished colleagues on the
occasion of his retirement, our former Chancellor and friend Chang-Lin
Tien. Many of Professor Tien's more than sixty Ph.D. students
reflected upon his research contributions and the personal impact
his inspiration and guidance has had on their lives. A very distinguished
group of national and international university presidents, chancellors,
and research leaders also testified to the major impact Chancellor
Tien has had on education, research, and international relations
throughout the world. It was a moving tribute to a wonderful
colleague who truly embodies the Berkeley culture and spirit we
all aspire to. The full-day program was recorded and webcast.
Finally, we have selected a date for the reopening of the renovated
Hearst Memorial Mining Building—Sunday, September 22nd.
Please save the date and more details will follow soon.
Have a great summer and, as we all recall Chang-Lin saying with
unparalleled conviction: GO BEARS!
/rich
A. Richard Newton
Dean, College of Engineering and
the Roy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering
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