Maria Pallavicini Jeff R. Wright Dean of Natural Sciences Dean of Engineering University of California, Merced Introducing: Natural Sciences and Engineering at UC Merced at UC Merced September 10, 2002

Our Educational Presence… Valley Learning Centers

April, 2002

Our First Three Buildings: August, ‘04

Campus – Phase One (August ’04)

Full Build-Out…

Drivers for our Academic Planning Relieve academic pressure on our sister UCs Providing viable pathways for Valley students Becoming valuable to our constituencies Synergy across divisions and institutes

Our Vision for Science & Engineering Close integration among disciplines –Facilities planning –Faculty hiring –Curriculum design and implementation –Student recruiting Multidisciplinary research innovation Student-centered teaching/learning Unparalleled student retention rates Coordinated outreach initiatives

Opening Day Engineering Majors Opening Day MajorsTracks Environmental Engineering Watershed Restoration Water Resources Management Air Resources Systems Computer Engineering Networking/Network Modeling Informatics/Database Methods Software Engineering

Opening Day Science Majors Opening Day MajorsTracks Biological Sciences Microbiology & Immunology Molecular & Cell Biology Earth Systems Sciences Atmospheric Science Biosphere

Opening Day SS/H/A Majors Opening Day MajorsTracks History & World Cultures Anthropology/Sociology History Art History Literature Social & Behavioral Sciences Economics Psychology

Graduate Programs Quantitative Biology Environmental Systems Computer & Information Systems World History and Cultures Social and Behavioral Sciences

Next Natural Sciences Majors…? Chemistry Biochemistry Statistics Math Human Biology Physics

Next Engineering Majors…? Bioengineering Chemical Engineering Electrical Engineering Materials Science & Engineering Industrial Engineering Mechanical/Civil Engineering

Chemical Biology and Materials Water, Air, Land Resources Quantitative Biology Complex Systems Modeling Energy Engineering SHAA Natural Sciences WCI Human Biology NS/Eng Targeted Areas of Research Excellence SNRI Bioengineering

Human Biology Program: Melding Science and Engineering Mechanisms of biological processes Public health Disease pathogenesis Preparing health professionals Community service Human Biology Health Care Delivery

Reaching Valley Kids (Perhaps our greatest challenge) Attrition rate in high school is too high (over 30%) Latino success rate even worse: only 5% of 9th graders able to start college without remediation after 4 years Shortage of qualified teachers, especially in rural schools Teacher compensation not competitive Only 6.7% of Valley residents are college graduates (13% Statewide and 20% in the Bay Area)

Special Challenges for Science and Engineering Fewer than 37% of math and science teachers in the Valley hold math or science education degrees A significant fraction of math/science teachers have never had a college level math or science course Only about 20% of students in Merced County take the SAT 4th and 8th grade math and science scores among worst in country

Enrolled in JC/CC Total NS/Eng. Degrees Awarded Transferred into CSU/UC Ns/Eng Current 9 th Graders Fraction who will graduate Admission to UC/CSU Admitted to NS/Eng. NS/Eng Degree Awarded Alternate Paths to Engineering Careers 465,000

Development Board for Natural Science and Engineering Assistance in nurturing development opportunities Leveraging our partnership network The “ideal” graduate Support of our outreach initiatives

Engineering Health Care Delivery Health care accounts for 14% of GDP Yet relatively little attention has been focused on optimizing performance, or monitoring performance Resulting in a widening cultural divide –Physicians focused on patient relationships and improvements in individual quality-of-care –Administrators focused on cost control and business productivity Productivity of both parties has been undermined Leadership has traditionally been limited to medicine and public health An infusion of engineering methodologies is prescribed!

The Role of Engineering in Health Care Delivery Macro-level modeling and analysis of critical issues –Distribution of staff and services –Size, type, and location of treatment facilities –Telemedicine systems design and development Managing chronic illness 80% of HC costs) –Scheduling key professionals and facilities –Designing effective resource allocation strategies –Developing meaningful metrics and assessment strategies –Modeling and managing use of medical technology Developing effective partnerships –Health care professionals and institutions –Federal agencies –UCSF –Groups like the Leapfrog Initiative

Managing Medical Technology Advances in medical technology yield scarce, and extremely expensive diagnostic capabilities, medications, and artificial tissues and prosthetics. Proven engineering methods from other settings can be adapted to reduce cost, and improve the quality and efficiency of manufacturing and distribution (engineers have been doing this for a long time!) Managing options effectively requires partnership between health care professionals and engineering decision scientists. –Quality and productivity –Equity and coverage Leadership limited to medicine and public health An infusion of engineering methods is prescribed!