Baskin SOE Role in California Institutes for Science and Innovation

Institute for Bioengineering, Biotechnology and Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3)

The Institute for Bioengineering, Biotechnology and Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3) is centered at UC San Francisco with major research components at UC Santa Cruz. The institute aims to lead the next revolution in biomedical research through integrating physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences. New techniques from these sciences are being developed for attacking biological problems of enormous complexity. These techniques could lead the way to discovery of treatments and cures for diseases such as brain disorders, cancer, and diabetes.

The sequencing of the human genome is one of several major advances that are revolutionizing biomedical research. Genome sequencing and other "high-throughput" investigative techniques, such as DNA "chips" or microarrays, are enabling scientists to gather enormous amounts of data on gene regulation, protein interactions, and other aspects of complex biological activity. These powerful techniques, however, present major computational challenges because of the huge datasets.

The use of human genomics in the development of new drugs and new diagnostic tools will undoubtedly require new computational methodologies. Bioinformatics meets these challenges by applying advanced information technology to complex problems in biology. Bioinformatics includes techniques that may allow scientists to do experiments on computers rather than in the lab.

The Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering at UC Santa Cruz is developing computing methods to sift through the mass of data generated by the human genome project and other new developments in biomedical research. The center's director, David Haussler, holds a UC Presidential Chair and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. QB3's bioinformatics program will be based at UC Santa Cruz. UCSC is internationally recognized as a leader in the mathematical and computer sciences related to genomics.

The QB3 institute's Bioinformatics module will provide the mathematical and computational expertise essential for much of the institute's work. Organized around three research and education modules--Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Structural and Chemical Biology, and Bioinformatics and the Analysis of Complex Biological Systems--the institute will focus on developing techniques for storing and analyzing vast quantities of biological information and using imaging and mathematical modeling to view molecules, cells, and single organ systems as parts of functional networks. These technologies will allow scientists to understand interactions and predict outcomes and to reconstruct parts of living systems in the laboratory to improve human health.

Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS)

The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) will create information technology to tackle society’s most critical needs. CITRIS research will focus initially on the areas of energy efficiency, transportation, seismic safety, education, health care, and environmental monitoring.

CITRIS was spurred by Governor Gray Davis’s call for visionary new UC Centers for Science and Innovation. In a powerful partnership between four University of California campuses, California industry, and the State of California, CITRIS will deliver the technical foundations to meet California’s urgent public-sector needs in years, not decades, and lead the way in creating the information technology infrastructure we need for a vibrant 21st century society.

CITRIS participants are grouped by research areas that reflect the Center's goal of producing useful technology: design principles, architectures, software tools, algorithms, and Societial-scale Information System (SIS) prototypes. Baskin School of Engineering faculty are key participating investigators in these initiatives:

• Services-enabled Distributed System Architecture for SISs
  J.J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves, CE
  Darrell Long, CS *
  Patrick Mantey, CE *
  Charlie McDowell, CS
• Integrated Microsystems
  Ali Shakouri, EE
  Jiayuan Fang, EE
  Claire Gu, EE *
  Ken Pedrotti, EE
• Human-centered Computing
  Suresh Lodha, CS
• Smart Classrooms
  J.J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves, CE
  Patrick Mantey, CE *
  Alex Pang, CS
• Environmental Monitoring
  Pat Mantey, EE *
  John Vesecky, EE
• Algorithms
  David Helmbold, CS
  Manfred Warmuth, CS
• Education Plan
  J.J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves, CE
  Pat Mantey, CE *

* Key Participating Investigator