The university has been weighing its options in terms of what costs could be eliminated in order to cope with the school’s declining budget. In January, the UC Board of Regents voted to reduce freshman enrollment by 2,300, citing budget cuts. The Covel Composition and ESL tutoring lab will also be suspended beginning summer 2009.
These measures, meant to mitigate the financial crisis, are both passive and harmful: They fail to address the budget issues head-on, compromising the quality of education offered at UCLA.
I am not, however, saying that university officials acted irresponsibly. Sacrifices must be made to safeguard the future of the university. These officials did what they thought would best address the bleak circumstances facing the University of California. That said, there are better ways to do this.
Rather than merely focusing on how spending may be reduced, university officials could use more proactive means of dealing with financial trouble. For example, being a research university, UCLA has an invaluable resource that could potentially play a key role in the current financial climate.
I am talking about innovation. By providing the most conducive environment for innovation from the ground up, UCLA can live up to its research university label, maximize its impact on the public stage and do something proactive about its economic situation.
Aydogan Ozcan, assistant professor of electrical engineering at the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, has made headlines developing an imaging platform known as LUCAS (Lensless Ultra-wide-field Cell monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging). LUCAS uses a chip that detects the holographic shadows of cells and provides high-resolution images of samples. LUCAS promises numerous applications, such as the development of new medical diagnostic techniques.
“From the shadow texture, we can identify what type of cell it is, if it’s a white blood cell … or a red blood cell.” Ozcan said. “We can also tell if the red blood cell that we see in the hologram is infected with a malaria parasite, if it’s dying or if it contains more hemoglobin than a regular person. We can, from these shadows, trace these (cells) to make a diagnostic decision about the patient.”
Recently, Ozcan and his research group have refined the technique to the point that they could equip a cell phone with this technology using $50 worth of parts. The low cost and the potential for mobility make the platform a groundbreaking innovation, particularly for developing countries. Ozcan plans to start his own company to develop the device for the public.
Kathryn Atchison, vice provost from the UCLA Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Sponsored Research, said that anyone hired to work in a research lab at UCLA must consent to an agreement that gives the university claim over patents.
Inventors, however, usually have priority over the license, and how things will proceed in the future. With ownership of patents, UCLA has financial stakes in the innovation of its researchers.
For example, if Ozcan proceeds to start his own company to develop a product for the market, depending on the agreement between the company and UCLA, the university earns a certain percentage of the profit.
Ozcan’s innovation is only one of many that UCLA researchers have developed. According to a publication by the UCLA Office of Intellectual Property, the UCLA portfolio contains around 1,388 inventions. This leaves great potential for license distribution and product development. On top of this, UCLA researchers work daily to bring more innovations into reality. Capitalizing on these resources would protect the university from financial decline.
Ozcan’s group is a success story. To ensure that other researchers thrive, UCLA officials must continue supporting them through financing, investing in better facilities or finding collaborators to develop marketable products.
Innovation is key to progress, and the UCLA community has consistently displayed great potential for invention. It is up to UCLA officials to preserve this innovative spirit that has come to define the reputation and culture of this institution.
Ready to support innovation? E-mail Ong at rong@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.