Cybernetics combines many disciplines

When fourth-year student John Vaszari tells people what his major is, questions about robots and artificial intelligence frequently follow. At interviews for medical school this fall, Vaszari has given the same well-rehearsed explanation to doctors and admissions boards when they ask the inevitable question about “cybernetics.” An undergraduate interdepartmental program at UCLA since 1972, cybernetics […]

A broad education

Eleven years ago, Sung Deuk-Oak found it strange to write an academic paper by starting with his thesis. The foreign notion of presenting one’s ideas at the beginning, rather than subtly suggesting them at the end has required some adjustment. In these principles of paper structure, Oak finds the perfect metaphor for differences between America […]

Environmental problems a SoCal reality

When graded on environmental issues, Southern California is barely pulling a 2.0. According to this year’s Environmental Report Card, published annually by the UCLA Institute of the Environment, the progress made in resolving four serious environmental problems is far from completion, not to mention cum laude. Every year, the institute brings together faculty of many […]