January 12, 2011 –
Undergrads from multiple disciplines will collaborate under the mentorship of professors from different schools.
A program launched recently by CALIT2 and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program now offers UCI undergraduate students another way to experience hands-on multidisciplinary research.
The Multidisciplinary Design Program (MDP) will engage undergraduates from all disciplines in design teams co-mentored by at least two faculty members from different schools.
Applicants will choose from design projects that focus on energy, the environment, healthcare or culture. Participants, who will be known as MDP Fellows, will be selected by project mentors and each team will develop a project design by the end of spring quarter 2011.
Fellows also will be invited to participate in various workshops on project management, team building, conflict resolution, and other activities to ensure each team’s success and enrich participants’ overall experience. They will receive academic credit through courses with the instructor designated as their faculty mentor, and the program will coordinate its activities with existing design programs and courses.
All high-achieving, upper-division UCI undergraduates are invited to apply and indicate projects that interest them.
Once chosen, each team will submit an itemized budget and CALIT2 will provide two-thirds of the funding, up to $3,000 (project expenses only), while the remaining third will come from other sources – UROP, faculty grants, or students’ personal funds, for example. Working and meeting space will be provided on the second floor of the CALIT2 Building.
Complete applications must be submitted online by Monday, Jan. 31, 2011 at the UROP Web site: http://www.urop.uci.edu/mdp.html.
“We are very excited about this program and believe it has future potential to include design problems provided by industry and the broader UCI community,” said CALIT2 Irvine Director G.P. Li. “The multidisciplinary skills that students will develop during this experience will help them succeed in their graduate studies or in careers that emphasize collaboration.”
