June 2, 2008
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
After eight years of exceptional leadership of our California NanoSystems Institute, Professor Evelyn Hu has decided to step down as the founding director of CNSI at UCSB, effective July 1, 2008. She will remain an integral part of CNSI, while continuing her research and teaching activities as a distinguished member of our faculty in Electrical and Computer Engineering and in Materials.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Evelyn for the extraordinary job she has done in guiding CNSI from vision to reality. We have come a long way since the first announcement of the state initiative to create the California Institutes for Science and Innovation in December 2000. Under Dr. Hu’s leadership, the CNSI has grown into a powerhouse for interdisciplinary research and education at the cutting edge. We have built state-of-the-art facilities to house CNSI, and in 2007 celebrated a $12.5 million endowment from Virgil Elings and Betty Elings Wells to support campuswide activities in nanosystems research and education—a visionary gift that we recognized with the naming of our new Elings Hall in their honor. Also in 2007 we celebrated the creation of the Peter J. Clarke Chair for the Director of the California NanoSystems Institute, an endowed chair established through the generosity of the Tegal Corporation and Sputtered Films, Inc., in honor of scientific pioneer Peter Clarke.
In addition to the widespread praise Evelyn has earned for her leadership of the CNSI on our campus, she has continued to garner accolades for her personal research achievements as well, including her election this year to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She has been honored by our campus colleagues with a distinguished teaching award in 1999, and as our Faculty Research Lecturer in 2005. An inspirational mentor and devoted advocate of public education and outreach throughout her career, she has also been recognized with the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Lifetime Mentor Award and the National Science Foundation Director’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars.
Please join me in extending our campus’s heartfelt appreciation to Evelyn for her accomplishments and leadership. With the strong foundation that she and our colleagues have built, CNSI will continue to grow and reach new heights of excellence.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor