UC Berkeley or UCLA?

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College Discussion Forums: College Search and Selection: June 2003 Archive: UC Berkeley or UCLA?

By Chenguo (Chenguo) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 08:36 pm: Edit

If I go to Berkeley, I can't major in engineering (b/c I was accepted into the college of letters and science under undecided), but I did get into UCLA's college of engineering.

I was really hoping to major in engineering, but I'd planned on going to Berkeley all my life and it's a better school.

I can also major in computer sciences in the college of L&S in Berkeley, but I must maintain a very high GPA for the first 2 years to get into that major, which I'm afraid I won't be able to do (I've heard that you can study forever and still get a 'C' there). And I really can't think of anything else to major in. It just seems easier to go to UCLA with an engineering major right away.

I've been troubled over this for days now. Any insight/suggestions is greatly appreciated.

By Militarygrade (Militarygrade) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 11:16 pm: Edit

If you are going for graduate work after your BA/BS, then it doesn't really matter what your BA/BS is.

Go to Berkeley! Great school!

By Chenguo (Chenguo) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 12:36 am: Edit

But doesn't your graduate major have to relate to your undergrad major?

By Militarygrade (Militarygrade) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 08:45 pm: Edit

Not always.

Med school could care less what your BA is. Law school could care less. Architectural schools (a few of them) could care less.

I'm not sure about engineering, but I know that it doesn't matter for lots of them.

By Chenguo (Chenguo) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 10:11 pm: Edit

But what if I don't go to graduate school?
Which is better, a Computer Science BA degree from Berkeley or an Electrical Engineering BS degree from UCLA? (I think computer science salaries have shrunk while EE is still about the same)

By Mansoor (Mansoor) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 02:31 am: Edit

Senor,

Any degree from Berkeley is going to be more prestigous than one from UCLA, don't get me wrong LA is an awesome school but it's not up to par with Berkeley...Have you considered majoring in something that requires more exploration and critical analysis, perhaps one of the social sciences? An added bonus with Berkeley is that the city sidewalks there bleed intellect, so you will be forced to expand your mind to unthought of dimensions even if you choose to major in something more vocational/proffessional like engineering...and as far as being admitted into engineering type grad-school programs, you usually need to major in something very similar as an undergrad...One last thing about Berkeley,it is definitely up to par w/ stanford, haravard, yale etc...as far as prestige and intellectual discoveries go, but it is far far far harder....I know people who have gone to each of these schools, one even transferring from yale to berk, and right back to yale, cause of the difficulty of the coursework there...these other prestigous schools "hold your hand" once you are admitted and enroll, whereas at berkeley you must fend for yourself against your coursework and peers...basically what i'm trying to say here is that if you go to Berkeley, and even get modest grades you have high flying chances of being admitted anywhere for grad school, because other schools know how tough Berkeley really is...

By Brd (Brd) on Friday, March 21, 2003 - 11:58 pm: Edit

"But doesn't your graduate major have to relate to your undergrad major?"

As someone mentioned, not really. One of my best friends got her BS in Molecular Biology, a Master's in Computer Science, and is just starting her PhD in Cognitive Science.

These days, especially in the sciences, there is more and more crossover between disciplies. Applying Mathematics to Biology, Biophyiscs, and Biomedical Engineering are prime examples of fields that seek researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Also, just FYI, there is really not so much a concept of "major" in graduate school -- you have a field, but you are expected to produce truly original and unique research on some topic in your chosen field to complete your dissertation. So in a sense, if you have a "major" it is only yours and no-one else in the world has it but you.

By Erin (Erin) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 05:04 pm: Edit

I would definitely not say that a degree from Berkeley is going to be more prestigious than one from UCLA, however if it is from the school of engineering then it certainly will be. You could always go to UCLA and then transfer. My brother started as a physics major at Berkeley but transferred into the engineering college his senior year, so I don't think it's overly difficult.

By Chenguo (Chenguo) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 07:13 pm: Edit

I still really want to go to Berkeley, but UCLA is offering me their Regents scholarship ($5,500/yr, if I'm not mistaken), which is really tempting, especially since my dad just got laid off. I would describe myself as a kind of a nerd, so Berkeley would definitely suit me better, but it is worth passing up the UCLA scholarship?

Also, would having a BA degree instead of a BS limit my job opportunities?

And is it possible to transfer from UCLA to Berkeley after the 1st or 2nd year?

Thanks!

By Chenny (Chenny) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:03 pm: Edit

Chenguo:

I have a question for you.

But first of all, I think you should follow your passions and go for UCLA.

I have also been accepted into UCLA Engineering and am waiting for Berkeley Engineering

My question for you is how do you know you have already been accepted into Berkeley? I am an out-of-state applicant and as far as I know, I can find out online tomorrow at 3:00PST.

Also, when you applied to Berkeley, did you explicitly apply for Engineering and then they switched you over to the Letters and Science?

You've got two awesome schools on your plate. So any decision you make will be a good one

Thanks!

By Chenguo (Chenguo) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:35 pm: Edit

Well, they told me I got in when I went for their Regents interview ^_^

When I first applied, I didn't want to jeopardize my chances of getting in by applying to the competitive engineering college, so I just applied under L&S. (I'm regretting that now...b/c I think I would have had a good shot at the engineering college since I was considered for the Regents)

By Marina (Marina) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 05:01 am: Edit

I got into UCLA from out of state and UCB and I'm considering UCB more b.c. they have my major, my parents went there, the city has good public transportation, I was born there, its supposedly more academic/intellectual etc. Cons: The city is seems so snobby and gay-y (can I say that? because you can have too much of even a good thing,"not that there's anything wrong with it") Also, I've never been around that many asian people in my life (and I'm 1/2 asian) and so few black people, so that might be kind of weird for me. I don't really like the weather in SF (too much the same and not warm enough)
But then with UCLA, I like the weather, the attitude, shopping (so I'm shallow, sorry) and I really want to go surfing a lot (again with the shallowness). Also, I think I might have like a crush on the city of Santa Monica, which I admit is very troubling. But I shouldn't choose a school based on how cool the city aroudn it is. Cons: I don't want to have to drive everywhere. I heard that UCLA doesn't allow cars on campus even though they really should because LA sucks for non drivers, and maybe I really don't want to live somewhere so suburban because you know, I've done that kind of already and it is pretty boring. Also, is UCLA really preppy and like sorority life (?) on MTV.
Sorry for being longwinded, thanks for reading,
Marina

By Erin (Erin) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 11:48 am: Edit

Why not choose a college based on the city around it? In my experience, the city around Berkeley is run-down and grimy, and there are lots of homeless people.

Though your other cons for LA are all true...

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 12:47 pm: Edit

UCLA certainly has a preppy contingent but it's by no means defining.

I understand your crush on Santa Monica...we live there and we like it very much.

"UCLA doesn't allow cars on campus" isn't quite true but it depends on where you live: if you live on campus, no cars. That said, UCLA is a major nexus for the bus lines, one of the few places in L.A. with good public transportation, including several Santa Monica bus lines that terminate there. Getting down to the Third Street Promenade, the beach, or whatever, is no problem..

By Audrey48 (Audrey48) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 03:00 am: Edit

I'm sorta having the same problem as Marina. I got into UCLA and UC Berkeley but i don't know which one to choose. Berkeley is great for my major in business but i did not like the campus or the area at all (everything seemed old and ghetto). On the other hand i fell in love with the UCLA campus and the area. Plus I love city life and it would take me at least 25 min. to get to San Francisco as opposed to UCLA which is already in LA. The thing is UCLA doesn't have a business school so i'll have to major in business economics with a minor in accounting. i know that this is a popular major and minor combination at UCLA but i'm wondering if i would have a hard time getting a job in accounting or investment banking since i'd only have a minor as opposed to a major in berkeley. The minor in accounting qualifies me to take the CPA, so if i pass, would a firm even care if i took business as a major or minor? I realize that berkeley sounds slightly more prestigious (which is weird cuz a lot of my friends were accepted to UCB but rejected from UCLA), but at the same time i don't want to live in a place for 4 years if i don't like the environment. if u guys have any advice for me i'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

By Kyle (Kyle) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 02:34 pm: Edit

Audrey48, I think that if you know you don't like the environment, don't go there. Period. You'll be miserable.

On another note, I'm debating between UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. I had always wanted to go to UCLA, especially since I'm from Southern California(grew up a UCLA fan). But, when I went up to Berkeley for Cal Day, I really liked it. I liked the environment, the people, and it seems like it might be right for me. But, I hear that academics at Berkeley is extremely rigorous. I don't know if I can study 24/7 and be happy. Furthermore, I'm pre-med and I hear that those students study so damn much. I haven't visited Columbia yet, but with its location and great reputation, I'm really torn between all 3 schools. What do you guys think?

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 10:19 pm: Edit

This is from the official (UC OOP)

2003 New UC Pecking order

1.UCLA Applicants 44941 Admitted 10507 Acceptance rate 23.38%

2.UCB Applicants 36920 Admitted 8679 Acceptance Rate 23.51%

3.UCSD Applicants 43435 Admitted 17567 Acceptance Rate 40.44%

4.UCSB Applicants 37308 Admitted 18706 Acceptance Rate 50.13%

5.UCI Applicants 34359 Admitted 17926 Acceptance Rate 52.17%

6.UCD Applicants 30613 Admitted 17419 Acceptance Rate 56.9%

By Mattimatt (Mattimatt) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 04:42 am: Edit

I'd been planning to go to Berkeley, but when I went there for visit on Cal Day, it was raining like hell! even my umbrella broke! Can somebody tell me if it's always like that in Berkeley?
Also, how much is a cheap round trip airline ticker to berkeley? where can I get that?

thanx

By Erin (Erin) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 08:21 am: Edit

It's not always raining in Berkeley, but it is almost always cloudy or foggy, at least until the afternoon when it tends to clear up.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 02:54 am: Edit

Bay Area weather. It rarely rains, but when it rains (typically during winter/spring), it pours.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 10:34 am: Edit

Top research school rankings

Research program -Total R&D Expenditures 2001-2002

From The National Science Foundation

http://Caspar.nsf.gov/

This figures do not include R&D for medical schools

1. UCLA 693,801,000

2.Wisconsin 604,143,000

3. Michigan 600,523,000

4. Stanford 482,906,000

5. Berkeley 446,273,000

6. MIT 435,495,000

7. UI Urbana 390,863,000

8. Harvard 372,107,000

9. Yale 321,514,000

10.UT Austin 295,104,000

11. U Virginia 149,547,000

12. Princeton 149,411,000

By Sluggbugg (Sluggbugg) on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 07:27 pm: Edit

I'm a Cal grad, so I can't comment on UCLA, but here are some comments about Berkeley that you won't see in The Daily Californian. Along with the richness and diversity of the UC campus, and the intoxicating livliness of the city, there is a down-side.

I don't think UC Berkeley is the healthiest environment for freshmen. You are an ant among a zillion other ants on that campus, and you're basically a number. It's intensely competitive. Don't expect a lot of compassion or help from other students if you're struggling in a class. Imho, it's a more comfortable environment for upper-division and grad students.

If you're the independent type, self-motivated, and you have good study habits, you'll be fine at Cal. That's why it's a wonderful place to be if you're a grad student. But, it can be a cold & lonely place if you lose your focus. If you go there, make sure you have a support system of friends and academic peers. You have to carve out a niche for yourself.

The lower-division classes are generally BIG and impersonal. That doesn't mean that they're uninteresting. They're just not that personal. If you show up, fine, and if you don't, fine too. Other students are not going to wonder or even care. There's a real business-like atmosphere, and students are expected to be self-sufficient.

Your papers are graded by TA's, and most are pretty good at giving useful feedback. You can go a whole quarter and never meet the TA's in some of the big, required lower-div classes.

There may be times when you get into only one out of the three required courses you need that quarter. It's on YOU to solve that problem. If you do encounter an administrative snafu, or you need some help from student services, plan on standing in a line for a while. Their clerical people are notoriously uncaring about good service.

Forget about parking on campus. It's not impossible, but if you happen to luck out and find a good space every now and then, you'll feel like thanking your higher power for that rare opportunity. Make sure you have a good alarm on your vehicle. Most of the time, you'll be on foot.

Berkeley is a grimey town. Lots of homeless, and more than a few truly mentally ill folks who are, imho, ignored because they add to the politically permissive image of the city. The town prides itself in hip griminess. There is a palpable disdain for anything that represents the "burbs." In this mix, you'll find some wonderful, world-class places to hang out in Berkeley.

BART will get you into the City for fun stuff outside of Berkeley. The Oakland Coliseum is also easily accessible by BART. It's a train, so don't travel alone at night, and don't store your backpack or purse under your seat because it'll get ripped off from behind.

As a Cal student, ALL I did was study and work. Find a good place to live, and enjoy the ride because you'll have a degree you'll have worked very hard to earn!

By Mzinn (Mzinn) on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 04:01 am: Edit

Sluggbugg, thanks for the great post.

By Lindy (Lindy) on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 05:35 pm: Edit

I chose UCLA over Berkeley.

By Mzinn (Mzinn) on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 07:01 pm: Edit

That was the toughest decision ever. When the admissions process began, UCLA was my first choice. After I made it into both, UCLA was still my first choice.

I spent about 2 weeks thinking about it alot. Even in class I would often zone out and debate UCLA vs. Berkeley.

Then about 3 days before the SIR was due... I chose to go to Berkeley. I realized that I initially didn't want to go to Berkeley because I was scared. I thought it would be too far from my family and that it would be too difficult. Those reasons weren't good enough for me.

I wanted to experience something different since I had spent about 12 years of my life in southern california. Walking around Berkeley also made me remember Beirut and my street photography projects there. Berkeley just seemed so real and made westwood seem superficial.

Some people have recommended making a list of pros and cons to help you decide between universities. I think you should just go with your gut feeling. I'm not saying not to take everything into consideration; just don't be too analytical about it. Even I can't really explain my decision right now... it just feels right.

btw, for some reason sluggbugg's post above reaffirmed my decision to go to Berkeley. (so did alot of his/her other posts.) I think it's because now I know what I'm up against and I feel like I can prepare myself psychologically.

By Mr_Park (Mr_Park) on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 11:08 pm: Edit

How do you guys feel about USC? I got into USC electrical engineering and can't decide if I should go. First the money, second, I don't know if it's that good or not. Please tell me because I don't know anything about USC. thanks

By Benny (Benny) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 10:34 pm: Edit

UCSD was forced by the Regents to go back and admit almost 7,000 more students, otherwise its admit rate would have been on a par with UCLA and UCB. Note that UCSD had almost as many applicants as UCLA.

By Mzinn (Mzinn) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 12:03 am: Edit

true... but I think all the UC campuses will be forced to enroll more students. I don't know about Berkeley though... I heard they had an agreement with the city of Berkeley to limit the number of students enrolled. Does anyone know if that's true?

By Archimedian077 (Archimedian077) on Wednesday, May 07, 2003 - 02:50 am: Edit

Travel and see which one will fit for you. Sometimes you'll see the difference by common sense. I've visitied berkeley; I've been there for only a day and half, I learned that those people, include faculties had no manners, they seemed to be busy all over their lives; they have their ignorance and sometimes it would make you think "berkeley, i see, what a school..." Anyhow, take a look at each and check it out. Good luck.

By Crackcorn (Crackcorn) on Wednesday, May 07, 2003 - 10:38 pm: Edit

I don't think Berkeley's rep is so much higher than UCLA's that it outweighs other factors. Stanford yes, but not Berkeley. Not for an undergrad degree. A Stanford degree opens doors. A Berkeley degree doesn't have that same leverage, despite what Berkeley students might wish to believe.

By Chiangkaishrek (Chiangkaishrek) on Sunday, May 11, 2003 - 04:46 am: Edit

Mr. Park:

The graduate EE program at USC is great.

If you want to attend USC for undergraduate...I Do NOT recommend that you attend USC. The professors there are sh-tty, and have thick accents.

Berkeley is by far a better Engineering institute. Cal has powered the "super computer" and also have professors who have received Nobel Awards for engineering research. Trust me, you should think about Berkeley over USC or UCLA. Los angeles is a manure city.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 11:04 pm: Edit

As thousands of eager high school seniors tour college campuses this month, administrators are looking for ways to make their schools seem more appealing.

In an attempt to attract Southern California students who might otherwise attend UCLA, UC Berkeley flew 500 admitted students to campus for a weekend of immersion in student life.

The Fly to Berkeley program, which is run by the admissions office and the vice chancellor for undergraduate affairs. Most students who participate in the program are housed by student groups. Hosts provide the visiting students with detailed information about student life, as well as a place to sleep.

Residential halls also offer some overflow housing for students who lack a student group to stay with.

Members of the program also participate in Cal Day, the university's annual open house held in the middle of April where prospective students have the opportunity to attend a lecture, see the campus and participate in student events.

She explained that the program targets Southern California students because of the large growth in the number of college-age students �Eunderrepresented minorities as well as non-minorities �Ein the area.

Though the program targets many would-be Bruins, UCLA Director of Admissions Vu Tran is not concerned about the threat, calling the program a "normal, standard thing."

Tran said he has confidence that UCLA will not be robbed of exceptional students.

"I think we will get a very good class of freshmen this year," Tran said.

Mariaelena Ochoa, a counselor at Sweetwater High School in San Diego said she doesn't anticipate the Cal program having a huge effect on where her students decided to enroll.

Ochoa also said she found that a lot more of her students are actually planning to attend UCLA this year than in the past.

Budget concerns, however, may have an effect on the survival of programs like Fly to Berkeley.

Last year, UCLA ran a similar program for 40 Northern California students, though the program could not continue this year due to budgetary constraints, Tran said.

Since allocations for next school year have not yet been made, Gilmore said it is too soon to tell whether Cal's program will be able to continue in its current form either.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 07:48 am: Edit

2003 UCLA acceptance rate 23% Yield 43%

2003 Berkeley acceptance rate 24% Yield 43%

2003 Stanford acceptance rate 13% Yield 67%

(Private schools offer forms of early decision/admission allowing them to offer fewer admits, thus giving them better yield rates. )

2004 UCLA acceptance rate 22% Yield 45%

2004 Berkeley acceptance rate 23% Yield 44%

2004 Stanford acceptance rate 13% Yield 48%

(w/o ED/EA)

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 10:31 am: Edit

2001 Data

UCLA

Current budget of state-funded projects

209.8 million

Current budget of non-state funded projects

1385.2 million

Total

$1595 million

Berkeley

Current budget of state-funded projects

241.5 million

current budget of non-state funded projects

165.7 million

Total

$406.7 million

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 01:22 am: Edit

UCLA is better than Berkeley. Period

By Mattimatt (Mattimatt) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 02:11 am: Edit

Read my post under "UCLA is too hard!" and then tell me why you think that UCLA is better than Berkeley.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 11:34 pm: Edit

Read my post.

By Mattimatt (Mattimatt) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 03:40 pm: Edit

>>"Not Anymore. UCLA is better"<<

Funny. I see you have justified your claim very well!

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 03:36 am: Edit

The UCLA Department of Neurology ranks No. 1 among its peers nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, with $23.4 million in research grants for 2002, according to newly released NIH figures.

4) University of Pennsylvania at $16.8 million, and 5) University of California, San Francisco, at $16.5 million. In 2001 UCLA ranked No. 8 in NIH funding among departments of neurology, with $12.3 million.

Dr. John Mazziotta, professor and chair of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, credited the nearly two-fold jump from the previous year with the widely recognized high caliber and success of the department's science.

"The NIH grant review is the toughest test of peer-reviewed scientific funding. It's the most rigorous filter of scientific quality," Mazziotta said. "Our funding level shows that UCLA neurology research has reached new heights in quality and quantity and now sets the standard for neurology research nationwide."

The largest current awards within the department include $7.3 million for the Early Randomized Surgical Epilepsy Trial (ERSET) led by Dr. Jerome Engel, professor and director of the UCLA Seizure Disorder Center, and a total of $2.5 million for the computational anatomy and multidimensional modeling project led by Arthur Toga, professor and director of the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging.

Recent scientific breakthroughs by neurology faculty include:

�EThe demonstration of the sites in the brain that shrink (atrophy) as Alzheimer's disease progresses.

�EThe development of a fly model of Alzheimer's disease useful in understanding the process that causes the illness and providing a means to test experimental drugs for its treatment.

�EThe development of improved methods to image the brain when a stroke occurs, thereby allowing the selection the best possible treatment for each individual patient.

�EThe development of an atlas of the human brain to allow investigators of brain function to navigate in the brain's complex structure and communicate results accurately among themselves.

At UCLA, the Department of Neurology accounted for 10 percent of all NIH funding in the David Geffen School of Medicine. The departmental total does not include NIH funding obtained by the neurology faculty but administered by the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and UCLA Brain Research Institute.

"The real number is considerably higher and we expect our total to grow for 2003 despite a leveling off of the NIH budget," Mazziotta said. "Our success at attracting NIH funding helps the department at many levels, from faculty recruitment and retention to the highest-quality teaching and clinical programs."

The department encompasses 260 teachers, researchers and clinicians, and 245 staff personnel involved in more than a dozen research, clinical and teaching programs. These programs cover brain mapping and neuroimaging, movement disorders, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, neurogenetics, nerve and muscle disorders, epilepsy, neuro-oncology, neurotology, neuropsychology, headaches and migraines, neurorehabilitation, and neurovascular disorders.

By Nerdboy (Nerdboy) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 02:51 pm: Edit

So UCLA's BIOLOGY department is the only thing you have to talk about. obviously

By Stoofix (Stoofix) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 09:01 am: Edit

What's with this UCLA bashing? True, Berkeley has been around longer, and US News ranks it as the top public school in the nation (which is accurate). But UCLA is prestigious in its own right, and is the 3rd best public school in the country, not far behind Cal. An early post stating that all degrees from Berkeley are more prestigious than those from UCLA is ridiculous. A Berkeley engineer is not going to earn $50,000 more than his or her UCLA counterpart. Granted, Cal's engineering is more well known than UCLA's, but people need to stop thinking of UCLA as Berkeley's retarded little brother.

Besides, factor in graduate study and work experience, and no one's going to care where you went to school as an undergrad.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 10:58 pm: Edit

UCLA and Two Other Universities Lead Nation in Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowships for 2002

UCLA and two other universities led the nation in receiving 2002 Guggenheim Fellowship Awards, among the most prestigious honors presented to scholars, artists and writers, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced.

The Guggenheim Foundation awards the fellowships for "unusually distinguished achievement and exceptional promise for future accomplishment."

UCLA,

Columbia and

the University of Wisconsin (Madison)

led all institutions, each receiving five Guggenheim Fellowships.

Next was

the University of Chicago, with four fellowships. Ten universities had three fellowships.
Berk?

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 11:00 pm: Edit

UCLA Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in the western United States for the 13th consecutive year, according to a U.S. News & World Report survey of 2,550 board-certified physicians from across the nation. The 13th annual guide to "America's best hospitals" will be on newsstands July 15. UCLA Medical Center, ranked as the fifth-best hospital nationally in the latest survey, is the only Southern California hospital to earn a spot on the magazine's "honor roll" rankings during the 13 years U.S. News has conducted the survey. The honor roll recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence across many specialties

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 11:05 pm: Edit

Business School Salary

Anderson(UCLA) was ranked No. 9 in salaries reported by alumni in the banking and finance sector. Anderson ranked 4th in the "Placement Success" category. The Anderson School's high-quality career placement services are reflected by a high score in this area, ahead of such schools as Wharton, Harvard, Columbia and Stanford. This measure reflects the percentage of 1998 alumni who gained employment with the help of their school's career management services. Anderson placed 13th in the measurement of alumni "weighted salary," ahead of Dartmouth College's Tuck,

UC Berkeley's Haas,

the London Business School and IMD. This measurement represents the alums' average salary over the three years, adjusting for variation between sectors and the weight of the category (20% of the total).

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 11:14 pm: Edit

Business School

The Business Week MBA school ranking research ranks the top 30 MBA schools in the US and also gives two tiers of mba schools without individual rankings.

US MBA school ranking - Business Week

1 Pennsylvania (Wharton)

2 Northwestern (Kellogg)

3 Harvard

4 MIT (Sloan)

5 Duke (Fuqua)

6 Michigan

7 Columbia

8 Cornell (Johnson)

9 Virginia (Darden)

10 Chicago

11 Stanford

12 UCLA (Anderson)

13 NYU (Stern)

14 Carnegie Mellon

15 UNC - Chapel Hill

16 Dartmouth (Tuck)

17 Texas - Austin (McCombs)

18 UC Berkeley (Haas)

19 Yale

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 11:18 pm: Edit

Law School

After checking out just a select handful of Vault "Top 100" firms at www.Martindale.com, it appears that UCLA grads outnumber Boalt(Berkeley) grads (sometimes by as many as 4:1) at the following "national" firms (outside of LA):

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager, and Flom

Jones Day

Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher

Latham and Watkins

White and Case

I also checked out Simpson-Thatcher, Weil-Gotshal, Sullivan and Cromwell and Pillsbury Winthrop. While Boalties do outnumber their UCLA counterparts at those select firms, its usually only by the slimmest of margins (no more than a dozen or so lawyers at most), and certainly does not suggest that UCLA grads are "significantly outnumbered" ANYWHERE in the US...at least not disproportionately so to Boalties.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 11:30 pm: Edit

Thie is R&D(Science & engineering exclude Medicine)

In 2001-�f02, contract and grant revenues rose 17 percent to $767.8 million, enough to keep UCLA among the top five universities nationally for research funding from all sources. And for the first six months of the current fiscal year, funding from these sources is up 6 percent.

(Berkeley was 450 Million)

The federal government is the dominant source of these awards, accounting for 63 percent of the funding in 2001-�f02. In recent years, UCLA has seen an upward trend in federal research support. For example, in the area of science and engineering research, UCLA has gone

from 12th in the nation to third between 1997 and 2000, passing Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania, among others.
(Berk?)

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Saturday, June 07, 2003 - 12:50 pm: Edit

Well, now you know UCLA is better than UCB.

�EMed-school UCLA>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>UCB(None)

�EB-School UCLA>>>> UCB
UCLA 12th UCB 18th

�EL-School UCLA=UCB

�ER&D(Science )�@spending
�@UCLA More than 700 Mil USB 450 Mil

�ECapital Projects UCLA 1700 Mil UCB 400 Mil

�EAlumni Giving UCLA 500 Mil UCB 240 Mil

�@Current NRC members UCB around 220 UCLA 70
�@However future candidates
�@(Guggenheim+Sloan+FB awards winners)
�EUCLA around 320 UCB 200

1995 NRC ranking
UCB No.1 UCLA No.12
However NRC rankings were based on 1993 Data.
It is a old news.
2005 NRC ranking
�EUCLA 3rd
�EUCB�@4th

�EAcceptance rate
�@UCLA 23% UCB 24 %

�ELocation
�@Bel Air>>>>>>>Oakland

Chancellor(Key Person)

�EUCLA
Harvard Provost for more than 20 years
Hired by UCLA in 1997.
Try to make UCLA as good as HYP.
In the area of science and engineering research,
UCLA has gone from 12th in the nation to third between
1997 and 2000, passing Stanford, Harvard, MIT.

UCB

�@Graduated from Augustin in South Dakota
Happy to be UCB's chancellor.(no desire)
�@Former�@UT's President

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 03:35 am: Edit

By Dschnapps (Dschnapps) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 12:30 am: Edit

shitakiri, i just read in one of your other posts that you hire people for some firm.

are you really an adult? please tell me no

By Chiangkaishrek (Chiangkaishrek) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 04:29 am: Edit

"are you really an adult? "

I know huh? I hope that Shitake mushroom dude really didn't go to UCLA. He's a bad example.

By Nerdboy (Nerdboy) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 07:25 pm: Edit

To Shitakirimusume,

I was really disappointed by your post. I can�t believe that someone could be so narrow minded to compare two schools by their having medical school or not. For your information WE ARE TALKING UNDERGRAD. If I were to compare Berkeley�s graduate schools with those of UCLA�s, undoubtedly, as everybody knows, Berkeley would be placed much higher than UCLA; Especially in engineering and business schools.

Well, now you know that UCB is better than UCLA.

-I know people who have been accepted by UCLA�s honors program and yet rejected by Berkeley. I know people who have been admitted by JHU and rejected by Berkeley. I know someone who got into Dartmouth University and was not admitted by Berkeley for Fall. (so mattimatt should not feel bad at all)

-People ask whether they should go to Harvard or Berkeley.

- Berkeley is by far much more well-known around the world than UCLA.

-By any Standard, UC Berkeley, or Cal, as it is known by many alumni and friends, is one of the world�s leading intellectual and research centers. It is renowned for the distinction of its faculty and students, the scope of its research and publications, and the size and quality of its libraries.

(Berkeley has the third largest library in the entire country)

-UC Berkeley has the largest number and highest percentage of top-ranked doctoral programs in the country, according to the most recent national study.
The National Research Council (NRC), in its highly respected survey issued each decade, found that of 36 Berkeley programs ranked in the study, 35 were judged to be in the top ten in the nation. The 36th program ranked 13th. And please don�t make information up. We are still in 2003, the 2005 results have not come out. The survey might have not been started yet.

-Five departments � Chemistry, English, German, Mathematics, and Statistics � were judged number 1 in the nation. Another 16 departments were ranked 2nd and 3rd.
UC Berkeley�s faculty are of the most well known in the world. There have been more Noble Prize winner at Berkeley than a lot of other universities (of course including UCLA)

-Berkeley is placed in the cycle of the world�s greatest and the most well known universities along with, Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

-And if you�re still not convinced, maybe you haven�t looked at the USNEWS� latest college ranking:

UC Berkeley: #1 Public University in the nation, 20th among all U.S. colleges

UCLA: #3 Public University in the nation, 25th among all U.S. colleges.

Don�t get me wrong, I�m not saying that UCLA is not a good school. I really believe that UCLA is an excellent university. However, Berkeley is better and with no doubt more prestigious and higher rated.

By Cremebrulee (Cremebrulee) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 10:18 pm: Edit

Berkeley...Berkeley...Berkeley...Berkeley...Berkeley...

By Nerdboy (Nerdboy) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:06 pm: Edit

oh, forgot to say, GO BEARS!!

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:13 pm: Edit

You mean baby Bear?

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:40 pm: Edit

>I was really disappointed by your post. I can�t believe that someone could be so narrow minded to compare two schools by their having medical school or not.

Sorry It is not my fault that UCB doesn't have
Med School.

> For your information WE ARE TALKING UNDERGRAD. If I were to compare Berkeley�s graduate schools with those of UCLA�s, undoubtedly, as everybody knows, Berkeley would be placed much higher than UCLA; Especially in engineering and business schools.

Not really.

Anderson(UCLA) is ranked higher than Haas (UCB) by BW, FT and Forbs.
(Anderson ranked 12th Haas ranked 18th).

Engineering
Please check last three years new NRC members
UCLA outnumbered UCB.

Well, now you know that UCLA is better than UCB.

-I know people who have been accepted by UCLA�s honors program and yet rejected by Berkeley. I know people who have been admitted by JHU and rejected by Berkeley. I know someone who got into Dartmouth University and was not admitted by Berkeley for Fall.

I think more students are rejected by UCLA and got in UCB.

-People ask whether they should go to Harvard or Berkeley.

Peole ask whetehr they should go to Stanford or
UCLA.( by the way I am a Stanford Alumni)

- Berkeley is by far much more well-known around the world than UCLA.

Which is true.
People still have misconcept that UCB is better than UCLA.

-By any Standard, UC Berkeley, or Cal, as it is known by many alumni and friends, is one of the world�s leading intellectual and research centers. It is renowned for the distinction of its faculty and students, the scope of its research and publications, and the size and quality of its libraries.

It was before. Not anymore.

-UC Berkeley has the largest number and highest percentage of top-ranked doctoral programs in the country, according to the most recent national study.
The National Research Council (NRC), in its highly respected survey issued each decade, found that of 36 Berkeley programs ranked in the study, 35 were judged to be in the top ten in the nation. The 36th program ranked 13th.

This is an old news. 1995 NRC ranking was made
based on 1993 data.

-Five departments �EChemistry, English, German, Mathematics, and Statistics �Ewere judged number 1 in the nation. Another 16 departments were ranked 2nd and 3rd.

Again it is based on 1993 data.
For instance, UCLA Chemistry profs received two
nobel prized after 1993.

1993 UCB was No.1
2003 UCLA is better.

>UC Berkeley�s faculty are of the most well known in the world. There have been more Noble Prize winner at Berkeley than a lot of other universities (of course including UCLA)

I am talking about last 10 years.
UCLA outperformed UCB(except economics)

-Berkeley is placed in the cycle of the world�s greatest and the most well known universities along with, Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

Well, maybe in HK , China or Taiwan.( I assume
you are Chinese.)

-And if you�re still not convinced, maybe you haven�t looked at the USNEWS�Elatest college ranking:
UC Berkeley: #1 Public University in the nation, 20th among all U.S. colleges
UCLA: #3 Public University in the nation, 25th among all U.S. colleges.

Please try to understand.
When Colleges received USNEWS Surveys, they
rely on 1995 NRC rankings.
Again this is an old news.

>Don�t get me wrong, I�m not saying that UCLA is not a good school. I really believe that UCLA is an excellent university. However, Berkeley is better and with no doubt more prestigious and higher rated.

Not anymore . UCLA is better than UCB.

I hope you learned the truth even in China, or HK.

By Dschnapps (Dschnapps) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 12:33 am: Edit

"I think more students are rejected by UCLA and got in UCB."

What are you smoking?

Your style is really annoying, so if you want to convince us that "UCLA is better" try using applicable stats and not make up ••••••••.

You assume he's Chinese. What, was it the good manners that tipped you off? Or was it the superior use of English?

I guess I've been convinced not to go to Stanford (lol, I'm sure not everyone is like you)

By Icarus (Icarus) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 01:18 am: Edit

Nerdboy, your logic is off and so are your made up statistics. At least please get those right.

First, having a medical school is very important in that much of the important medical research that takes place at UCLA does so because of the fact that it has a medical school and therefore the resources to conduct such research.

Second, you say that you know people who were accepted by UCLA, rejected by Berkeley blah blah blah. My question is: Who cares?! What do your individual examples have to do with anything? I know people who were accepted by Berkeley and rejected from UCLA and Stanford. But that in no way means that UCLA is better than Berkeley. As far as admissions goes, UCLA admitted a slightly smaller number of applicants than Berkeley did. (the exact numbers are on another post in this thread)

Third, you talk about research and libraries. UCLA has incredibly more research funding than does Berkeley. Also, you are incorrect when you say that Berkeley has the third largest library in the country. It is actually the ninth, with 9,107,757 volumes. (American Library Association Fact Sheet) The University of California Library system as a whole is the second largest library in the country, second only to the Library of Congress.

Then you talk about doctoral programs when, only a few lines above, you seemed rather adament that we were talking about undergrad programs only.

You do not back up your "statistics" with sources or numbers (when you refer to number of nobel prize winners, etc.), and much of what you say is simply that Berkeley is more "well known". On what grounds do you say this? In my opinion, your so-called 'data' is without merit, and therefore so is your argument.

Rankings are very much subjective in many cases. UCB and UCLA are both very good schools.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 01:32 pm: Edit

Agreed.

By Nk110 (Nk110) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 02:21 pm: Edit

I agree with Nerdboy. I think Shitakirimusume and Icarus are just trying to distort the facts to prove that UCLA is better than Berkeley. Stop it! whatever you say I still believe that Berkeley is a much more prestigious school than UCLA. Berkeley is superior to UCLA in all fields especially engineering, science, and business. Go bears!!!!

Please stop your nonsense postings.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 04:40 pm: Edit

Good luck of your wishful thinking.

So you still think World Com is great because it was an excellent company ten years ago, right?

By Nerdboy (Nerdboy) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 07:52 pm: Edit

First of all, I really appreciate the support and comments of Dschnapps' and Nk110's.

Also to Shitakirimusume: I am neither Chinese nor from any of HK or Taiwan. In fact, looking at your username, I assume you must be from those countries.

Second, Icarus, my logic is no off and my statistics are not made up. In fact I got them from a large and respected college fair this year.

Referring to your statement: "having a medical school is very important in that much of the important medical research that takes place at UCLA does so because of the fact that it has a medical school and therefore the resources to conduct such research",
for you information, UC Berkeley has the closest relationship with UCSF (which has one of the best and most respected Medical Schools in the entire country and maybe the world.) . UC Berkeley sends its undergrad pre-med students for research and internships to UCSF. UCLA is not even comparable to UCSF in medical research and med-school UCSF accepts more students for its med-school from Berkeley than it does from anywhere else, including Harvard.

And, Icarus, next time when you enter a conversation on a discussion board read most of the posts to get a sense of what's going on there and what people are discussing; because then you wouldn't just write a complete off message, like you have done about why I used individual examples to prove my point.
My excuse for using those examples was that Shitakirimusume had claimed that UCLA was better than UC Berkeley in reply to Mattimatt�s message about some students getting rejected by UCLA and not by Berkeley. So your statement is totally unrelated.

�What you say is simply that Berkeley is more "well known"�, Didn�t you see all that information about Cal?

I have talked to both Berkeley and UCLA librarians. They all confirmed that UC Berkeley�s library is the largest in the country after the Library of Congress, Harvard�s, and Yale�s (sorry if that�d make it 4th in nation).

If I have talked about doctoral program�s it was just to let Shitakirimusume know of how Berkeley�s grad programs are doing since he�d talked about UCLA�s.
Again, I never said that UCLA was a bad school.

At the end, Shitakirimusume, I think you�re just mad at someone who goes to Berkeley and try to prove that it�s a bad school. Too bad you know you can't.

GO BEARS!

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 08:53 pm: Edit

>Also to Shitakirimusume: I am neither Chinese nor from any of HK or Taiwan.

Since your pc produced Chinese Characters, I thought you are Chinese.

> UC Berkeley has the closest relationship with UCSF.

UCB and UCSF are two different schools. Period.

>UCLA is not even comparable to UCSF in medical research .

UCLA Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in the western United States for the 13th consecutive year, according to a U.S. News & World Report survey of 2,550 board-certified physicians from across the nation. The 13th annual guide to "America's best hospitals" will be on newsstands July 15. UCLA Medical Center, ranked as the fifth-best hospital nationally

> because then you wouldn't just write a complete off message, like you have done about why I used individual examples to prove my point.

You haven't proved anything.

>�What you say is simply that Berkeley is more "well known"�E Didn�t you see all that information about Cal?

Could you get rid of those Chinese Characters.

I have talked to both Berkeley and UCLA librarians. They all confirmed that UC Berkeley�s library is the largest in the country after the Library of Congress, Harvard�s, and Yale�s (sorry if that�d make it 4th in nation).

UCB around 9 Mil
(including 1 million liberal books)

UCLA around 8 Mil
Stanford around 8 Mil
Princeton around 8 Mil

>At the end, Shitakirimusume, I think you�re just mad at someone who goes to Berkeley and try to prove that it�s a bad school. Too bad you know you can't.

I think UCB is an excellent school. UCLA is better. (again I am not a UCLA alum.)

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 09:55 pm: Edit

UCLA achieved its most successful fund-raising performance in campus history — setting a record for the University of California system — by receiving more than $509.4 million in private gifts and grants during the past fiscal year.

The $509.4-million fund-raising total reflects gifts and pledges received between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, elevating the total for Campaign UCLA to more than $2.017 billion. That equals 84% of the $2.4-billion overall goal for the campaign, which concludes in 2005. The previous fund-raising record for UCLA was nearly $330 million, set in 1999-2000.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 10:01 pm: Edit

Berkeley - University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl unveiled today (Thursday, March 8) the extraordinary results of a $1.1 billion campus fundraising campaign .Berdahl said the Campaign which ended in December, surpassed its target, garnering $1.44 billion. The funds were critical to help to attract, strengthen and retain the best faculty members and students for UC Berkeley.

The previous fundraising by a public university was held by the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, which raised $1.41 billion in a campaign that ended in 1997.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 10:19 pm: Edit

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 01:44 am: Edit

from UCLA Magazine.

FACULTY MEMBERS HAVE PLAYED A KEY ROLE in the success of Campaign UCLA. Their contribution is most readily seen in the area of programs and research, where the goal has already been exceeded. More than $777 million has been raised in this category, much of it directly by faculty members. In addition, the campaign has provided funding to establish 78 of UCLA�fs 188 endowed chairs, each representing a gift of at least $500,000 to support the activities of a distinguished professor. A centuries-old academic tradition, endowed chairs are vital tools for faculty recruitment and retention.

Graduate-student support is an area in which UCLA is losing ground relative to its private peer institutions like Harvard and Stanford. Therefore, fund-raising for this purpose is among the highest priorities of Campaign UCLA and an important avenue to increasing competitiveness.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 02:33 am: Edit

By Nerdboy (Nerdboy) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 03:29 am: Edit

"Since your pc produced Chinese Characters, I thought you are Chinese",
can you tell me what Chinese characters were produced by my pc? Maybe your eyes catch things other people's don't. In fact those weird squares are found in your posts.

I don't see any Chinese letters in my posts. Does anybody else see them? Shitakirimusume, maybe you should buy a new computer or an American one.

"UCB and UCSF are two different schools.",
SO WHAT? they have a strong joint program.

I'm glad you had nothing to say about the library anymore.

You know, Shitakirimusume, you can continue your nonsense arguments forever. But you know that that's not going to convince anybody or make them want to go to UCLA.

By Kyle (Kyle) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 02:17 pm: Edit

Shitakirimusume, your posts are not convincing anyone that UCLA is better than Berkeley. Do you go to UCLA? Why do you put up all these statistics that you select that show UCLA is better? wow...you have no life.

By Icarus (Icarus) on Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 02:03 am: Edit

As I said before, this is really a subjective point and both are wonderful schools. But for the sake of argument....

I second Shitakirimusume's statement that highlights the fact that UCSF and UCB are two separate schools. My original statment stands.

next time when you enter a conversation on a discussion board read most of the posts to get a sense of what's going on there and what people are discussing
Funny, thats what i did....

I have talked to both Berkeley and UCLA librarians.
Once again, nerdboy, your "large and respected sources" astonish me.... and your data has changed. so now its the 4th largest?? Again, I still maintain that it is the 9th largest. Please check This site.

Kyle, you shouldn't talk about not having a life. Unless you are going to contribute to the discussion, kindly shut up.

By Nerdboy (Nerdboy) on Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 02:37 am: Edit

Icarus, "shut up" is not kindly. You don't have to be rude on a discussion board. Kyle is right, and I won't waste my time arguing with you and that Shitakirimusume. The link you've provided doesn't work. So it doesn't exist. Even if it did, it would contain false info like that of yours and Shitakirimusume's.
So bye forever. You can also continue supporting Shitakirimusume forever, people have other things to do besides reading your nonsense posts.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 10:24 pm: Edit

>can you tell me what Chinese characters were produced by my pc? Maybe your eyes catch things other people's don't. In fact those weird squares are found in your posts.
I don't see any Chinese letters in my posts. Does anybody else see them? Shitakirimusume, maybe you should buy a new computer or an American one.

You don't have to hide it. It's OK. Nerdboy.

>"UCB and UCSF are two different schools.",
SO WHAT? they have a strong joint program.

I think the joint program os USC and MIT received NRC awards about
Game theory. UCLA and Caltech have joint
programs as well.

Shall I call them UC-Berkeley-San-F from now on?

>You know, Shitakirimusume, you can continue your nonsense arguments forever. But you know that that's not going to convince anybody or make them want to go to UCLA.

Wishful thinking. I hope you are right.

By Bignate (Bignate) on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 02:47 pm: Edit

From what I've heard:

Academic Prestige: Berkeley > LA
Social Scene: LA > Berkeley

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 10:39 am: Edit

UCLA Physicists Create Single Molecule Nanoscale Sensor; Possible Applications for Medicine, Biotechnology, Detecting Biological Weapons

UCLA physicists have created a first-of-its-kind nanoscale sensor using a single molecule less than 20 nanometers long — more than 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair — the team reports in the June 24 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The nano molecular sensor could help with early diagnosis of genetic diseases, and have numerous other applications for medicine, biotechnology and other fields, said Giovanni Zocchi, assistant professor of physics at UCLA, member of the California NanoSystems Institute and leader of the research team.

"This nanoscale single-molecule method could lead to significant improvements in early diagnosis of genetic diseases, including the growing number of cancer forms for which genetic markers are known," Zocchi said. "The largest potential applications for this sensor may be in the drug discovery process, where the possibility of quickly gauging the gene expression response of cells to prospective drugs is crucial."

The research is federally funded by the National Science Foundation.

Zocchi's nanoscale sensor uses a single molecule to recognize the presence of a specific short sequence in a mixture of DNA or RNA molecules — which he equates to finding a needle in a haystack.

"Traditional assays use an averaged procedure that detects a minimum amount of molecules, but our method can detect a single one," Zocchi said. "When a target molecule binds to the probe in the sensor, the probe molecule changes shape, and in its new conformation, pulls on the sensor. It is remarkable that a single molecule can actually move the sensor, because the relative sizes are comparable to one person trying to move a mountain, but mass is of no consequence at these miniscule scales."

The motion of the sensor is detected by an optical technique called "evanescent wave scattering," which analyzes light that leaks out behind a reflecting mirror. This evanescent wave can be used to sense precisely the position of an object "beyond" the mirror.

"Instead of detecting the presence of the target, we detect the changing conformation of the probe when the target binds to it," Zocchi said.

Zocchi's team is the first to report measurements of conformational changes in a single DNA molecule at the nanometer scale.

"This single molecule sensor could be an important component of 'a lab on a chip' technology for doing chemical analysis on a chip," Zocchi said.

Zocchi's team plans to use the nanoscale sensor for experimental leukemia research, to test whether the sensor's high sensitivity can detect a recurrence of cancer at an earlier stage than is now possible.

"If we can increase the sensitivity of the detector, then it may be possible to detect genetic diseases at an earlier stage," Zocchi said. "It may become possible to diagnose the presence of an abnormality in DNA at an early stage, or the expression of a certain gene that should not be expressed.

"A single molecule sensor has, in principle, extraordinary sensitivity. Unlike previous single molecule experiments, which were impractically complicated for large-scale applications, the simplicity of this design lends itself to many applications.

"An efficient high-sensitivity method would be an important tool for testing how cells react to a new drug. The nano sensor could also be a useful tool for stem cell research. A nano sensor based on this technology could potentially detect minute traces of biological weapons, based on a characteristic genetic signature. These are the first steps down a path toward devices that we expect will be really useful."

In addition to the applications, Zocchi is interested in the research for reasons of basic science.

"How do you regulate the functions in the cells?" he said. "In the cell, proteins are regulated by other molecules that can bind to it, changing the conformation of the protein. This process is called 'allosteric regulation,' when a molecule binds to a protein, changing the conformation and the activity of the protein. I'm interested in this conformational change, and in understanding the physical basis of this allosteric mechanism, which is central to the regulation in the cell. There is a biological understanding of this process, but not an understanding of the physics. We want to learn how the binding of this molecule changes the conformation."

Zocchi's co-authors of the paper are Mukta Singh-Zocchi, a UCLA research physicist; Sanhita Dixit, a postdoctoral scholar in his laboratory; and Vassili Ivanov, a UCLA graduate student.

Zocchi, who joined UCLA's faculty in 1999 after conducting research at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, is exuberant about the future of nanotechnology research at the California NanoSystems Institute — a collaboration of UCLA — and elsewhere.

"The future will undoubtedly see nano-bio composite devices applied to perform molecular tasks," Zocchi said. "Ultimately these efforts will lay the groundwork for creating artificial systems with more and more of the characteristics that have been unique to living things. Economy of scale allows nature to pack the most elaborate laboratory on Earth in the volume of a single bacterial cell; in the future, artificial systems may approach similar complexity."

By Callub (Callub) on Saturday, September 06, 2003 - 02:49 am: Edit

well i don even understand y pp invested lots of $$ in UCLA where everyone are so into partying.
so is diz true or not 90% of women in UCLA walkign around asking for sex or school?? dats wat i heard randomly from american movies and pp around.
UCB is obviously a better skol coz its ranking TOP IN THE NATION!! dats A FACT..but maybe UCLA is rich and has a more nurish research programs
i wish to go there for grad study tho.!!

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