Dean's message
Virtuous Research Cycles
February 2025
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In engineering and computer science, there are virtuous cycles that move between fundamental and applied research. I’ve talked about these cycles before, but it bears repeating. Fundamental research often prompts highly relevant applied research questions which, when pursued, uncover new lines of fundamental research. These are the virtuous cycles of technology research. One type strengthens the other. Their interactions advance engineering and computer science in ways that improve lives and give the country’s industrial sectors competitive advantages. In this context, I have also seen generation after generation of students get inspired by relevant research challenges at the cutting edge and go on to exciting and satisfying careers.
To make the greatest positive impact on society, these research cycles require deep partnerships across universities, government and industry. Historically, the Jacobs School of Engineering has had a strong mix of government and industry funding, which has empowered us to be relevant in both research and workforce development.
This year, for the first time, the Jacobs School reported almost equal amounts of industry and government funding across our $316M research enterprise. This near parity in research expenditures (47% industry and private support / 49% government support) is a result of our industry funding growing faster than our government funding – though crucially – both sources of research funding rose last year. I welcome this development because it affirms one of our long standing mantras: “the great engineering schools of the next decade will collaborate their way to relevance”. And via our industry relevance, we have built that industry collaboration.
There is a nuance here that I want to clarify. Our ability to secure industry funding is so often driven by our incredible research ecosystem which exists thanks to the decades of sustained government-funded research support writ large. This includes funding for specific research projects and also funding for research infrastructure, for graduate students and postdocs, and for so many other critical aspects of the academic research enterprise. Put another way, our ability to engage in relevant research and workforce development with our industry partners across the country is intrinsically linked to the strength of our overall research enterprise.
As an engineering Dean, I am keenly aware of the ever-present need to articulate the real-world positive impacts that our fundamental and applied research ecosystem provides to the general public and to our country’s private and public sectors. I make the connections as often as I can.
There is often a lag time, however, between the research, educational and entrepreneurship efforts within engineering schools and the tangible positive impacts for the general public. This is for a variety of reasons, and perhaps I’ll dive into some of them in the future. But for today, I’ll just say that this time lag makes it even more important for us to articulate our positive impacts.
Here at the Jacobs School, I do my best to tell these stories, but I’m well aware that there are many positive-impact stories that I'm not aware of. To our Jacobs School community, I would be grateful if you would share with me details of these kinds of positive outcomes from our Jacobs School research, education and entrepreneurship enterprise. DeanPisano@ucsd.edu is a good address.
I can’t promise I’ll reply to every email right away, but I will look at every response. My team and I will use any insights we glean to strengthen our efforts to articulate the many ways that the Jacobs School directly and indirectly improves human lives, strengthens the industrial foundations of this country, and enhances our national competitiveness. Together we make bold possible.
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As always, I can be reached at .
Sincerely,
Al
Albert ("Al") P. Pisano
Dean, 鶹ý Jacobs School of Engineering
Special Adviser to the Chancellor for Campus Strategic Initiatives