CalCat News

June 2008: Balsells Fellows participate in the 2008 commencement ceremony.

On June 13th, 2008 five Balsells fellows participated in the 43rd commencement ceremony at UC Irvine. The students Roger Piqueras, Javier Rodriguez and Marcel López received their M.S degree and Alfred Grau and Julius Klein received their Ph.D degree.
For pictures of the event, please visit the pictures section.

February 2008: Pete Balsells celebrates 80th birthday.

On February 11th, 2008, Pete Balsells celebrated his 80th birthday. In a party at a hotel in Huntington Beach, California, his family and friends surprised him with a cake made after Gaudi's famed Sagrada Familia. The Henry Samueli School of Engineering gave him a plaque to commemorate the occasion and his support to engineering eduaction through the California-Catalonia programs. For pictures of the event, please visit the pictures section.
You can see here the note from Chancellor Drake to Pete on the occasion of his 80th birthday

November 2006: Professor Roger Rangel receives the Narcis Monturiol Medal.

Professor Roger Rangel, Chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department has received The arcis Monturiol Medal in Catalonia, Spain. This Medal is awarded to Professor Rangel for distinction in science and technology and for contributions to the scientific development of Catalonia. The specific citation reads: Roger H. Rangel: PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC Irvine, has over 150 publications and has made important contributions in the fields of fluid mechanics and transport processes, particularly in dispersed multiphase flows involving particles and sprays with applications in materials sciences and combustion. As director, since 1995, of the Balsells Fellowship Program and California-Catalonia Engineering Innovation Program, he has coordinated the activities of over 60 Catalan engineering students at UC Irvine. Since 2005 he is the principal investigator of the California-Catalonia Alliance for Miniaturization Science and Engineering, sponsored by NSF. For pictures of the event, please visit the pictures section.

July 2006: Balsells Fellowship Celebrates tenth anniversary.

The Balsells Fellowship program celebrated the tenth anniversary of the arrival of the 1st Balsells fellow. The event was commemorated with a luncheon hosted by Pete Balsells in Barcelona which was attended by over seventy guests including more than twenty five fellows. Former Catalan president Jordi Pujol and his wife also attended the event. It was held on July 1 and started with a reception followed by a lunch at the conclusion of which several speakers reminisced on different aspects on their experience during these past ten years. Marc Medrano (2001) served as MC and current Director General for Research of the Catalan Government, Xavier Testar, reiterated the support of his office to the program. The first Balsells fellow, Sergi de Miguel (1996), presented a book to Mr. Balsells on behalf of all the fellows. The book, published in Barcelona, contains anecdotes by several of the fellows and a prologue describing the history of the program written by Professor Roger Rangel, Balsells Fellowship director. Rangel spoke at the luncheon and highlighted the contributions to the success of the program of several people, most of whom attended the luncheon. The program will award its 60th fellowship in 2006, exceeding the $2 million mark in total awards. For pictures of the event please see the pictures section of this site. A report distributed at the luncheon is available here.

March 2006: Balsells Fellow Francisco Lopez Dekker joins UPC as a Ramon y Cajal researcher.

Francisco (Paco) Lopez Dekker (1997 Balsells Fellow) has joined the Signal Theory and Communications Department at the Politechnical University of Catalonia (UPC) as a Ramon y Cajal Researcher. The Ramon y Cajal program is oriented at incorporating distinguished researchers holding a Ph.D. degree into Spain's research institutions. Awards are granted based on the candidates trajectory and the proposed research project. The grant covers most of the researcher's salary during a five year period and provides some funding to start the project. At UPC, Dr. Lopez Dekker will investigate bi-static Synthetic Aperture Radar techniques aimed at monitoring land movements. Paco is a 1997 Balsells Fellowhip recepient. After completing a Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCI, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2002. In 2003 he returned to Barcelona to work at Starlab and in September 2004, he joined the Autonomous University of Barcelona as a visiting professor.

March 2006: Delegation from the 22@Barcelona project visits UCI.

Miquel Barcelo, Chairman of the 22@ project, Vicente Lopez, Director General of 22@Barcelona Media, and Xavier Kirchner, Director of Innovation of Telefonica visited UCI to discuss collaborations related to technology transfer and the California-Catalonia Engineering Innovation Program. They met with Roger Rangel, Director of the California-Catalonia Engineering Program, and Pete Balsells of Bal Seal Engineering and founder of the Balsells Fellowship program. The 22@Barcelona project will transform the Poblenou industrial district of Barcelona into an innovative economic district with the aim of creating an important scientific, technological and cultural axis. This change will consolidate Barcelona into a platform for innovation within the knowledge-based economy at an international level. 22@Barcelona consists of mixed-use urban areas where production goes hand-in-hand with centers for research, training and technology transfer, as well as shops, houses and open space. The transformation will utilize 200 hectares of industrial land into an economic district with leading edge infrastructure. It will offer over three million square meters of modern, flexible, technological business space in the very center of Barcelona, and is to achieve a strategic concentration of knowledge intensive activities. A follow up meeting in Barcelona is planned later this year as well as another meeting with former Balsells fellows. For additional information on the 22@Barcelona see http://www.bcn.es/22@bcn/pdf/22@_state_execution.pdf.

December 2005:California and Catalonia establish alliance in miniaturization science and engineering.

Professor Roger H. Rangel, chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, has received a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), to support the California-Catalonia Alliance for Miniaturization Science and Engineering program, which is an expansion of the international collaboration between the University of California, Irvine and selected universities and research institutes in Catalonia. The new program will encompass two distinct research areas: micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) with applications in biotechnology and biomedical engineering, and nanotechnology, exploring the fundamental aspects of materials science, physics, and chemistry. For additional information please visit: http://www.eng.uci.edu/news_events/current/?page=252.

November 2005: Conseller Carles Solà visits UCI.

On November 10, 2005 and accompanied by three representatives from DURSI, Conseller Carles Solà visited the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. On this occasion, Conseller Solà visited some of the laboratories where the Catalan students from the Balsells Fellowship program conduct their research and also met with Professor Roger Rangel, Director of the Balsells program at UCI and with the Dean of the HSSoE, Professor Nick Alexopoulos. Dr. Solà and his group also met with Mr. Pete Balsells, visited Bal Seal Engineering and attended a human castle demonstration by the California Kids. This year, the Catalan government is contributing over $250,000 to the various California-Catalonia engineering programs at UCI. For pictures of the event, please see the pictures section.

October 2005: Former President Pujol hosts luncheon with Balsells fellows.

Former Catalan President Jordi Pujol and his wife Marta Ferrusola hosted a luncheon at the Majestic Hotel in Barcelona on October 10, 2005. Mr. Pujol offered some remarks regarding his view of the current challenges facing Catalonia and listened as the Balsells fellows offered their impressions and discussed their experiences as students in California and how such experiences have influenced their current professional activities in Catalonia. The luncheon was attended by approximately 20 former Balsells fellows including the first two (Sergi de Miguel and Jose Miguel Pulido) as well as by Professor Roger Rangel, Director of the California-Catalonia Engineering programs and his wife Mireia. See a picture of this event in the pictures section.

September 2005: Catalan students build human Pillar of Four

On Sunday September 25th, the California Kids had their second public performance during the fall gathering (Aplec de Tardor) organized by the Catalan Club (Casal) of Southern California. The California Kids group consists of human tower builders (colla castellera) at the University of California, Irvine, with an international flavor since not only Catalans but also students from Brazil, India, Turkey, Lebanon, Italy, France, and the U.S. are part of this association. During their performance, they built several human towers. The main achievement however was the successful completion of a spectacular "pilar de 4" or pillar of 4 (see pictures section), a human tower of medium complexity which consist of 4 stories with one person on each level, and with a large crowd (pinya) at its base. Other castles or human towers completed were: the "4 of 4" (4 de 4) and the "pilar de 3 aixecat per sota" (pillar of 3 raised from the bottom). The castells activity finalized with a practice session for those who wanted to be initiated in the art of the Human Towers.

September 2005: Balsells Fellow receives Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Maria Cruz Villa Uriol, a 2000 Balsells fellow in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Irvine has successfully defended her Ph.D dissertation and received her Ph.D degree from UCI in September of 2005. Maria Cruz, a graduate from La Salle School of Engineering in Barcelona developed a thesis on Video-Based Avatar Reconstruction and Motion Capture. Hers is the 5th Ph.D degree received by a Balsells fellow and the second woman to do so. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Visualization and Interactive Systems Group at UCI. Eventually, she plans to return to Catalonia to pursue an academic and research career.

September 2005: Balsells Fellow completes Engineering without Borders Project

This past summer, Jordi Ros, a 1998 Balsells fellow, participated and directed a volunteer technology project named ThinkLab. In this project, which was sponsored by Engineers without Borders USA, Jordi and 3 other volunteers collected 11 laptops from the US and installed them in a local school in Jocotenango, Guatemala. The group taught a crash course in computer networks using only open source software (Linux) and a DSL connection. Through computers and Internet, ThinkLab hopes to provide the means to open the imagination and curiosity of the students.

August 2005: First Inertial MEMS made in Catalonia

The fabrication of the first inertial MEMS made in Catalonia has been possible through the efforts of several researchers involved in the California-Catalonia Engineering Innovation Program and Balsells Fellowship. UCI’s state-of-the-art fabrication facilities and expertise in design, modeling, and characterization of inertial and optical micro-sensors enabled the researchers involved in the project to successfully complete the fabrication of these miniature devices.

The project “Embedded MEMS-based sensor net for safety and comfort of public transportation systems” is led by Professor Andrei Shkel, Director of UCI’s Microsystems Laboratory and by Professor Jasmina Casals (Balsells fellow 2001) of UPC Terrassa. Former Balsells fellow Andreu Fargas-SENER is also a participant. Fargas and Casals went through training in the Microsystems Laboratory during their M.S. degree studies at UCI and are very well familiar with the challenges and advantages of MEMS technology.

Their knowledge has been adapted to the fabrication facilities at CNM in Catalonia. The fabrication process is based in SOI wafers and provides high-aspect ratio structures (see figure) with only one mask process. This characteristic makes the process very suitable for inertial MEMS. These devices are part of a project whose goal is to propose MEMS-based sensor network technologies that will contribute to future transportation systems with enhanced reliability, comfort, and safety. Devices include linear and angular accelerometers, angular rate and absolute angle measuring gyroscopes, and other sensors for conventional and harsh environments, such as low-power microswitches.

August 2005: Former President of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol, visits UC Irvine

On August 4th, 2005, former president of Catalonia Mr. Jordi Pujol and his wife, Mrs. Marta Ferrusola, visited the University of California, Irvine, following an invitation from Pete Balsells. The Center for the Study of Democracy at UCI hosted a luncheon in honor of Mr. Pujol at the University Club Library. After dessert, Mr. Jordi Pujol offered some remarks on the identity of Catalonia and its role in Europe, as well as on the societal and economical problems Europe is facing this century.

During his visit, Mr. Pujol unveiled a bench in Aldrich Park, at the center of the UCI campus. The bench is dedicated to Mr. Pete Balsells for his continuous support to the California-Catalonia Engineering Programs, including the Balsells Fellowship. During the event, the Association of Catalans at UCI delighted everybody with three human towers: a '4 de 4' and two 'pilars de 3'. This was the first ever human-tower performance at UCI. The group of castellers wore orange shirts with the name 'California Kids' embroidered on.

A reception and poster session hosted by the Henry Samueli School of Engineering in the main hall of the new CalIT2  building concluded the day. Balsells fellows showcased their current research projects. Newly inaugurated UCI Chancellor Michael Drake attended the event and thanked the Catalan government, Mr. Pujol and Mr. Balsells for their continued support to research and UCI.
(see pictures section)

May 2005: Catalans at UCI association, The Most Promising New Group

During the Student Organizations Recognitions Night, Catalans at UCI received the award for Most Promising New Group. Catalans at UCI is a new organization formed by Catalan students from UCI. So far, they have already been involved in a variety of activities, including a talk on human towers ("castells"), the Anteater Bite (where they won the 2nd prize), the medieval festival of Wayzgoose, and so on. Congratulations to the Catalans at UCI!
(see pictures section)

April 2005: The rector of UAB visits UC Irvine

For the purpose of developing a new fellowship in the area of biotechnology, the rector (president) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Professor Lluís Ferrer, and the director general of Catalan Institute for Agricultural Research (IRTA), Dr. Josep Tarragó, visited UCI to meet with Pete Balsells and Professor Roger Rangel, Director of the Balsells Fellowship program. Also attending were Professor Lowell Lewis, California-Catalonia liaison in Barcelona, and Lluís Perez-Grau, of UC Davis. In addition to discussing the creation of the new fellowship, the visitors had the opportunity to meet several of the Balsells fellows currently at UCI. (see pictures section)

February 2005: Balsells Fellow earns Ramon y Cajal fellowship

Marc Medrano Martorell (2001 Balsells Fellow) has joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Lleida (UdL). The Ramon y Cajal program is oriented at incorporating distinguished researchers holding a Ph.D. degree into Spain's research institutions. Awards are granted based on the candidates trajectory and the proposed research project. The grant covers most of the researcher's salary during a five year period and provides some funding to start the project. At UdL, Dr. Medrano is investigating the integration, optimal operation and life cycle assessment of advanced distributed generation (DG) power systems into several types of commercial buildings and industrial facilities, identifying technical, economic and environmental barriers and opportunities. Marc is a 2001 Balsells Postdoctoral Fellowhip recepient. He spent 3 years at the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UCI.

February 2005: The Association of Catalans at UCI wins the 2nd prize of the Anteater Bite

Competing with other associations at UCI, such as the one from the students of Hawaii which won the first prize, the association of Catalans at UCI won the 2nd prize of the Anteater Bite contest with a superb paella. Congratulations to all of the participants for their help and enthusiasm. (see pictures section)

November 2004: Balsells Recognition Luncheon

The Henry Samueli School of Engineering hosted its annual Balsells recognition luncheon to recognize Mr. Pete Balsells as the founder of the Balsells programs at UC Irvine. The event also included a poster session, where the Balsells Fellowship students presented their research activities. (see pictures section)

September 2004: Three former Balsells Fellows have accepted faculty positions in the U.S. and in Catalonia.

Alba Perez Gracia, a Balsells fellow in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 1997 and 1998 and PhD also in MAE in 2003, has joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at Idaho State University. Francisco Lopez Dekker, a Balsells fellow in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1997 and PhD from the University of Massachussets, Amherst in 2003, joins telecommunication engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Laia Pages, a Balsells fellow in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2001 and PhD in progress in CEE at UC Irvine, has joined the school of Industrial Engineering at the Polytechnical University of Barcelona, Terrassa, as an adjunct professor.

Pete Balsells and the Balsells Fellowship highlighted in the "Afers Exteriors" Catalan TV Show

Mikimoto, on his search of succesful Catalans around the Globe for featuring his travelling TV show, landed this time in California. Here, he interviewed Pete Balsells at his annual welcome party to the Balsells Fellows and visitied also his BalSeal company. Mikimoto is a well-known reporter and showman from the TVCatalunya group. In his "Afers exteriors" travelling show he travels all around the world in search of successful catalans that live outside of Catalonia. So far, they have traveled to Iceland, Marroco, Austria, Italy, etc. This time, he traveled to California and met Pete Balsells, the Balsells and Girona Fellows, Pere Garriga and Sergi S. in Southern California and finished then with Roser in San Francisco. To see the show visit Afers Exteriors: California(I)

Alba Perez featured in January 2004 issue of Catalan Research magazine

Alba Perez Gracia, 1997 Balsells Fellow and 2003 PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has been featured in the Jan 2004 issue of Catalunya Recerca (Catalonia Research), published by DURSI. Article

2003 Balsells Recognition Luncheon

As it has become a custom every Fall, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering hosted its annual Balsells recognition luncheon to recognize Mr. Pete Balsells as the founder of the Balsells programs at UC Irvine. This year was also marked by another important event, the Ph.D. graduations of the first four doctoral students from the Balsells program. Because of the significance of this event and to recognize the important contributions by the Catalan government to these programs, we also hosted Mr. Joaquim Casal, Director General for Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya, who spoke of the significance of these programs in the technological development of Catalonia. The event started with Professor Roger Rangel, Director of the California Catalonia programs at UC Irvine, highlighting the achievements of the program in its eight years of existence. Also speaking at the event was Professor Nick Alexopoulos, Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and host of the event, who also gave a plaque to Mr. Balsells, recognizing his exemplary actions as a financial supporter of the fellowship. The event also included a poster session, where the Balsells Fellowship students presented their research activities and concluded with a recognition presented by Professor Rangel to the new Ph.D. graduates. (see pictures section).

Pete Balsells hosts annual welcome lunch party

As he has done every fall for the last few years, Pete Balsells hosted a lunch party at his house to welcome the new Balsells fellows. About 18 new and continuing fellows as well as friends and members of the Casal dels Catalans attended. This year, the welcome party featured an exhibition of swing dance which included basic step lessons for anyone wishing to give it a try. The highlight was the presence of Miquel Calçada, aka Miki Moto, who attended with his Catalan Television (TV3) crew to tape an episode of his television program featuring Catalans living abroad. (see pictures section)

Meeting of Balsells Fellows in Barcelona

On the occasion of Balsells Fellowship Director, Professor Roger Rangel's visit to Barcelona to promote the 2004 edition of the Balsells Fellowship, a meeting and dinner was organized at the Bilbao Restaurant in Gracia. It was yet another opportunity to remember our times in California and to catch up with each other's activities. (see pictures section)

New Girona Fellowship at UC Irvine

We are pleased to announce the establishment of a new Fellowship under the California-Catalonia program. The Girona fellowship was recently created under the sponsorship of the Patronat of the Escola Politecnica Superior (EPS) of the University of Girona (UdG), the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Balsells Fellowship fund at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering (HSSoE) at UC Irvine and it is open to graduates of the EPS-UdG who have been admitted as graduate students to the HSSoE. Its inaugural recepient is Daniel Massaguer, a graduate of the EPS-UdG who will pursue a Master's degree in the department of electrical engineering and computer science at UCI. Congratulations Dani.

Engineering Innovation Projects announced

California-Catalunya Program for Engineering Innovation. The selection process for the new California-Catalunya Program for Engineering Innovation was completed in July. Three proposals from a total of nine submitted were selected for funding.

Professors Andrei Shkel (UCI) and Jasmina Casals (UPC-Terrassa, Balsells fellow 2001) will lead a program on embedded MEMS-based sensor networks for safety and comfort of public transportation systems. This project also includes the participation of SENER as the industrial partner and former Balsells fellow Andreu Fargas (2000).

Professors Renato Pajarola (UCI) and Toni Susin (UPC-Barcelona) will develop REVICAT: The remote Virtual Catwalk with participation of Miguel Sainz (Balsells fellow 1999), Albert Mercade (Balsells fellow 2002) and Igres LLC and Mel&Mato SL as industrial partners.

The third project is led by Professors Satya Atluri (UCI) and Eugenio Oñate (UPC-Barcelona) with Packer Aerospace as industrial partner and will investigate a fully coupled Eulerian-Eulerian approach for the analysis of fluid structure interaction problems undergoing large deformations. The California-Catalunya Program for Engineering Innovation is a new and exciting collaboration jointly sponsored by the Generalitat de Catalunya, Pete Balsells, and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UCI. It explores new approaches to support and sustain innovations in the translation of research into results that benefit both California and Catalonia. The long-term goal of the program is to stimulate the transformation of knowledge created at the academic level into innovations that create new wealth and build strong local, regional and inter-related national economies.

Balsells Luncheon in Barcelona

A luncheon meeting of former, current, and future Balsells fellows was held in Barcelona on saturday, August 9, 2003. It was a great opportunity to remember good times and share experiences, and also for some of the new fellows to find out more about the experience they were about to embark upon. The meeting was organized by former fellow Cesar Alvaro (MAE 1998) and was held in a private room at Moncho's restaurant on Travessera de Gracia. It was attended by several former fellows and companions and by Balsells Fellowship director, Professor Roger Rangel. The meeting was sponsored by Pete Balsells. Cesar Alvaro also shared his thoughts regarding the creation of a Balsells Fellowship association in Catalonia. (see pictures section)

First four Balsells Fellows to obtain their PhD degree

Four fellows of the Balsells Fellowship program, who started their graduate studies in engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), have received their Ph.D. degrees in the summer of 2003. They are the first four Balsells fellows to the receive the highest university degree.

Alba Perez Gracia, a 1997 and 1998 Balsells fellow, received her Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Henry Samueli School of Engineering (HSSoE) at UCI.

Francisco (Paco) Lopez Dekker, a 1997 Balsells fellow in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCI, has received his Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Massachustts, Amherst.

Jordi Ros Giralt, a 1998 Balsells fellow, has received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the HSSoE at UCI.

Miguel Sainz Serra, a 1999 Balsells fellow, also received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC Irvine. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow and lecturer in the Department of Information and Computer Science at UCI.

Congratulations to the new Ph.D.s! (see pictures section)