Welcome to the California-Catalonia Engineering Program and The Balsells Fellowship.
In 1995 and thanks to a generous endowment from Mr. Pete Balsells and his family, the School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) established the Balsells Fellowship program. The Generalitat de Catalunya, through what is now the Departament of Universities and Research became a very important partner of the program shortly after its inception and was a sponsor until 2018. The program’s main goal is to prepare the most talented young engineers and scientists from Catalonia in their pursuit of post-graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) and post-doctoral studies in engineering or computer sciences. Currently only PhD students and Mobility students are supported. The program promotes the scientific and technological advancement of Catalonia and strengthens the collaborations between UCI and California on the one hand and Catalonia and its university system on the other. Today the program is financed by the original Balsells endowment, the Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine and a donation by Kaman Corporation in honor of Pete Balsells.
The University
Since 1965, the University of California, Irvine has combined the strengths of a major research university with the bounty of an incomparable Southern California location. UCI’s unyielding commitment to rigorous academics, cutting-edge research, and leadership and character development makes the campus a driving force for innovation and discovery that serves our local, national and global communities in many ways. Located 8 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean and 64 km from Los Angeles, the campus provides access to the high – technology industry of Orange County, and unparalleled cultural and recreational opportunities. Consistently ranked among the nation’s best universities – public and private – UCI excels in a broad range of fields, garnering national recognition for many schools, departments and programs. Before it turned 50, Times Higher Education ranked UCI No. 1 among universities in the U.S. under 50 years old. Three UCI researchers have won Nobel Prizes – two in chemistry and one in physics.
The School of Engineering
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering offers graduate degree programs in:
Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.
The school is equipped with excellent experimental facilities and a state-of-the-art computational infrastructure, occupying more than 295,000 square feet. It offers numerous research centers, institutes and facilities, including the Center for Pervasive Communications & Computing, The Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology, the Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility, the National Fuel Cell Research Center, the UC Irvine Combustion Lab, the Center for Embedded Computer Systems, the Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing, the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, the Center for Engineering Science in Design, and the Center for Advanced Design and Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics.
In these web pages you will find detailed information about the California-Catalonia Engineering Programs. These programs include:
- The Balsells Graduate Fellowship: prepares talented young Catalan engineers and scientists in their pursuit of graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) in engineering and computer sciences.
- The Balsells Postdoctoral Fellowship: allows talented Catalan engineers and scientists to conduct postdoctoral studies in engineering and computer sciences.
- The Balsells Mobility Program: allows Catalan students to conduct their graduation project (PFC, PFG, Master’s thesis) in engineering or computer science at UC Irvine.
See additional videos at the Balsells Fellowship YouTube Channel
For additional information, contact us at balsells@uci.edu.
The California-Catalonia Sister State Agreement (1986)