Q: You have a strong history of fostering collaborations throughout your career. With that in mind, why do you think five UC campuses working together through the UC Noyce Initiative is so powerful? A: Collaboration is so important because the problems we face in society don't come with a discipline written on them. To make progress on big societal challenges, we need to bring together people from different disciplinary expertise who can leverage their unique tools, techniques, and ways of thinking. An engineer thinks differently than a physicist or a social scientist, and synthesizing these diverse perspectives is where powerful innovations can occur. The UC Noyce Initiative taps into this power of collaboration, not just across disciplines, but across the five UC campuses. Each campus has deep pools of expertise in different fields, and by bringing these teams together, we can tackle complex problems in ways that draw on the breadth and depth of knowledge within the UC system. This multi- campus collaboration is a unique strength of the initiative, allowing us to make the most of the UC's world-class resources to drive transformative solutions. Q: Why UCNI? Why now? A: The UC Noyce Initiative is uniquely positioned for success due to California's special history and ecosystem in the digital revolution. California has been at the forefront of major innovations in this space, including the founding of Intel by Bob Noyce himself. The five UC campuses involved in the initiative have world-class expertise and a proud legacy in this domain. Additionally, the significant endowment Q: Is there an aspect of UCNI’s mission—to advance digital innovation for the public good—that speaks most to you? A: Absolutely. Digital technologies powered by semiconductors have been the single greatest force for progress in our society over the past 50-70 years. These technologies have transformed communication, education, healthcare, and economic growth in ways that have greatly benefited people's lives, especially in developing parts of the world. While there are also negative impacts to be mindful of, the opportunity to harness digital innovation for the public good is immense. This is precisely what the UC Noyce Initiative aims to do - maximize the positive impact while understanding and minimizing the negative.
provided by the Noyce Trust puts the UC Noyce Initiative in a tremendous position to bring these five campuses together and continue to lead California, the nation, and the world in emerging technology directions like AI and quantum computing. This generational opportunity, combined with the unique collaboration among the campuses and the trustees' engagement, makes the UC Noyce Initiative a truly special initiative poised for transformative impact.
Image courtesy of UC Irvine
08 Impact Report 2023 - 24 | UC NI
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