Active 1988 - 2018; Recalled 2018 - 2022
Dr. Charles W. Tu came to UC San Diego in 1988. Dr. Tu served in administrative posts as the Vice Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) from 1996-1999, then as the ECE Department Chair from 1999-2003. Dr. Tu also served as an Associate Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering from 2004-2013, an Associate Director of Global TIES (Teams In Engineering Service) from 2004-2013, and the Director of COSMOS (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science), 2006-2018.
At UC San Diego, he collaborated with many exceptional faculty and influential colleagues. His most influential colleague was Professor Harry Wieder (who passed away in 2019 at the age of 99), who recruited him to UC San Diego and went on to become a mentor to Dr. Tu. He appreciates what UCSD has offered, in terms of encouraging him to grow as a person, a teacher, a researcher, and an administrator. Dr. Tu also appreciates having supportive colleagues and a great crop of students. Even during retirement, he continues his research at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan without teaching or administrative duties. In the summer, he continues to co-teach for COSMOS at UC San Diego. He has taken up bicycling long distances (~50 miles or more).
Dr. Tu notes his most important contribution during his time at UCSD was during his tenure as the ECE Chair in 1999-2003, the department recruited about 12-13 new faculty members. His most memorable experience while teaching at UCSD is being a good sport, having pies pushed on his face a couple of summers during the COSMOS program.
Advice to current faculty who want to make the most out of their experience at UCSD is to get involved—with student organizations and campus programs. For current students, he would advise them to be motivated to learn, get involved with student organizations, and form a small group of peers to learn together.
Dr. Tu considers UCSD as part of his legacy, establishing two endowments: the ECE CORE (Collaborative OutReach and Education) for COSMOS and IEEE at UCSD, and a scholarship for the Chancellor’s Associates program.