News Release

Cymer co-founders Bob Akins, left, and Rick Sandstrom met as UCSD students more than 30 years ago and their 20-year-old company now employs nearly 1,000 people worldwide.

Candidates for the two awards will be selected from UCSD’s fall 2006 engineering applicants. The “Jacobs School Pascal Didier Undergraduate Scholar” will receive $100,000 over four years for full tuition and living expenses. The scholarship, named in memory of Cymer’s late former president and chief operating officer, is based on academic merit, leadership, and community service involvement. Similarly, the “Jacobs School S.C. Lin Graduate Scholar” was named in dedication to professor S.C. Lin will be bestowed on an applicant who has excelled in academics and leadership and who holds a strong interest in research. Cymer will give the selected graduate student a $75,000 fellowship.  Cymer’s gift contributes to the $1 billion fundraising goal of The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next.

"Cymer’s tremendous success is a wonderful example of the impact that UCSD has on regional economic development," said Frieder Seible, dean of UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering. "I am so pleased that Cymer and our alumni Bob Akins and Rick Sandstrom are giving back to the community by supporting this important scholarship and fellowship program.  Cymer’s gift will enhance our ability to recruit the best engineering talent to the UCSD Jacobs School and to San Diego."

“Education is a crucial stepping-stone in the pursuit and development of tomorrow’s technological advancements.  We are thrilled to have this opportunity to invest in future engineers by contributing to the Jacobs School Scholars program at UCSD,” said Cymer chairman and CEO, Bob Akins.  Both Akins and Cymer co-founder Richard Sandstrom received their bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees from UCSD.  Akins currently serves on the Jacobs School’s Council of Advisors and on the UC San Diego Foundation Board.

Cymer has been a supporter of UCSD since the company’s incorporation in 1986.  In 2001, Cymer provided a $750,000 gift to establish the Cymer Endowed Chair in High Performance Dynamical Systems Modeling and Control at the Jacobs School.  Endowed chair professorships recognize excellence in teaching, research, and service of a senior-level professor. The chair holder can use the endowment for student support, equipment, curriculum development and other initiatives.  In 2003, the Jacobs School appointed UCSD mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Robert Bitmead as the inaugural holder of the chair.