As an undergraduate student at Nanjing University in the city of Nanjing, China, Siyi Xu loved to use the large radio telescope located high in the mountains of western China.
But the journey was long ”“ from her school on the eastern coast of the country, Xu would travel 48 hours via train. Suitable telescopes for her observations were just not available anywhere closer.
“In China, astronomy is still in the beginning stages,” Xu said.
When she heard of a summer research program at UCLA, Xu jumped at the chance and went to the U.S. during the summer of 2009.
Months later, she was invited back to continue her research during the winter of her fourth year, and today, Xu is a second-year UCLA graduate student in astronomy.
Xu’s entrance into American and Los Angeles culture is part of the UCLA Cross-disciplinary Scholars in Science and Technology program, which looks to bring students from China, and now Japan, to Westwood Village to study science, math and engineering at the graduate level.
This winter, professors will again travel to Asia to handpick some of the best undergraduate students to work on joint research projects.
The program’s aim is to facilitate greater international and cultural collaboration between these Asian nations and the U.S., said Helen Chien, administrative director of the program.
With an increasingly global society, cross-cultural ties are becoming more important to foster connections in research and academics, she said.
China already tops the number of international graduate applicants to UCLA.
“It just made sense to target China,” Chien said. “Why not target this group first to really be able to distinguish those who look good on paper (from) those who can succeed?”
UCLA’s preview for graduate studies is one of only a few in the nation, although other universities have modeled similar programs after the university, Chien said.
The program began in 2008, after a pilot program that brought 20 students to UCLA each summer was deemed successful.
Chinese students apply to UCLA’s summer program at their respective universities, and the best applicants are interviewed by the UCLA professors who travel to China during the winter specifically for this purpose.
“I think (the program) is actually good for the U.S. and China because we look at and negotiate with some of the brightest people in China,” said Michael Jura, a professor of astronomy who has been a program interviewer for several years. “The people we see are going to be important leaders in China.”
Out of the 250 students who apply, about 80 to 90 are accepted for the summer. After the summer research program, students can be invited back to UCLA for the winter to continue their research and work on their senior theses, a requirement at many Chinese universities, Jura said.
From this number, about 30 percent continue their education at UCLA for graduate school, Chien said.
Students must fund their summer, winter and eventual graduate studies on their own.
Though China offers a government scholarship that provides students with a stipend, it comes with strings attached. To receive the funding, students must serve the government for two years after getting their doctorate degree, Xu said.
She added that many of her friends have accepted the scholarship.
While Xu has enjoyed the research opportunity in the U.S., she’s also been able to explore Southern California and its neighboring areas ““ traveling to the beach, the Getty Museum and even Las Vegas.
On the university level, she said she hopes to host a planetarium show about the Chinese sky and constellations.
Though she’s enjoyed the sunshine, the culture and the close relationship with her advisor, Xu said she hopes to return to China after graduation.
As an only child, her parents have missed her, though she sends them photos of her new home and calls them on Skype every night.
Xu also said she sees her education as a means to give back to her country.
“We need more people (in astronomy),” she said. “I feel like China is not as developed in astronomy as here ““ maybe I can build a better telescope.”