📰Princeton EQuad News

The 2002 Wu and Upton fellows had a very stylish welcoming reception and dinner at Prospect House on Oct. 2. The gardens were still in brilliant bloom, and the air warm enough to enjoy a drink on the patio.

The Gordon Y.S. Wu Fellowship and the Francis Lothrop Upton Fellowships are given to graduate students in engineering. This year, Princeton welcomed 11 Wu fellows and one Upton fellow to campus.

Several Princeton administrators were in attendance. E. David Mendez, assistant dean for graduate affairs in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) welcomed the guests and extended congratulations to the new fellows on behalf of the entire school.

SEAS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Sankaran Sundaresan led the room in introducing themselves so the fellows had an opportunity to state their interests and meet some of the faculty.

Interim Dean James C. Sturm ‘79 welcomed the fellows into the research process at Princeton.

“To my fellow faculty members Princeton means scholarship,” Professor Sturm said. “New discoveries, new inventions–we welcome you to be a part of that.”

He also talked about one of the differences between graduate and undergraduate work and urged them to be more scholastically adventurous.

“You probably got to where you are by following the rules,” he said. “But I urge you now to break the rules. We need independent thinkers here. Do things that aren’t supposed to happen.”

Lastly, he advised them to experience every opportunity Princeton has to offer and to not confine themselves to a lab. Dean Sturm made note of two recently married Princetonians, who met at a place where one might not necessarily be looking for a spouse.

They met at the 1997 Wu and Upton dinner (see related story on next page).

“So look around the room,” he urged. “Don’t be shy. You never know.”

David Redman, associate dean for academic affairs at the Graduate School, said that the SEAS has constantly pushed graduate work to new levels of excellence and has brought about many of the best transformations in the Graduate School.

He urged the students, however, not to let their scholastic minds be contained to one side of campus.

“Look broadly at the curriculum to richen and deepen your education,” Dean Redman said. “You are all going to do great things.”

Dean Sundaresan distributed certificates, and Dean Mendez closed the evening with good wishes for all.

Established in 1996, the Wu Fellowships were created in honor of Sir Gordon Y.S Wu, who in 1958 earned his bachelor of science in engineering from the SEAS. Today, Sir Gordon is one of the most influential engineers and businessmen in the world. He has led the development and construction of highways, railroads, and power generation stations throughout Asia.