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Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) 2024 – Los Angeles

The Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) Programs provide an opportunity for talented undergraduate students to work in teams on real-world research projects proposed by sponsors from industry or the public sector. Each student team, with support from their academic mentor and industry mentor, will research the problem and present the results, both orally and in writing, at the end of the program. Subsequent to the RIPS program, some student teams choose to publish their results, or present them at national conferences. IPAM provides each undergraduate student with a wide range of support and incentives. These include:

• Travel allowance
• Housing and meals on campus
• Site-visit with sponsors (subject to confirmation)
• Limited partial support for future travel to select conferences
• Foreign students (studying in the US or abroad) are eligible
• Graduating seniors are eligible

Encouraging the careers of women and minority mathematicians and scientists is an important component of IPAM’s mission and we welcome their applications. You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in either program.

RIPS-LA runs June 24 – August 23, 2024. Students will live in residence halls on the UCLA campus and will work at IPAM, which will provide technical support and offices. We expect to have nine projects, but the sponsors and projects are not yet finalized. Please see the FAQ page  for more information.

Attention:  Please note the different dates of the LA and  Singapore  programs.

IPAM is committed to equity and diversity in the mathematical sciences. We strongly encourage members of traditionally underrepresented groups including women to apply.

RIPS Los Angeles Flyer

News & Research

• Louisiana Sea Grant

Current Research Projects

Omnibus research projects.

Since its establishment in 1968, the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program has worked to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination of research, education and outreach. Louisiana Sea Grant is an integrated program of extension, education, law and policy, communications, research and management. These core functions carry out the program’s mission.

Funded Omnibus Research Projects:

Aquaculture

Louisiana Sea Grant is continuing its investment in aquaculture by funding two projects looking at prominent aquaculture industries in the state. Over the next few years $292,094 in federal research funds will be supporting two projects in Louisiana—one in briny estuaries and one in freshwater ponds.

Aquaculture is an increasingly important industry, representing a way to supplement wild caught seafood. Globally, aquaculture is a rapidly growing food sector, but the United States lags behind many other countries. While the nation consumes large quantities of seafood, most of that is imported. Since the U.S. imports more seafood than it catches and grows, it’s important to look at ways to support domestic aquaculture production. This is the focus of the two projects being funded in Louisiana.

View Aquaculture Projects >

Ocean Acidification

Rising temperatures bring the added risk of ocean acidification. In an effort to train Gulf of Mexico researchers to rapidly respond to changing ocean acidities, the Louisiana and Texas Sea Grant programs are partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Acidification Program to provide graduate student fellowships that build the research capacity in the region.

This hands-on opportunity helps graduate students effectively translate their research to coastal audiences. Students will identify key research priorities in the Gulf of Mexico region, contribute to an increased knowledge of ocean acidification and transfer that knowledge to relevant stakeholders through outreach and extension. Three students from Louisiana will be awarded this fellowship.

View Ocean Acidification Research >

Oil Spill Dispersants

Three Louisiana State University scientists received a $500,000, three-year grant from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency to study the feasibility of producing “green” dispersants for future oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.

LSU AgCenter faculty Andrew Nyman and Chris Green and AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant faculty member Brian LeBlanc began their research in 2012. Their project – titled: Bacillus subtilis Biosurfactants with Potentially Lower Environmental Impact for Salt Water Applications – includes collaborations with Iowa State and Colombia universities.

The study will attempt to produce oil dispersants that have less of an impact on the wetland environment.

Objectives & Background of Oil Spill Dispersants Research >

Ocean Science Assistantship Program (OSAP)

In 2015, the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program was able to fund the Ocean Science Assistantship Program (OSAP)  with generous support from Shell. This program provides student support for two years of Master’s-level research  relevant to environmental, social, and economic issues associated with oil and gas activities in deep-water environments (shelf ecosystems).

About Ocean Science Assistantship Program >

Resilient Communities Projects

Louisiana Sea Grant announced it is funding five new projects concentrating on the program’s Resilient Communities focus area. One is a research project and the others are scientific synthesis efforts – where existing data is used to develop new models to explain or test a problem. Below is a synopsis of the two-year projects, along with a list of the investigators and their affiliations.

View Resilient Communities Projects >

Can ‘urban humanism’ reverse L.A.’s housing crisis? In some ways, it already has

On March 7, Dana Cuff will discuss architecture’s ability to design more equitable futures at UCLA’s Faculty Research Lecture.

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One Billion Dollars.

That’s the average amount UCLA has received to fund research projects each year since 2009-10.

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As one of the world’s top research universities, UCLA has the intellectual capital and extensive research facilities necessary to tackle society’s most challenging issues. And as a public research university, we take seriously our mission to develop solutions that improve the quality of life in our community, our country and around the world. Included among our faculty, alumni and researchers are 14 Nobel Prize winners, 13 faculty MacArthur Fellows, a Fields medalist, two Turing Award winners, and three Pulitzer Prize winners. Explore our site to learn more about us, research highlights, resources for researchers, how to engage with UCLA research and our initiatives.

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Irradiation of biological tissue for study of the effects of charged particle irradiation in the space environment.

Long-duration manned space missions pose important questions as to how to protect astronauts and plants used as food from the effects of charged-particle irradiation in interplanetary space. In these studies we are investigate using various biological indicators effects such as  the influence of radiation on root tip growth as well as the effect and mortality of animal tissues.

Characterisation of Hg-release pathways in dental amalgams

In this project which in carried out in collaboration with the Department of Applied Radiation and Isotopes at Kasetsart University Bangkok, the spatial distribution of Hg in amalgam at the amalgam/enamel interface and the biting surface are investigated. A number of different teeth are with different types are being investigated in the MeV ion microscope using PIXE to characterise the elements. Colocalisation is used to identify regions of different amalgam phases.

Analysis of growth rings in the operculum and shell of apple snails

Apple snails (Pomacea maculata , superfamily: Ampullarioidea)  are an invasive species in Louisiana. They inhabit fresh water and grow rapidly.  In this research we are measuring the uptake of elements from the environment and how they are deposited in the growth rings of the operculum and shell. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop a monitoring tool to provide a bio-chronological method to map how concentrations of  heavy elements in the fresh water are correlated in time with surges in discharge rate of  fresh water into rivers and lakes due to e.g. storm events.

Construction of a low-flux charged particle irradiation facility to BSL-2 standard

The radiation doses of interest for testing charged-particle (mostly proton) irradiation in space in low-earth orbit and deep inter-planetary space are in the range 1 mGy–50 Gy in a year. By exploiting that for fast charged particle most of the dose is deposited in the Bragg peak where the charged particles have slowed to a few MeV energy, it is possible to perform testing with few MeV protons.  The proton fluxes required lie in the range 106–109 3 MeV protons cm-2s-1 which is extremely low compared to the typical fluxes of 1011–1014 protons cm-2s-1 for conventional ion implantation with an accelerator. In order to achieve such low fluxes a microprobe with a fixed beam is being developed that can deliver external focused beams as well as extremely low fluxes of ions for space charged particle simulation. The low fluxes are achieved by using small aperture sizes in the microprobe bringing the ions to a focus as in Abbe’s critical illumination condenser, where the ions are allowed to diverge after the conjugate focus to give a divergent beam with a low uniform flux of ions. Dosimetry is done by monitoring the rate of backscattered ions from a membrane target place in front of the sample.

The external beam is directed into a glove box so that the tissue samples for irradiation can be handled under BSL-2 level conditions. The figure below shows the new low-flux irradiation end station during commissioning.

Enhancing resolution of time pick-off detectors

In Time-of-Flight–Energy Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ToF¬E ERDA) the time resolution has hardly improved  from ~250 ps FWHM since the first introduction of this multi-dispersive analysis method since in 1987. An in-depth investigation of the underlying factors that govern the time resolution is being implemented with a view to developing third generation time pick-off detectors that not only have an improved time resolution, but are cheaper to implement and have better Ultra-High vacuum (UHV) compatibility. Making them better suited for analysis of thin-structures within a few nm of the surface.  The in-depth study has revealed numerous improvements can be made and an improvement in resolution with a factor 2-3 is quite possible.  In particular concerning the electron optical design, which can reduce ion energy spreading from the tandem effect and after-pulsing due to secondary electrons as well as perturbations due to field distortions in the vicinity of wire harps. Other improvements can reduce the shape variations in the pules from the anode.

Longitudinal study of impurities in aluminum museum artefacts

This is an undergraduate student research project with HES-SO Switzerland. Previously, measured external-beam article Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) data  for a range of artefacts from museums in Switzerland is being analysed. The age of the samples range from ~1860, where alumnum was produced by the amalgam process to the 1980s.  Preliminary results show that there is a significant difference in the impurity content between the artefact produced by the amalgam process compared to the lower cost electrolytic process introduced later. The results support that the compact hand-held XRF that are suitable for use in a museum environment can be used to distinguish between aluminium produced by the chemical technique ant the electrolytic technique. Other findings are that the in the period 1900-1950 the composition of the aluminium corresponded to “commercial” pure aluminium (99 et.%) with little variation.

A user-friendly computer controlled interface for sample positioning in the MeV ion microscope

In this undergraduate and graduate research project, we are developing a robotics tool that can be used with a 2–axis positioner to move the sample to the desired field of interest in the MeV ion microscope. The sample can be moved to pre-set positions, or programmable steps and scan to allow collection of large field of view images that a are mosaic of smaller fields of view as well as simple jog movements to position the sample.

Improving the quantification of PIXE analysis using the GEOPIXE software

A graduate project with the Department of Chemistry at UL Lafayette ad Kasetsart University in Bankok. The GeoPIXE software includes a large number of features that allow quantitative elemental maps to be produced by the (CSRIO) GeoPIXE software. 

An MeV SIMS instrument for organic compound analysis

While the inorganic and thin-film samples have been widely studied by ion beam analysis (IBA) with MeV ions, analysis of organic compounds has largely been neglected. In this project we are developing a MeV SIMS instrument using plasma desorption mass spectroscopy in conjunction with a MeV ion microprobe.

What can you investigate at the world’s leading research university? Everything. Here, we’re always making discoveries, finding solutions and improving the status quo. And we’ve had a huge impact in just 100 years. You can be part of that. Initiate your own research project or work with a team. Learn alongside experts in their field. And help make the world better.

active research projects on campus

in research funding received by UCLA each year

Turn Your Passions Into Pursuits

By focusing on projects in your areas of interest, research can help clarify your career goals, hone your skills and increase your chances for success after college. Plus, it’s an excellent way to get to know a faculty member you respect.

Learn More About Undergraduate Research

of undergraduate students work on faculty research

World Reputation Rankings for Research

Where Does It All Begin? With a Question.

Public universities tackle the big questions of our time. Our amazing faculty and undergraduate and graduate students work together on cutting-edge projects that have far-reaching impact. Together, we can change the world for the better. Here’s how you can get started:

Identify a Question

Think about issues and questions that matter to you. Get ideas from academic journals, coursework, faculty profiles and from your life and experiences.

Apply for a Faculty-Initiated Project

Find projects on the Undergraduate Research Portal and by talking to professors and teaching assistants. Explain why their research interests you and how you relate to their work.

Find a Mentor

Seek out a faculty mentor in your area of interest. You could ask a professor you know from class or look through faculty bios on departmental websites.

Do Your Own Project

Through Honors and Capstone programs, you can design your own research-based experience that helps advance your academic, personal and professional goals.

Testimonials

I get to participate in research through Ronald Reagan Hospital and the David Geffen School of Medicine while getting clinical experience by observing procedures and shadowing physicians. —  Omar Habib, psychobiology major

Discover Great Resources for Research

The following resources help you identify research projects that can add depth to your learning experience and challenge you to think in new ways.

Undergraduate Research Center

Connect with research opportunities, scholarships, grants, workshops and more by reaching out to the center for humanities, arts and social sciences or for the sciences .

Student Research Course

Enroll in SRP-99, an independent research course for undergrads, to receive credit for engaging in entry-level research that’s supervised by a faculty mentor. The course is particularly suited for lower-division and first-quarter transfer students.

See What We’re Working On

The ELFIN, which studies space weather, is the first satellite mission designed, built, tested and operated at UCLA, primarily by undergraduates.

Students who work in the lab of Professor Tracy Johnson, recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Award, study how cells regulate gene expression.

Using the Undergraduate Research Portal, students can find amazing research opportunities that match their academic pursuits and interests both on and off campus.

At the Broad Stem Cell Research Center, students participate in research projects on topics that include reproduction and infertility, cardiovascular stem cells and diabetes/metabolic disorders.

I had a great experience, and I would recommend research to anyone looking to expand their education beyond the four walls of a classroom or the pages of a book. —  Bernice Andrade, sociology and Chicana/o studies double major with a minor in education Read about Bernice’s experience doing research External Link

Important Information

Wetland and Aquatic Biogeochemistry Laboratory

          Research Projects

• ----------------- ACTIVE PROJECTS -----------------
• 2024-2027 - LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority – Coastal Science Assistantship Program. The Relative Contribution of Plant uptake vs Denitrification of Nitrate in Water Quality Improvement from Sediment River Diversion Operations. PI. J.R. White  MS student: To be named
• 2023 – 2024 –  NOAA – National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Effects of Sea Level Rise Event Response Program.  The Impact of a Historic Drought on Coastal Wetland Porewater Properties.  PI. J.R. White, Co-Pi. Matt Hiatt.  
• 2023 – 2024 – National Science Foundation – Collaborative Research: RAPID Determining the Impacts of a Combined Historical Watershed and Regional Drought on Coastal Louisiana Wetland Ecohydrology.  LSU PI  John R. White  Co-Pi Matt Hiatt.  with PI Elliott White - Stanford University 
• 2023 – 2025 – South Central - Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) – A fresh set of tools: New information for managing fisheries during changes in river discharge. PI  P. Miller, Co PIs; S. Midway, M. Dance, J.R. White. M. Baustian.
• 2023-2025 – U.S. Geological Survey. Linking Watershed Phosphorus Discharge and Legacy Sediment  to Climate Variability and Occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms. P.I. John R. White  Co.PI. Sibel Bargu: USGS Partner  Gregg Snedden, Ph.D. Student: Lee Potter
• 2023 – 2024 – LA Sea Grant – Impact of Historic Drought on Salt-Brackish Marsh Soil Salinity and pH.  P.I. John R. White Co-PI Matt Hiatt. Project Development Funds.
• 2023-2025 - US Army Corp of Engineers. Evaluating Restored Wetland Biogeochemical Cycling Following Thin-layer Sediment Introduction. P.I. John R. White  USACE partner: Jacob Berkowitz. MS Student: Jacob Cheng
• 2021-2024 – LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority – Coastal Science Assistantship Program. How will Sediment Diversions affect wetland soil salinity and microbial processes supporting plant growth and water quality improvement?  MS. Students: Robert Feder/Jacob Cheng. P.I. John R. White  MS Student: Robert Feder
• ----------------- PROJECTS COMPLETED -----------------
• 2022-2023 - LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority - System Wide Assessment and Monitoring Plan (SWAMP) Soil and Biomass Analysis.  P.I. John R. White
• 2021-2023 - The Water Institute of the Gulf - Restore Act Center of Excellence.  Dynamics of N and P cycling across Barataria Basin.  M.S. Student Assistantship - MS. Student: Mercedes Pinzon. P.I. J.R. White  MS student Mercedes Pinzon
• 2020-2023 – LA Seagrant . P.I. John R. White, Co PI Sibel. Bargu. Effects of the Bonnet Carré Spillway opening on resulting estuarine water quality and phytoplankton bloom dynamics.
• 2020-2022 – National Science Foundation – RAPID: Waiting to Exhale: Quantifying Tropical Storm-Induced Increased Flux of Coastal Wetland Carbon into the Atmosphere P.I. John R. White, Co PI, George Xue  Ph.D. student: Yadav Sapkota
• 2020-2021 – LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority – Coastal Science Assistantship Program. Trajectory of wetland ecosystem services in a created marsh, student assistantship MS students Erol Knaus. P.I. John R. White
• 2018-2021 – LSU Office of Research – Economic Development Assistantship for Yadav Sapkota – Development of a Scientifically-Sound Basis for Increasing Economic Value Of Carbon Credits in Coastal Restoration PI. J.R. White
• 2016-2021 National Science Foundation-Collaborative Research: Fate of Coastal Wetland Carbon Under Increasing Sea Level Rise: Using the Subsiding Louisiana Coast as a Proxy for Future World-Wide Sea Level Projections P.I. J.R. White, Co PI R.L. Cook, G. Xue. in collaboration with Dr. Lisa Chambers PI. at University of Central Florida.
• 2018-2020 – LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority – Coastal Science Assistantship Program. Phosphorus dynamics in a Sediment Diversion Marsh, student assistantship to Peter Mates. P.I. J.R. White
• 2017-2020 – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Development of a Monitoring Program for Water Quality and Biogeochemical Processes of Louisiana Sediment Borrow Areas. P.I. K. Xu, Co PI J.R. White, S. Bargu, S. Bentley, K. Maiti and Z. Xue.
• 2019-2020 – LA Seagrant Impacts of the Longest Bonnet Carre Spillway Opening in History on Estuarine Water Quality and Phytoplankton Dynamicss. P.I. J.R. White, Co PI S. Bargu.
• 2017-2019 – RESTORE Center of Excellence – Determining the Influence of Surface Water Diversions on Physical and Nutrient Characteristics of Wetland Soil. Student assistantship for Alina Spera. PI J.R. White.
• 2016-2018 NOAA (through Texas A&M Corpus Christi) Quantifying and Characterizing the Mississippi River’s Contribution of Microplastic Debris to the Gulf of Mexico. P.I. J.L. Conkle, Co Pi. J.R. White, L.G. Chambers, E. Hasenmueller.
• 2017-2019 – Department of Energy – Comparative Analysis of Microbially-mediated Mercury Cycling in Two DoE Contaminated Ecosystems. PI A. Chauhan Co-PI S. Brooks, L. Magwood, Jr., X. Xu, V. Ibeanusi, C. Jagoe, R. Katam, A. Pathak, R. Jaswal. J.R.White.
• 2016-2017 – US Army Corp of Engineers – Determining the Effects of Thin Layer Dredge Material Placement on Soil Physical and Microbial Parameters.P.I. J.R. White.
• 2016-2019 – The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana – Conservation and Restoration of Atchafalaya River Forested Wetlands: Determination of Microbial Driven Biogeochemical Ecosystem Services. P.I. J.R. White.
• 2014-2017 – LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority/LA SeaGrant: Coastal Sciences Assistantship Program. Impact of Buried Crude Oil on Soil Microbial Processes in Coastal Wetlands of Barataria Bay. P.I.: J.R. White.
• 2015-2017 – LA Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and The Water Institute of the Gulf. Reducing Uncertainty on Nutrient Removal for Sediment Diversions. P.I. J.R. White, Co-Pi K. Xu.
• 2014-2017 – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Delineating Areas of Enhanced Sediment Accumulation in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. P.I. K. Maiti, Co-Pis J.R. White, R.D. DeLaune.
• 2016 -2017 Louisiana Sea Grant – Impacts of the Bonnet Carre Flood Pulse on the nutrient and plankton dynamics of the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary. P.I. J.R. White, Co-PI S. Bargu.
• 2013-2016 – LA Office of Coastal Protection & Restoration. Delta Development and Coastal Marsh Accretion during Cold Front Passage and Floods: Relevance to River Diversions. P.I. H. Roberts, Co-P.I.s R.D. DeLaune, C. Sasser, J.R. White, C.Y. Li.
• 2012-2016 – LSU Block grant from British Petroleum – Integrated Laboratory & Field Studies on Effects of Oil on Key Wetland Soil/Sediment Microbial Biogeochemical Processes. P.I. R.D. DeLaune, Co-P.I. J.R. White, K.R. Reddy, A.V. Ogram, and J.J. Wang.
• 2014 – Louisiana SeaGrant. Effect of Long-Term Nutrient Loading on Wetland Soil Microbial Processes in Louisiana Coastal Marshes. P.I. J.R. White
• 2012-2013 – Louisiana Water Resource Research Institute. Nutrient and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Dynamics in Lake Pontchartrain during a Non-Spillway Opening Year. P.I. J.R. White, Co-P.I.s S. Bargu, C.Y. Li.
• 2011-2013 – LA Office of Coastal Protection & Restoration – Mississippi River Flood Pulse Effects on Coastal Water Quality. P.I. J.R. White.
• 2011-2013 – United States Army Corp of Engineers – Microbial Indicators of Restoration. P.I. J.R. White.
• 2011-2013 – LA Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration – Fate and Effect of Added Nitrate-Nitrogen in Mississippi River Water on Marsh Stability. P.I. R.D. DeLaune, Co.P.I. J.R. White.
• 2011-2013 – LA Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration – Spatial Analysis of the Trajectory of Caernarvon Water, Sediment, and Nutrients and Associated Biomass Response. P.I. J.R. White, Co.P.I. R.D. DeLaune.
• 2011-2013 – National Science Foundation – RAPID: Sediment, water, and nutrient flux and fate in Lake Pontchartrain from the 2011 Bonnet Carre Spillway opening. P.I. S. Bentley, Co.P.I.s C.Y. Li, J.R. White, S. Bargu, N.N. Walker.
• 2011-2012 – LA Sea Grant – Effects of Freshwater Input on Nutrient Loading, Phytoplankton Community Composition, Biomass and Cyanotoxin Production in Lake Pontchartrain from the 2011 Bonnet Carre Spillway Opening. P.I. S. Bargu, Co.P.I. J.R. White.
• 2009-2011 – LUMCON-CREST – Effect of Diverted Mississippi River Nitrate on Marsh Soil Resilience – P.I. J.R. White, Co.P.I. R.D. DeLaune.
• 2007-2011 – LA Dept. of Natural Resources – Continuation of Spatial Influence of Mississippi River Diversion at Davis Pond and Caernarvon. P.I. R.D. Delaune, Co-P.I. J.R. White.
• 2007-2010 – Shell Oil – Shell DELTA Observation Systems-wetland platforms – P.I. J.R. White, Co-P.I.s J. Cable, I. Mendelssohn.
• 2006-2010 – NOAA – Northern Gulf Institute – Investigating Material Exchange Between the Marsh and Channel Along an Estuarine Gradient – P.I. J.Cable, Co-P.I.s J.R.White, I. Mendelssohn, R. Twilley.
• 2008-2009 – National Science Foundation – Mississippi River Flood of 2008: Flood-Pulsed Experiments of Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics – P.I. J.R. White, Co.P.I.s C.Li, S, Green, W. Fulweiler, S. Bargu.
• 2005-2009 – LA Board of Regents – Research Competitive Subprogram – Effect of Large Scale Surface Water Diversions on Wetland Biogeochemical Cycling and Water Quality – P.I. J.R.White, Co-P.I. R.D. Delaune.

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• Email: contact@leapscholar.com

Unleashing Innovation: Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) at Los Angeles, USA

• Updated On March 19, 2024
• Published In General , Jobs & Internships 👩‍💻

In the vibrant heart of innovation and academia, the Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) stands as a beacon for aspiring undergraduate students to work on real-world research projects proposed by sponsors from industry or the public sector.This transformative program opens doors to a unique blend of real-world challenges and academic excellence. 

Table of Contents

The Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) program is a summer research opportunity hosted by the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at UCLA. Known for its interdisciplinary approach, RIPS brings together bright minds to collaborate on industrial research projects presented by leading companies and organisations.

Who should consider applying to RIPS?

RIPS is designed for students currently enrolled in or recently graduated with an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree. Graduates who received their degree no earlier than December 2023 are eligible for RIPS 2024. Applicants with a robust background in mathematics and an interest in exploring the real-world applications of mathematics are encouraged to apply. While many projects involve a significant computational aspect, proficiency or at least some experience in computer science, data analysis, or numerical computation is beneficial but not mandatory for all. Competition for the limited slots is intense, and international students can also apply for RIPS-LA.

Key Information

• Country: USA
• Internship Location: UCLA campus, Los Angeles,
• Internship Dates: June 24 – August 23, 2024
• Financial Benefits: Fully-Funded
• Deadline: 12th February 2024

Eligibility Criteria

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• International students are eligible to apply for RIPS-LA, whether or not they study in the US.
• Undergraduate students are eligible.
• Recent graduates who have received their degree no earlier than December 2023 may apply for RIPS 2024.
• Candidates must be at least 18 years of age.
• Candidates must be undergraduate students or recent graduates.
• Stipend (USA 4200 or INR 3.5 Lakhs)
• Travel allowance
• Housing and meals on campus
• Site-visit with sponsors (subject to confirmation)
• Limited partial support for future travel to select conferences

Project Are a

The RIPS program is nine weeks, and you can expect to have nine projects. RIPS projects involve serious maths and computing. Past projects have involved space mission design, crime modelling, machine learning, weather forecasting, digital image blending, quantum computing and finance.

How to Apply?

• Fill the application form using this link – https://www.mathprograms.org/db/programs/1532
• All required fields should be properly filled up.
• The applicants will receive the submission notification after the successful completion of the application form.
• Official link – https://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/student-research-programs/research-in-industrial-projects-for-students-rips-2024-los-angeles/?tab=overview  

Documents Required

• Transcripts
• Two reference letters

The Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) program at UCLA is not just a summer research opportunity; it’s a gateway to innovation, collaboration, and a holistic learning experience. By bridging the gap between academia and industry, RIPS equips students with the skills and insights needed to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of research and development.

For those passionate about applying mathematical concepts to real-world challenges, RIPS at UCLA is an unparalleled opportunity to unleash creativity, solve complex problems, and contribute to groundbreaking solutions. Seize the chance to be part of a community that transcends boundaries and shapes the future of research at the intersection of academia and industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. what is it like to participate in rips.

A. RIPS students live, work and socialize together over the summer, so they form close professional and personal relationships. Students have an office with a computer and meeting space at IPAM. IPAM provides technical support and occasional guest lectures. Students stay in university housing within walking distance of IPAM and eat most meals on campus. UCLA is located approximately four miles from the Santa Monica beaches and is within close proximity to many popular tourist destinations. Students work hard, but they can also take surfing lessons, tour Hollywood studios, take weekend trips to national parks, and find other ways to enjoy their summer in LA.

Q. What classes should a student have already completed to be adequately prepared for RIPS?

A. The backgrounds of successful applicants vary quite a bit. Most have taken some upper-division math and some computer programming classes. We will consider the courses you have completed to decide which project is right for you; since students work in teams, if you haven’t covered a subject that is relevant to your project, chances are one of the other students has.

Q. I will graduate with my Bachelors Degree this spring; am I eligible to participate in the RIPS program this summer?

A. Yes, we will accept applicants who will complete their bachelor’s degree between December and June of the current academic year.

Q. How should I tell my references to submit their letters?

A. Reference letters need to be uploaded on the MathPrograms webpage. You will be asked to enter your letter writers’ names and email addresses. The system will send them automatic email requests on your behalf, or you can customise the letter sent to them from the application page. You can also track when a letter is uploaded by one of your references.

Q. Is it necessary to submit transcripts with my application?

A. A transcript or academic record (listing your classes and grades) from your undergraduate institution is required, but it can be unofficial. The file submission happens on the application webpage. The application form will ask you to upload your resume/CV and transcript(s). You may submit your application and return to it later to upload one or both documents.

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Raza Database Project

Welcome to the Raza Database Project

The Raza Killings Database is a collaborative project that seeks to better accurately count the list of killings of Raza by those in a law enforcement capacity in the United States. Although Congress instructed the Attorney General in 1994 to compile and publish annual statistics on police use of excessive force, this was never carried out, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation does not collect these data either. Simply, there is no good official data.

In its place are multiple and incomplete lists published by various non-governmental organizations and agencies, but most often the numbers show how many total killings per year are recorded in the lists, not the actual number of people killed by law enforcement. Although many current listings document the occurrence of a death, they make no implications regarding wrongdoing or justification on the part of the person killed or officer involved. The data is extremely flawed with respect to age, race–ethnicity, and sex. There's no standardization of how people are labeled and there's no centralization.

There is neither any law enforcement accountability nor is there any justice for the families that have experienced these horrors. This is further compounded by the fact that Raza are rarely mentioned when discussing violent police treatment.

This national coalition is made up of families of the deceased, survivors of law enforcement brutality, community leaders and social justice advocates, researchers and academics, data analysts and demographers, and multiple national-level collaborative partners - all committed to build power against systemic violence in all its forms.

Taking the LEAD!

Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD) serves as a leading national-level project collaborator for this meta-analytical research on Police Shootings/Killings. We hope that our new LEAD Media Studios can serve as the national touch-point for media programming and so forth.  Our strategy will absolutely put the focus on Raza deaths because the data has always been there, but most often, these killings do not ever sufficiently rise to the level of a national conversation nor command the necessary media or governmental attention. 

Watch on "We Were All Mistaken" on Youtube  

Why It Matters

Our preliminary analysis shows that People of Color killed by Law Enforcement are undercounted! The number of Latinos and Black people killed while in police custody is likely much higher than reported by the media and national lists - perhaps by more than double.

Why it matters - a year after George Floyd’s death, data on Latinos killed by police or while in police custody remain scarce. We estimate that over 2,600 Latinos have died at the hands of police since 2014, more than double what had previously been known. Plus, a Latino ethnicity is not plainly visible since "Hispanics" can be of any race, and often get lumped into “other” or “unknown” categories.

This analysis permits several other conclusions.  People of color, who together constitute less than 40% of the U.S. population, comprise more than 60% of all people killed by or who died in the custody of the police. By comparison, Whites, who constitute more than 60% of the population, comprise less than 40% of all deaths over the 2014-2021 period.

We dug into the undercounting of Latino victims by also looking at a person’s last name and other characteristics. Even the adjusted numbers likely understate the disparity, since significant numbers of Latinos have “European” surnames not captured by the surname match and would not be identified by this analysis.

Finally, in the absence of an official government database, additional research is required to produce a more accurate identification of Latinos and others not identified by existing datasets.

In addition - there is still some 6,000 people "unidentified", and for the final report, we still need to work out the Border Patrol & Immigration Killings and also murdered & missing indigenous, African American, and migrant women.

We need to understand that the police have near impunity and are so rarely held accountable for killings - all they have to say is that they feared for their life. The problem is that these killings are way out of proportion in relation to any other forms of death. Because of the unknown and hidden. Then after a killing, we as a society just move on to other things. But neither the victims nor the families are able to move on.

In addition, while most of those killed by law-enforcement are male, there is an equal crisis, involving the deaths and disappearances of Native, African-American and migrant women, which cases are rarely investigated, thus more impunity. Killings by immigration officers or people who die in their custody (more than 100 in the past 10 years) - are also high; the commonality with law enforcement killings is the near 100% impunity. No immigration agent has ever been convicted for the death of a migrant, many of whom are also native.

Executive Summary - Final Report

Unjustified violence in the United States, whether carried out by law enforcement, the military, immigration agents or by vigilantes, especially against people of color, has been endemic and can be traced to even before the nation’s founding, to the arrival of Columbus to this hemisphere. In the US, racial conflict has largely played out in black and white. Americans tend to not know the extensive history of Mexicans, Chicanos, Raza in the United States and our struggle for civil rights. 

The national focus on Brown issues is too limited. It often revolves solely around immigration, particularly undocumented immigrants. The Indigenous Based peoples are viewed and treated as less than human. This racialized violence in its current forms includes torture, false imprisonment, mass incarceration, shootings, vicious beatings, harassment, kidnappings and rape. 

Historically, this violence has generally been carried out for purposes of social control, especially within the past generation in which tens of thousands of people have been killed or have died at the hands of these State Sponsored criminals. This also includes the rising vigilante violence against Asians and violence against Native, African American and migrant women. 

La Raza Database Research Project, founded and Directed by the late Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriguez (†), is a volunteer based collaborative project with the Latino Education and Advocacy Days Organization (LEAD) at Cal State San Bernardino to investigate the undercount and inaccuracies reported of the deaths of people of color, with a focus on Raza deaths by law enforcement in the United States. 

Although Congress instructed the Attorney General in 1994 to compile and publish annual statistics on police use of excessive force, this was never carried out, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation does not collect these data either. Simply, there is no good official data. 

There is neither any law enforcement accountability nor is there any justice for the people and their families who have experienced these horrifying injustices. This is further compounded by the fact that Raza deaths are rarely mentioned when discussing human and civil rights violations by law enforcement.

The nonexistence of a comprehensive standardized and centralized Federal Database leads to an inaccurate reporting of these deaths which results in an over 98% rate of impunity. 

The number of Brown and Black people killed in Presence of/Killings by Law Enforcement is much higher than reported by the media and national lists - perhaps by more than double. 

La Raza Database team has looked into the undercounting of deaths by collecting information from publicly available open-sources.

One salient feature about all databases examined is that Brown peoples are often shoved into either the "unknown" or the "White" racial categories, and often also, unidentified altogether, resulting in huge undercounts and thus, invisibilization. That has been one of the most challenging items, determining the race/ethnic origin of Raza individuals that were either in the white, unknown or unspecified categories.

Our Preliminary Report introduced by UnidosUS in May of 2021 (Special Advance Fact Sheet: Deaths of People of Color By Law Enforcement Are Severely Under-Counted), determined that deaths of Brown - Indigenous based peoples at the hands of police are undercounted by approximately 30 percent. 

For our Final Report, the challenge to identify or reassign Raza /“"Latino"”, Asian, Native American or Black was achieved by comparing the US Census Bureau 160 thousand surname list file of race/ethnicity with the surnames of all individuals in La Raza Database. Focusing on the over 9,000 unknown/unspecified individuals from the original database, over 99 percent were reassigned. The vast majority were reclassified as “Latino” or Asian-Pacific Islander. 

Even the adjusted count likely understates the disparity, since significant numbers of Brown people have “European” surnames not captured by the surname match and would not be identified by this analysis. 

Because of the lack of attention to Raza, even though our rates are generally in the same vicinity as the Native and Black communities, we are pushing for Congressional hearings, Legislation, one of which also includes the standardized and centralized gathering of data. One of our recommendations just as equally important is to present the findings to the OAS and the UN’s International Criminal Court. 

It is safe to conclude that aside from the racial, ethnic and cultural background, the communality people of color share from all this violence and dehumanization is a near one hundred percent impunity rate. 

Ya Basta! 

We stand in solidarity with all communities experiencing the effects of violence and in advocating and building a common, anti-racist future, we must forever bear in mind that racism and violence are not completely unavoidable but are animated by the countless actions, expectations, and decisions we take in our everyday lives. 

La Raza Database Research Project Final Report

Final Raza Database Report:

Executive Summary, Analysis, Data Tables, AND Narrative Testimonials and Essays

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14d6bfyBywDRPREqiokCxfa3sHKo3u1Nz/view

GIS Interactive Story Map:

Geography of Deaths Pursued or in Police Custody 2000-2020

https://arcg.is/1bXf810

Music, Poetry, Spoken Word, and Testimonials:

"We Were All Mistaken" Album by Various Artists

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lja0hiAQEpO1yXRDck9y0XI69ySU8cxpo

Congressional Action Now!

Because of the lack of attention to Latinos, even though our numbers and the rates are generally in the same vicinity as the Native and Black communities, We are pushing for Congressional hearings, and legislation, one of which also includes the gathering of data, what we’ve been doing, which is actually the job of government. UNIDOS-US is already doing work with legislation with the NAACP, Representative Karen Bass (D-CA 37th District), and Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL 4th District). They had a great town hall most recently about recent reform efforts such as The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and as was discussed what we can do together to make police reform a reality.

In term of the big picture, the Raza killings database has so far documented over 32,000 police-related killings since 2000, 20% of them African American and 17% Latinos. The results are similar to a recent Washington Post analysis examining police shootings since 2015, which found that Latinos are killed at a rate 55% higher than white non-Hispanics and that Black Americans are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans.

Again, one of the factors at play is that although the numbers of Latinos and African-Americans killed from police actions since 2000 are somewhat similar, Latinos are rarely mentioned when discussing violent police treatment.

In the US, racial conflict has largely played out in black and white. Americans tend to not know the extensive history of Mexicans, Chicanos, and Latinos in the United States and our struggle for civil rights. The national focus on Latino issues is too limited. It often revolves solely around immigration, particularly undocumented immigrants.

Whereas many of the high-profile cases of black Americans killed in police custody reached the national spotlight after sparking outrage among black media and activist groups, there tends to be a general absence in coverage by Latino groups and silencing of our voices.

The movement for black lives is doing something important, elevating all minority lives. And that’s a critical part of the solution. But if our response is narrow and limited, the national response will be narrow and limited as well. That’s problematic as we move toward a country that is increasingly diverse.

We Must Expose Injustice

Latinos are the largest minority group in the US, and they have a right to equal justice in their communities and equal attention to justice. As Latinos, our community already faces disproportionate health and economic impacts, then on top of that we face both a violence pandemic and an educational crisis. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession, and a renewed national recognition of systemic racism have only compounded the toll of rampant educational inequity. In terms of exposure to police violence we know it leads to persistent decreases in GPA, increased incidence of emotional disturbance and lower rates of high school completion and college enrollment.

For more information, please contact:

Ivette Xochiyotl Boyzo , Mental Health/Patient, Civil & Human Rights Advocate, at [email protected]

La Raza Killings - LinkTree

Raza Killings Special Advance Fact Sheet  / Spanish Version

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Mobile phone ownership over time, who owns cellphones and smartphones, smartphone dependency over time, who is smartphone dependent, find out more, mobile fact sheet.

Large shares of Americans are connected to the world of digital information while “on the go” via smartphones and other mobile devices. Explore the patterns and trends that have shaped the mobile revolution below.

To better understand Americans’ smartphone and broadband adoption, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,733 U.S. adults from May 19 to Sept. 5, 2023. Ipsos conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol that included both web and mail. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race and ethnicity, education and other categories.

Polls from 2000 to 2021 were conducted via phone. For more on this mode shift, please read our Q&A .

Here are the  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and  its methodology ­­­.

The vast majority of Americans – 97% – now own a cellphone of some kind. Nine-in-ten own a smartphone, up from just 35% in Pew Research Center’s first survey of smartphone ownership conducted in 2011.

Note: The vertical line indicates a change in mode. Polls from 2002-2021 were conducted via phone. In 2023, the poll was conducted via web and mail. For more details on this shift, please read our Q&A . Refer to the topline for more information on how question wording varied over the years. Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2002-2023.

Substantial majorities of Americans across a wide range of demographic groups are cellphone owners. The same is true for smartphone ownership – though some differences do emerge, particularly by age, household income and level of formal education.

% of U.S. adults who say they own a __, by …

• RACE & ETHNICITY
• POLITICAL AFFILIATION

Today, 15% of U.S. adults are “smartphone-only” internet users – meaning they own a smartphone, but do not have home broadband service.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2023. Data for each year is based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

Reliance on smartphones for online access is especially common among Americans with lower household incomes and those with lower levels of formal education.

This fact sheet was compiled by Research Assistant  Olivia Sidoti , with help from Research Analyst  Risa Gelles-Watnick , Research Analyst  Michelle Faverio , Digital Producer  Sara Atske , Associate Information Graphics Designer Kaitlyn Radde and Temporary Researcher Eugenie Park .

Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of the impact of mobile technology on American life.

• Americans’ Social Media Use  Jan. 31, 2024
• Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband  Jan. 31 2024
• Q&A: How and why we’re changing the way we study tech adoption  Jan. 31, 2024

Find more reports and blog posts related to  internet and technology .

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Moderna and OpenAI partner to accelerate the development of life-saving treatments.

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Moderna partners with OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise to thousands of employees across the company. Now every function is empowered with AI, creating novel use cases and GPTs that accelerate and expand the impact of every team.

Moderna has been at the intersection of science, technology, and health for more than 10 years. Moderna’s mission is to deliver the greatest possible impact to people through mRNA medicines—with the COVID-19 vaccine being their most well-known breakthrough. 

The company has partnered with OpenAI since early 2023. Now, ChatGPT Enterprise is evolving how Moderna operates across each function.

Moderna is using its platform for developing mRNA medicines to bring up to 15 new products to market in the next 5 years—from a vaccine against RSV to individualized cancer treatments. In order to achieve its ambitions, Moderna has adopted a people-centric, technology-forward approach, constantly testing new technology and innovation that can increase human capacity and clinical performance.

We believe very profoundly at Moderna that ChatGPT and what OpenAI is doing is going to change the world. We’re looking at every business process—from legal, to research, to manufacturing, to commercial—and thinking about how to redesign them with AI.

Moderna brings AI to everyone

Moderna adopted generative AI the same way Moderna adopts other technology: with the mindset of using the power of digital to maximize its positive impact on patients. To allow AI to flourish, they knew they needed to start with the user and invest in laying a strong foundation for change.

Moderna’s objective was to achieve 100% adoption and proficiency of generative AI by all its people with access to digital solutions in six months. “We believe in collective intelligence when it comes to paradigm changes,” said Miller, “it’s everyone together, everyone with a voice and nobody left behind.” For this, Moderna assigned a team of dedicated experts to drive a bespoke transformation program. Their approach combined individual, collective and structural change management initiatives.   

Individual change management initiatives included in-depth research and listening programs, as well as trainings hosted in person, online and with dedicated AI learning companions. “Using AI to teach AI was key to our success”, Miller points out. Collective change management initiatives included an AI prompt contest to identify the top 100 AI power users who were then structured as a cohort of internal Generative AI Champions. Moderna’s culture of learning led to local office hours in every business line and geography, and scaled through an internal forum on AI, which now has 2,000 active weekly participants. Lastly, structural change management initiatives included engaging Moderna’s CEO and executive committee members to foster AI culture through leadership meetings and town halls as well as incentive programs and sponsored events with internal and external experts.  

 This work led to an early win with the launch of an internal AI chatbot tool, mChat, at the beginning of 2023. Built on OpenAI’s API, mChat was a success, adopted by more than 80% of employees across the company, building a solid foundation for the adoption of ChatGPT Enterprise.  

90% of companies want to do GenAI, but only 10% of them are successful, and the reason they fail is because they haven’t built the mechanisms of actually transforming the workforce to adopt new technology and new capabilities.

Building momentum with ChatGPT Enterprise

With the launch of ChatGPT Enterprise, Moderna had a decision to make: continue developing mChat as an all-purpose AI tool, or give employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise?

“As a science-based company, we research everything,” said Brice Challamel, Head of AI Products and Platforms at Moderna. Challamel’s team did extensive user testing comparing mChat, Copilot, and ChatGPT Enterprise. “We found out that the net promoter score of ChatGPT Enterprise was through the roof. This was by far the company-favorite solution, and the one we decided to double down on,” Challamel said.  

Once employees had a way to create their own GPTs easily, the only limit was their imaginations. “We were never here to fill a bucket, but to light a fire,” Challamel said. “We saw the fire spread, with hundreds of use cases creating positive value across teams. We knew we were on to something revolutionary for the company.”

The company’s results are beyond expectations. Within two months of the ChatGPT Enterprise adoption: 

• Moderna had 750 GPTs across the company
• 40% of weekly active users created GPTs 
• Each user has 120 ChatGPT Enterprise conversations per week on average

Augmenting clinical trial development with GPTs

One of the many solutions Moderna has built and is continuing to develop and validate with ChatGPT Enterprise is a GPT pilot called Dose ID. Dose ID has the potential to review and analyze clinical data and is able to integrate and visualize large datasets. Dose ID is intended for use as a data-analysis assistant to the clinical study team, helping to augment the team’s clinical judgment and decision-making.

 “Dose ID has provided supportive rationale for why we have picked a specific dose over other doses. It has allowed us to create customized data visualizations and it has also helped the study team members converse with the GPT to further analyze the data from multiple different angles,” said Meklit Workneh, Director of Clinical Development at Moderna. 

Dose ID uses ChatGPT Enterprise’s advanced data analysis feature to automate the analysis and verify the optimal vaccine dose selected by the clinical study team, by applying standard dose selection criteria and principles. Dose ID provides a rationale, references its sources, and generates informative charts illustrating the key findings. This allows for a detailed review, led by humans and with AI input, prioritizing safety and optimizing the vaccine profile prior to further development in late-stage clinical trials. 

“The Dose ID GPT has the potential to boost the amount of work we’re able to do as a team. We can comprehensively evaluate these extremely large amounts of data, and do it in a very efficient, safe, and accurate way, while helping to ensure security and privacy,” added Workneh.

Improving compliance and telling the company’s story

Moderna’s legal team boasts 100% adoption of ChatGPT Enterprise. “It lets us focus our time and attention on those matters that are truly driving an impact for patients,” said Shannon Klinger, Moderna’s Chief Legal Officer. 

Now, with the Contract Companion GPT, any function can get a clear, readable summary of a contract. The Policy Bot GPT helps employees get quick answers about internal policies without needing to search through hundreds of documents. 

Moderna’s corporate brand team has also found many ways to take advantage of ChatGPT Enterprise. They have a GPT that helps prepare slides for quarterly earnings calls, and another GPT that helps convert biotech terminology into approachable language for investor communications. 

“Sometimes we’re so in our own world, and AI helps the brand think beyond that,” explained Kate Cronin, Chief Brand Officer of Moderna. “What would my mother want to know about Moderna, versus a regulator, versus a doctor? How do we tell our story in an effective way across different audiences? That’s where I think there’s a huge opportunity.”

A team of a few thousand can perform like a team of 100,000

With an ambitious plan to launch multiple products in the next few years, Moderna sees AI as a key component to their success—and their ability to stay lean as a business while setting new benchmarks in innovation. 

“If we had to do it the old biopharmaceutical ways, we might need a hundred thousand people today,” said Bancel. “We really believe we can maximize our impact on patients with a few thousand people, using technology and AI to scale the company.” 

Moderna has been well positioned to leverage generative AI having spent the last decade building a robust tech stack and data platform. The company fosters a culture of learning and curiosity, attracting employees that excel in adopting new technologies and building AI-first solutions.

By making business processes at Moderna more efficient and accurate, the use of AI ultimately translates to better outcomes for patients. “I’m really thankful for the entire OpenAI team, and the time and engagement they have with our team, so that together we can save more lives,” Bancel said. 

Watch CBS News

What is cloud seeding and did it play any role in the Dubai floods?

By Li Cohen , Tracy J. Wholf

Updated on: April 18, 2024 / 8:46 PM EDT / CBS News

Stranded airline passengers and a cat submerged in floodwaters clinging to a car door handle became notable moments this week in Dubai as the normally arid city was inundated with historic levels of rain. Claims have gone viral that the deluge was brought on by cloud seeding, a technique that aims to increase precipitation, that is heavily utilized in the United Arab Emirates. 

But is it really to blame? 

Daniel Swain , a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that getting to the bottom of the "record-shattering extreme rainfall" requires breaking down the science behind the event and the technique. 

"There's currently a disconnect in the online discourse between the kind of human activities that likely did affect it (greenhouse warming) versus those which have actually been the focus of the online conversation thus far (cloud seeding), and what this means for how we collectively understand our ability to actively affect the weather on different spatial and temporal scales," he said in an emailed statement. 

What is cloud seeding? 

Many have questioned since the downpour in Dubai whether cloud seeding was to blame. But what is cloud seeding and how does it work exactly?

Cloud seeding is a technique used to improve precipitation. According to the Desert Research Institute, scientists do this by putting tiny particles called nuclei into the atmosphere that attach to clouds.

"These nuclei provide a base for snowflakes to form. After cloud seeding takes place, the newly formed snowflakes quickly grow and fall from the clouds back to the surface of the Earth, increasing snowpack and streamflow," the institute says. 

In the Middle East, instead of precipitation in the form of snow, its cloud seeding program generates increased rain. 

Scientists typically go about cloud seeding in two ways – using either generators on the ground or distributing the nuclei via aircraft. 

What caused the rain in Dubai? 

But was the rain in Dubai from cloud seeding? 

"Did cloud seeding play a role? Likely no," Swain said. "But how about climate change? Likely yes!" 

The world is continuing to see month after month of record-breaking heat and 2023 was the hottest year globally ever recorded. Scientists have found that warmer temperatures increase evaporation, resulting in more frequent and intense storms, such as the one that occurred in Dubai. Those conditions also fuel other extreme weather events, including droughts , putting opposing forces at intense odds that will likely strain communities without adequate adaptation. 

Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior researcher at Columbia Climate School, told CBS News he doesn't believe there's any current evidence at this time that cloud seeding pushed the downpour over the edge. 

"This event was forecast fairly well days in advance and I think it's unlikely that a cloud seeding operation would move forward given the well-forecast intense rainfall," he said.

The nation's  National Emergency Crisis and Management Authority issued weather warnings on Monday before the storm's arrival, urging people to comply with local instructions from authorities and asking them to stay at home and only leave in the case of an emergency. 

Meteorologist Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, gave the Associated Press a more definitive answer: "It's most certainly not cloud seeding." 

"If that occurred with cloud seeding , they'd have water all the time," he said. "...when it comes to controlling individual rain storms, we are not anywhere close to that. And if we were capable of doing that, I think we would be capable of solving many more difficult problems than creating a rain shower over Dubai ."

The deluge, he said, "speaks more to questions around what are the resilience measures that are integrated into the urban planning standard operating procedures." 

"Almost everywhere on Earth there is a risk of flash flooding," he said. "Yet, since it's not the most frequent type of extreme event, sometimes it's lower on the priority list when decisions need to be made around infrastructure or resilience, or just urban development more broadly."  

How significant was the flooding in Dubai?  

More than 5.59 inches of rain fell over Dubai within 24 hours. While a half-foot of rain may not seem like much numerically, that's more than what the city sees in an average year, and other parts of the UAE saw even higher levels. 

It was a "historic weather event," the state-run WAM news agency said, adding that it was beyond "anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949." 

Dubai is normally dry and with a downpour like this being so unprecedented, the city's infrastructure was not prepared. The drainage systems were overwhelmed and Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, had to temporarily halt operations. One plane passenger told Reuters many people were waiting more than 12 hours to be able to resume travel. Footage from the airport shows planes taxiing in eerie floodwaters. 

"Over a year's worth of rainfall was experienced in just a few hours," Kruczkiewicz told CBS News. "And why that's important to to understand is that when you see this amount of rainfall in semi-arid arid area, the soil isn't designed to filter the water as fast as in other areas. ... You don't need that much water falling or rainfall falling in a short period of time to cause major issues." 

Is cloud seeding effective? 

According to the Desert Research Institute, how effective cloud seeding is depends on the specific project in which it's being used. Citing several studies, the institute said it's helped increase overall snowpack in some areas by at least 10% per year. Another study found that a five-year project in New South Wales, Australia resulted in a 14% snowfall increase.  

The UAE's National Center of Meteorology launched the Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science to advance the technology, saying that for dryer regions across the world, cloud seeding "could offer a viable, cost-effective supplement to existing water supplies." Many regions even beyond the Middle East have been suffering from water scarcity issues, including Colombia , Mexico and Hawaii . 

• Science of Weather
• United Arab Emirates
• Climate Change
• Severe Weather

Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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