Li-C. Wang
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 I was born and raised in HuaLien, a remote city of Taiwan which now has become a famous national park of the country. I went to National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan to study Computer Engineering and received my Bachelor degree from the university. After two-year mandatory military service, I went to University of Texas at Austin for my Ph.D. Then, I spent five years in the PowerPC design center jointly operated by IBM, Motorola and Apple, also located in Austin, Texas. Because I left my home town at the age of 15 and later spent 12 years living in Austin, Texas, I always feel that Austin is my second home town. I moved to UCSB in 2000 to pursue a different career path of research and teaching. Now my greatest pleasure is spending time with my students on research. Beside research on the topics in Computer Engineering, I am also very much interested in history, philosophy, religious study, and film making. I dream about one day I may be able to write a few books on those topics.
Research Interests
My research focuses on software techniques to automate the process of semiconductor chip design. One particular line of research I do is trying to bring the technologies developed from the statistical learning and data mining communities into applications to help semiconductor chip design.
Teaching Style
I like to teach technical knowledge by drawing analogy to life experience. I believe many fundamental concepts in science and engineering are natural and hence, they are all applicable in our real-life experiences. I like to teach intuitions rather than mathematical detail. Also, I often like to tell real stories from the industry such as why a company fails and the other succeeds. Because of the dynamically-changing nature of the computer industry, I like to reflect the state-of-the-art practices in my courses.
Idea of a Good Time
When you wish for something and it comes true, that is the moment of a good time. When you talk to a friend and share common feeling, that is the moment of a good time. When you are with your family and see that they are happy and healthy, that is the moment of a good time. When I work with my students and see them becoming wiser, that is the moment of a good time. When I realize something I did not know before, that is the moment of a good time. When I see someone or myself contributing to the happiness of others, that is the moment of feeling a good time.
Most Important Thing to Learn at College
Regardless of what their major may be, students must learn the art of critical thinking. There are two essential steps: developing the ability to form an independent point of view based on careful analysis of the material, and honing the skills, both verbal and in writing, to express ideas in a persuasive manner.
Advice for New Students at UCSB?
Learning demands discipline and being persistent. During the first year of college, students should try to figure out a way to structure their student life so that they can carry out effective learning in the remaining years. Learning how to learn is perhaps the most important task for a new student to do first.
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