Consulate-general of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco gave out 24 excellent overseas Chinese students in its consular district "Chinese government award for outstanding self-financed students abroad" to commend for their outstanding achievements in academic study and research. These 24 PhD students from 6 universities in California and Washington State, most of them engaged in natural science research, each got $6,000 bonus. Among them are first three PhD students from "SIPAC-University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)- College of Chemistry of UC Berkeley" project, who went to the US in 2012 to study for doctorates after passing a series of selections by USTC and College of Chemistry of UC Berkeley and getting subsidy from SIPAC.

SIPAC, USTC and UC Berkeley signed an agreement in Suzhou in 2011 to join hands in cultivating high-caliber inter-disciplinary nano-tech talents.