Redesigning wind power
6/1/2018 Berkeley Engineering students have designed a wind turbine that is quiet, efficient and protects birds.
Energy
Thin film converts heat from electronics into energy
4/16/2018 - Nearly 70 percent of the energy produced in the United States is wasted as heat — from exhaust pipes, high-speed electronics and other sources. Now Berkeley engineers have developed a thin-film system that can produce energy from these waste sources at unprecedented levels.
New technology could wean battery world off cobalt
4/11/2018 - A research team led by Gerbrand Ceder, professor of materials science and engineering, has devised a way to build lithium battery cathodes using materials that have greater capacity, and a far lower price, than the traditional cobalt.
Chirp Microsystems acquired
3/23/2018 - Chirp Microsystems, a startup enabled with technology developed at UC Davis and UC Berkeley, has been acquired by Japanese electronics giant TDK Corporation. Based in Berkeley, Chirp Microsystems makes tiny, ultra-low power sensors that function like sonar or echolocation. The micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology enables extremely precise sensing and has applications in drones, robots, vehicles, smart home products, augmented reality and virtual reality systems.
Study shows solar power potential for smart window material
1/22/2018 - Smart windows that automatically adjust their transparency in response to light conditions could potentially generate power as well, according to a new study led by Berkeley researcher Peidong Yang, who holds a joint appointment in materials science and engineering. The new study shows that perovskite can switch back and forth between transparency and non-transparency while retaining its electronic properties.
Batteries to provide renewable energy anytime, anywhere
1/16/2018 - Ravi Prasher, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering, and his Berkeley colleagues are searching for new battery materials to help store renewable energy so we can use it when we need it.
Radical new battery technology for a $130,000 electric sedan
1/12/2018 LA Times - Solid-state automotive batteries, like those being designed for Fisker Inc.'s all-electric EMotion supercar, will eventually exist, says materials science and engineering professor Gerbrand Ceder, but “it’s not going to happen as fast as people think.”
Ultrafast magnetic reversal points the way toward speedy, low-power computer memory
11/3/2017 - Researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Riverside have developed a new, ultrafast method for electrically controlling magnetism in certain metals, a breakthrough that could lead to speedier, more energy-efficient computer memory.
Major progress in realizing new type of lithium cathode
11/2/2017 Berkeley Lab - A team of Berkeley Lab scientists led by Gerbrand Ceder, professor of materials science and engineering, have reported major progress toward making lithium battery cathodes with so-called “disordered” materials.
Materials genome to solar fuels
11/1/2017 Berkeley Lab’s Materials Project was deployed with great success in an effort to find new materials that hold promise for capturing more of the sun’s energy.