Design

A student uses wires, soap and a handheld device to explore bending effects

Exploring digital fabrication at Jacobs Hall

01/29/18 Jacobs Institute — A reconfigurable lampshade, a novel musical instrument, an affordable tool for surgery planning: these are among the student projects that used resources in Jacobs Hall to explore digital fabrication technology during the fall 2017 semester.

The future of engineering education

11/01/17 — Executive Associate Dean Phil Kaminsky writes about how the emerging triad of technology, entrepreneurship and design are being used to reimagine how engineers are prepared.

Inventing the future

11/01/17 — In a Q&A with Berkeley Engineer, Dean Shankar Sastry outlines his vision for the future of the college and beyond.

Behind the scenes with PREP

10/23/17 — Matthew Brueckmann (ME'15) found his calling early - he wanted to be an amusement park engineer. This summer, he returned to campus to lead a tour of California's Great America so that PREP participants could learn about the science and technology behind the scream-inducing machines.

PREP by design

10/23/17 — Electrical engineering and computer science freshman, Rebecca Chery, reflects on the lessons learned during a design challenge undertaken as part of the college's PREP program.

Working on projects on laptops at Jacobs Hall

Inside the studio: Teaching design innovation

07/12/17 Jacobs Institute — Two years on from the opening of Jacobs Hall, faculty share a look at how they're bringing design innovation into the classroom, fostering creativity and collaboration.

Students at the starting line of the Bluetooth-controlled vehicle race

A look at the Jacobs Spring Design Showcase

05/09/17 — The 2017 Jacobs Spring Design Showcase capped a semester that saw students develop sustainable products, prototype innovations, apply technology to combating extremism and race Bluetooth-controlled vehicles through an obstacle course.

Engineering student team readies competition house

04/17/17 ASCE — A group led by Berkeley civil engineering students will take an innovative, zero net energy house into a Denver competition this fall, organized by the U.S. Department of Energy.

An interstellar journey

04/13/17 — A group of Berkeley students is developing the tools and technologies for humanity's next big step - exploring the deep reaches of space.

Students on a Tikkun Olam Makeover team that created a special glove that will allow a man who has little use of his hands to communicate with his computer.

Cal students pull a marathon to engineer disability solutions

03/23/17 Jewish News of Northern California — Fueled by energy drinks, adrenaline and a strong sense of wanting to make the world better, 11 teams of Berkeley students spent last weekend at Jacobs Hall, working with people with disabilities to create devices that could improve their lives.

Countering extremism with technology

03/13/17 — Every Thursday afternoon, students gather in a light-filled teaching studio of Jacobs Hall to develop technology-based solutions to a very tangible problem: ideologically motivated violence in the United States.

‘How might we’ design for dialogue?

12/12/16 — On the morning after the election, post-its beginning with the phrase, "How might we" covered a white board in a Jacobs Hall studio - products of an impromptu brainstorming session in Design Methodology - with questions that spanned a wide range of topics, from policy to issues of tolerance, safety and community.

Jacobs Hall ranks platinum for sustainability

12/07/16 — Jacobs Hall, home of the College of Engineering's Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, has won platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program.

Eco-friendly tiny house

11/01/16 — A team of Berkeley students took two years to build a 171-square-foot eco-friendly house for a statewide alternative housing competition. The tiny house integrates advances in sustainable and affordable design.

Building the Berkeley Hyperloop

10/24/16 — Berkeley Hyperloop, currently crowdfunding for a January 2017 launch, is taking on an ambitious design challenge — and it’s part of a rich ecosystem of Berkeley students applying classroom learning and hands-on design skills to real-world challenges.