Design

Process behind the Volta phone-charging rocking chair

Rock on: Student-designed chair generates energy to charge phone

07/13/15 California magazine — The Volta, a chair that harnesses the rocking motion of the sitter to generate energy, has won a National Maker Faire award for its inventors - four Berkeley undergrads taking part in the interdisciplinary Interactive Seating Design Competition sponsored by the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.

More women in engineering – what’s working?

06/17/15 — From Dean Sastry: In order to increase the representation of women in engineering, we are moving beyond good intentions with proven strategies for sustaining their interest and fostering leadership.

Designer of scrolling mouse and Oculus Rift funds design innovation

06/16/15 — Prolific inventor and designer Jack McCauley (EECS '86) has made a $2.5-million gift to establish the McCauley Family Fund in Design Innovation, which will support programs within the Jacobs Institute.

Ting Chuk, Dean Sastry and Pantas Sutardja

Dean’s word: At the intersection of design and entrepreneurship

05/01/15 — The college is building an innovation ecosystem to design, build and launch high-impact ventures.

Jacobs Hall: New home for design innovation

05/01/15 — Jacobs Hall, the main hub for the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, will open for its first classes this fall.

In the domain of design

05/01/15 — In this special issue, engineering faculty look at how design innovation is used to solve "wicked problems."

Vires Aero

05/01/15 — Vires Aeronautics is developing a new technology to make flight more efficient.

KNOX Diagnostics

05/01/15 — Knox Diagnostics is a new medical device company that is working on a cheaper and more portable asthma monitoring device.

Clarity

05/01/15 — Clarity is a wearable air pollution monitoring and reporting device.

Smart scooter

05/01/15 — Modified Razor scooters are used in a cyber-physical system design course to how electric vehicles interface with the energy grid.

ToastBoard

05/01/15 — ToastBoard is designed to make circuit design and testing easier. It's a better breadboard.

Transcense

05/01/15 — This smartphone app makes conference calls more accessible to deaf users by transcribing conversations in real time.

Dash Robotics

05/01/15 — These biomimetic, origami-like kits are designed to get kids (of all ages) hooked on building robots.

NASA Tensegrity robots

05/01/15 — These squishy robots are inspiring new ways of thinking about the form and function of automated systems.

David Lu with Clarity air-quality monitor

Design case studies

05/01/15 — Tensegrity robots, pollution monitors and new flight technology are a few of the design innovations originating at the college and now moving from prototype into production. View slideshow.

Design Fest schedule announced

04/20/15 Jacobs Institute — Design Fest, an open house where UC Berkeley students show and tell their current design projects, kicks off with a seminar by Don Norman, pioneer of human-centered design.

Jacobs Hall takes shape

02/25/15 — The mood was festive when the college community gathered to celebrate the placement of the final steel beam atop the new Jacobs Hall.

Devices: Sun Fridge

02/03/15 — Alumnus Steve Lanzisera (Ph.D'09 EECS) is part of a Berkeley Lab effort to design a portable solar-powered refrigerator to safely deliver vaccines to the developing world.

Breaking the sound barrier in deaf communication

01/21/15 — Thibault Duchemin (M.Eng'14 IEOR), who grew up as the only hearing person in his family, has developed a novel communications tool called Transcense.

A forged steel wrench side by side with a 3D-printed plastic wrench

Teaching design innovation

12/08/14 — The Jacobs Institute is supporting five design courses in spring 2015, ranging from a course on sketching for designers, to an interactive seating design competition, to a new lower-division engineering course in which students will gain hands-on and simulated experience with a wide range of manufacturing processes.