Design

Defining the original smart material

03/15/16 — Sonia Travaglini, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering, studies the properties of fungus to discover the composite materials of the future.

A computer rendering of the Wave Carpet.

Making waves: Turning ocean power into electricity

03/15/16 — Ocean waves constantly generate energy. Berkeley engineers are trying to build a device to harness that power and convert it to electricity.

Winter Design Showcase crowds in Jacobs Hall

Celebrating a semester of design innovation

01/15/16 Medium — Jacobs Hall was buzzing with the sounds of new creations as the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomed guests to the Winter Design Showcase.

Prynt’s instant photo-printer and color photos

Polaroids for the smartphone set, with a video twist

12/09/15 — Prynt, a San Francisco-based startup founded by two graduates of a Berkeley Engineering entrepreneurship program, is bringing instant print photography to smartphones.

Awarded works at 3D Printing Designathon

3D printed assistive technology gets boost from UC Berkeley designathon

12/01/15 3Dprint.com — Several Berkeley engineering and design organizations held a 3D Printing Designathon for assistive technology at Sutardja Dai Hall on Nov. 14-15 commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Opening Jacobs Hall

11/01/15 — In August, the campus community celebrated the opening of Jacobs Hall, headquarters of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, with high hopes for the impact to emanate from the facility's studios and maker spaces.

Toy tinkerer makes good

11/01/15 — Prolific inventor and designer Jack McCauley (EECS '86) has made a $2.5-million gift to establish the McCauley Family Fund in Design Innovation to support programs within the Jacobs Institute.

Melissa and Lavanya Jawaharlal with their Pi-Bot

Pi-Bot inventors, STEM proselytizers dive into ‘Shark Tank’

10/30/15 — Lavanya Jawaharlal, a senior in mechanical engineering, and her engineer sister Melissa founded STEM Center USA to open up access to the fields of science, technology, engineering and math to more diverse students.

EnableTech: Engineering for accessibility

10/20/15 — The new EnableTech student group aims to develop creative solutions to minimize challenges presented by disability.

A new campus hub for design

08/26/15 — On August 20, Berkeley Engineering celebrated the opening of Jacobs Hall, the new headquarters for the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.

Paul Jacobs speaks at the opening of Jacobs Hall

Grand opening for Jacobs Hall, the new hub for all things design

08/21/15 — With balloons, ribbon-cutting and four floors of student demos, the College of Engineering on Thursday threw open the doors of Jacobs Hall, where the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation will immerse students in hands-on, human-centered design.

Berkeley Engineering opens Jacobs Hall, a hub for design education

08/19/15 — On Aug. 20, a public celebration marks the opening of Jacobs Hall, with four floors of studios and maker spaces for digital design, prototyping, fabrication and manufacturing.

Get this show on the code

08/17/15 Insight@Berkeley — As vice president of design and engineering at TiVo, Margret Schmidt (B.S'92 EECS) is passionate about the dynamic and fulfilling nature of product creation. She got a dose of that in her favorite Berkeley class, an E110 Venture Design course that required creation of a business plan and a final idea presentation.

David Dornfeld, green manufacturing expert, to lead Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation

08/17/15 — David Dornfeld, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley and recognized worldwide as an expert in smart and sustainable manufacturing, has been named faculty director of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.

A student sketch from the Interactive Seating class

Interactive seating: New course models design innovation education

08/15/15 — A new course from the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation reinvents the chair and models a new form of engineering education at Berkeley.

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.