Building a better world, one project at a time
05/01/12 — A new student group, Engineers Without Borders, is building a better world, one infrastructure project at a time.
Education & outreach
Girls meet “the science of better”
05/01/12 — Rhonda Righter (M.S'82, Ph.D'86 IEOR) usually applies sophisticated mathematical models to challenges such as improving the efficiency of an auto manufacturing plant, but most recently, she served as a volunteer role model to 35 middle-school girls.
African project aims to innovate in educational robotics
05/01/12 IEEE Spectrum — Roboticists in Africa and in the United States have launched an initiative to enhance robotics education, research, and industry in Africa. The African Robotics Network (AFRON) wants to mobilize a community of institutions and individuals working on robotics-related areas, strengthening communication and collaboration among them. One of the co-founders of AFRON is Ken Goldberg, an IEEE Fellow and professor of robotics at UC Berkeley. Goldberg was born in Nigeria, where his parents were teachers.
Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing
05/01/12 The New York Times — The Simons Foundation, which specializes in science and math research, has chosen UC Berkeley as host for an ambitious new center for computer science. The foundation's $60 million grant to establish the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing underscores the growing influence of computer science on the physical and social sciences.
White House joins E-Week festivities
04/17/12 — In March, Berkeley celebrated National Engineers Week, an annual tradition since 1951. This year, the White House joined in the act. “You're the next generation of American engineers,” President Obama said in a recorded address during the March 14 launch of the “Stay With It” campaign, an outgrowth of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. “In an economy based on skills and education, science and technology, we need you more than ever. We need you to study hard and dream big.” The White House's goal is to encourage another 10,000 new engineers to graduate from college every year by connecting students with peers, role models and mentors.
UC Berkeley takes part in nationwide engineering initiative
03/14/12 ABC News — UC Berkeley participated in a nationwide motivational event organized by President Barack Obama to encourage students to pursue engineering degrees. The "Stay With It" campaign, put together by Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, is part of an effort to address the country's shortage of engineers and graduates with degrees in scientific fields in general.
Berkeley supports IT startups high atop the campus
03/13/12 Communications of the ACM — High above the University of California, Berkeley campus, in the tallest building for miles around, IT entrepreneurs are being given the opportunity to grow their startups in a new venue -- the four-month-old SkyDeck startup incubator/accelerator. At a university known for doing things differently and in its own way, UC Berkeley has dedicated 10,000 square feet of premium penthouse office space to supporting and mentoring IT-oriented startups.
SkyDeck hopes to boost Berkeley-based tech startups
03/01/12 Berkeleyside — The Berkeley SkyDeck startup accelerator, with 10,000 square feet at the top of downtown Berkeley's tallest building, is a collaboration between UC Berkeley's College of Engineering, the Haas School of Business, the Vice Chancellor for Research office, Berkeley Lab, the City of Berkeley, the Downtown Berkeley Association, and the Chamber of Commerce. "This initiative is a perfect fit for a campus that is deeply engaged with and concerned about real-world challenges," said Graham Fleming, vice chancellor for research. "We have long needed a space to help support the activities of the campus' many outstanding entrepreneurs."
The many faces of excellence
02/09/12 — Many pathways lead to education and a life's work in engineering, and we are committed to ensuring parity and opportunity each step of the way. I am very pleased to share news of several developments here in the College that are helping us to diversify the face of engineering.
Inspiring future computer scientists at CS Education Day
02/09/12 — As the fall semester came to a close last December, more than 300 high school students visited Berkeley as part of Computer Science Education Week, a nationwide event to promote computing education and career opportunities for students at all levels. EECS faculty hosted CS Education Day by offering a full program of activities for high schoolers from around the Bay Area. “I have really had my eyes opened to how much difference I can make by supporting computing teachers in high schools. High school is really where it's at,” said Dan Garcia (Ph.D'00 EECS), who teaches “The Beauty and Joy of Computing” course at Berkeley.
Bergeron Scholars Program for Women comes to UC Berkeley
01/11/12 Wall Street Journal MarketWatch — Sandra and Douglas G. Bergeron have announced the establishment of a scholarship-mentorship endowment at UC Berkeley for undergraduate women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program assists high-potential women with financial awards and a one-on-one mentorship program. In addition, each Bergeron Scholar will gain access to a comprehensive suite of support resources from UC Berkeley's Division of Equity & Inclusion.
UC engineering dean has high hopes for Chinese partnership
01/09/12 Contra Costa Times — S. Shankar Sastry has something in common with Olympic divers. Poised high above a pool of budgetary cuts and institutional obstacles, Sastry -- dean of the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley -- recognizes that success for a barrier-busting joint initiative in China will be determined by his department's ability to metaphorically tuck and rip into the future fabric of higher education. Sastry hopes new technology for education will be achieved through a collaboration between UC and the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park.
Seeds of social change
10/17/11 — In Vietnam, less than five percent of women finish college-often because they can't afford the relatively small fees. Without skills, many young women have no choice but to take work that pays poverty-level wages. But thanks to a Seattle startup called Vittana, the brainchild of EECS alum Kushal Chakrabarti (B.S'04 EECS), some will benefit from a micro-loan that finances their education. "Education is the single most powerful tool we have to fight global poverty, enrich communities and transform lives," says Chakrabarti.
Engineering graduate students recognized as outstanding instructors
06/23/11 Graduate Division — UC Berkeley's 2011 crop of nearly 300 recipients of the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, given for effectiveness in teaching undergraduates, includes 55 engineering graduate students. Bioengineering grad student Neil Switz also received the Teaching Effectiveness Award, presented to a subset of Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award winners whose innovative methods have enhanced the ways their students learn.
UC Berkeley has largest contingent at 2011 Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
04/06/11 — This week the 2011 Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing was held in San Francisco, marking the 10th anniversary of the conference series. UC Berkeley EECS professor David Patterson served as General Chair. This year the conference had a record number of attendees and the largest contingent was from UC Berkeley.
Security in a networked world
03/02/11 — Nearly two billion people-more than the population of China-now use the Internet. With its vast capacity for communication and information, the web has become a powerful tool for transformative change: from new financial services and poverty alleviation to political change, as we are seeing in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
A high-stepping boot camp
03/02/11 — They slept in yurts and went six days with virtually no cell phones or Internet service. But for 59 Berkeley Engineering undergraduates, spending their semester break at a woodsy Sonoma County retreat was the journey of a lifetime. The students were participants in Berkeley Engineering's first-ever LeaderShape Institute, a national program that trains young people to lead with integrity and make significant contributions to better the world. They returned to Berkeley focused, energized-and ready to take on new challenges. Voicing the sentiments of many, Paul Zarate, a second-year mechanical engineering student, says, “It was for sure worth missing a week out of your winter break. It was awesome.”
Can-do engineers
02/02/11 — What did you do over the holiday break?
Fifty-nine of our extraordinary undergraduates spent six action-packed, 15-hour days at the Alliance Redwoods Camp in Occidental, California, learning how to tap into their highest potential for leadership through a program called the LeaderShape Institute.
Professional master’s opens for enrollment
12/14/10 — A man of compact build and modest manners, Coleman Fung (B.S'87 IEOR) is living proof that behind that unassuming demeanor could be lurking an engineering dynamo. Appearing in Sibley Auditorium on Nov. 19, Fung tossed aside his prepared remarks to engage the audience in a light-hearted exploration of the personality traits of an engineer. His talk, entitled “Preparing Engineers for Leadership,” was one of several events celebrating the launch of Berkeley Engineering's new professional master's, a one-year intensive program that combines in-depth technical studies with a core leadership curriculum in business skills like management and finance.
Uncommon in every way: Engineers in intercollegiate sports
12/14/10 — Consider these numbers: Of 35,838 students at Berkeley this year, 4,665 are engineers. Of 800 athletes in intercollegiate sports, only a handful-fewer than five at any one time-are working toward an engineering degree. The combination is rare because any sane, reasonable person would wonder: How on earth do you pursue one of Cal's most difficult academic programs while playing for its most demanding teams? In their own distinct way, three members of this rarefied circle, Richard Fisher, Sati Hsu Houston and Dustin Muhn, have managed to do it successfully. Read about them and watch them in action in a dynamic slideshow.