Electrical engineering

Computer scientist Randy Katz named vice chancellor for research

12/06/17 — EECS professor Randy Katz, who helped develop many of the wireless tools and fast, reliable computer storage we take for granted today, has been appointed vice chancellor for research at Berkeley, effective Jan. 1, 2018.

The robot Vestri plays with objects to learn how to complete a task.

New robots can see into the future

12/06/17 — Berkeley researchers, led by EECS assistant professor Sergey Levine, have developed a learning technology that enables robots to imagine the future of their actions so they can figure out how to manipulate objects they have never encountered before.

Randy Katz inducted into Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame

11/29/17 — EECS professor Randy Katz (M.S. '78/Ph.D. '80), co-developer of the RAID concept for computer storage, has been inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame for his research and his "exemplary mentorship and teaching."

Frame grab from Slaughterbots video showing drone promoter

Professor’s eerie lethal drone video goes viral

11/20/17 SF Chronicle — "Slaughterbots," a not-so-futuristic video warning against the development of autonomous weapons, has gone viral. Co-created by EECS professor Stuart Russell and the Future of Life Institute, it was released this week at the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva.

“blankie” developed at UC Berkeley that contains printed MRI coils

Medical electronics ‘like a second skin’

11/16/17 STAT — Using simple printers with special inks, EECS professor Ana Claudia Arias specializes in the development of low-cost, flexible and wearable electronics that can be used for medical monitoring and imaging.

Byron Zhang with some of the Watsi team during a visit to a medical partner in Tanzania.

Coding better healthcare

11/07/17 — Byron Zhang (B.S'15 EECS) is using computer science to make health care more accessible in developing economies.

Berkeley startup to train robots like puppets

11/07/17 — Robots today must be laboriously programmed by writing computer code, but imagine donning a VR headset and virtually guiding a robot through a task instead. That's the vision of EECS professor Pieter Abbeel and three of his students.

Chelsea Finn, Sergey levine and Pieter Abbeel working on a robot that uses deep learning software.

Building AI that can build AI

11/06/17 New York Times — As the tech industry hunts for new ways to quicken the development of artificially intelligent machines, Berkeley researchers are focusing on machine-learning algorithms that will help robots learn new tasks based on things they've learned before. "Computers are going to invent the algorithms for us, essentially," says EECS professor Pieter Abbeel.

Case studies in forward thinking

11/01/17 — Nine Berkeley Engineering faculty members share some of their forward-looking work and how it might impact what's to come.

Early Radio Kal engineering staff Sam Wood, Dinnis Seguine, Mike Silverstone and Lee Felsenstein.

Berkeley sounds: The early days of KALX

10/31/17 — Sam Wood (B.S'68 EECS) recounts the early days of the radio station that would eventually become KALX.

Rebecca Chery presenting to an industry panel during the PREP program

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.

Size comparison of relative areas of focus for old and new fMRI scanners

$13.4 million to build next-gen MRI brain scanner at UC Berkeley

10/18/17 — To zoom in on smaller groups of neurons, UC Berkeley researchers have reimagined functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques and instruments, bolstered by a BRAIN Initiative grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Brains for buildings, packaged in a smart briefcase

10/02/17 — Building-in-Briefcase is a new toolkit consisting of wireless sensors that monitor and communicate overall building health and function. The system, which can be used to retrofit intelligence into existing buildings, is designed to increase energy efficiency.

DeCal class creators Zuhayeer Musa and Jimmy Liu

In undergrad startup class, students learn to build the future

10/02/17 — The student-run DeCal class “How to Build the Future,” created by computer science students Jimmy Liu and Zuhayeer Musa in collaboration with EECS professor Scott Shenker, encourages aspiring entrepreneurs by providing direct experience from world-renowned founders and professors.

Lotfi Zadeh and old TV screen reading "What

Golden Goose Award for fuzzy logic’s clear impact

09/29/17 AAAS — The late EECS professor Lotfi Zadeh's 1965 concept of "fuzzy sets" has received a 2017 Golden Goose Award, bestowed by group of science societies to honor seemingly obscure, federally-funded research that had led to major breakthroughs.

Ruzena Bajcsy honored for contributions to mankind

09/13/17 — EECS professor Ruzena Bajcsy has won a John Scott Award, bestowed since 1834 by the city of Philadelphia on those who have improved "the comfort, welfare and happiness of mankind." Bajcsy was honored for her contributions to robotics and engineering science.

Students in an MET class raise their hand

New UC Berkeley program aims to fast-track path to Silicon Valley C-Suites

09/12/17 East Bay Times — UC Berkeley's new M.E.T. program, combining engineering and business degrees in just four years, is resonating with alumni, entrepreneurs, and the 2,500 smart, inventive and multitalented students who applied for the 40 seats in the inaugural class.

Award winners Mike Alvarez Cohen, Amy Herr and Scott Shenker

Herr, Shenker win Berkeley Visionary awards

09/11/17 SF Business Times — Bioengineering professor Amy Herr and EECS professor Scott Shenker are inaugural winners of the Berkeley Visionary Awards, an honor created by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce to recognize innovative leaders in the city whose work is creating an economic impact.

Remembering Lotfi Zadeh

09/08/17 — Lotfi Zadeh - professor emeritus, world-renowned computer scientist and leader of the college community - died on September 6, 2017 at the age of 96.

Pieter Abbeel and Michael Jordan join IEOR

08/24/17 — Berkeley Engineering professors Pieter Abbeel and Michael Jordan, both experts in machine learning, have been appointed as joint faculty in IEOR in addition to their primary appointments in EECS (and Statistics for Jordan).