Energy

Eight Berkeley engineers honored as 2021 Siebel Scholars

09/23/20 — Graduate students from bioengineering, computer science and energy science are among more than 90 selected worldwide.

The Clean Air Car Race turns 50

08/26/20 — In 1970, Berkeley Engineering students envisioned low-emission cars of the future

Berkeley researchers develop highly efficient, energy-dense capacitor

08/19/20 Berkeley Lab — New material could ultimately combine the efficiency and robustness of capacitors with the energy storage capabilities of larger-scale batteries for use in consumer electronics.

Why the U.S. leads in power outages

08/19/20 Popular Science — Our grid is outdated, run down and vulnerable to climate change, says Berkeley electrical engineer Alexandra von Meier; microgrids are one potential solution

Junqiao Wu in the atrium of Hearst Memorial Mining Building

Bakar Prize winner hopes to harness sun’s power

06/22/20 — Junqiao Wu, professor of material science and engineering, awarded campus's new $225,000 prize for real-world potential of his thermal-powered material transformations

Materials sciences professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh named to Royal Society

04/29/20 — Ramesh has created nanosized materials that can power small electrical devices with minimal amounts of energy

Researchers lead federal efforts to improve COVID-19 testing

04/24/20 — Rebecca Abergel, Paul Adams, and Adam Arkin are overseeing projects designed to boost coronavirus diagnostic technology

Dan Kammen elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

04/23/20 — Professor of energy and resources, public policy and nuclear engineering is one of 9 new Berkeley faculty members

What’s the future of nuclear power?

04/12/20 Climate One — Professor Per Peterson joins a panel of experts discussing whether nuclear energy should be revived or abandoned.

Can tiny, invisible particles help stop the spread of nuclear weapons?

03/12/20 — Researchers are closer than ever to deploying technology that can help detect the illicit production of plutonium, a key fuel for nuclear bombs

Illustration of layered plasmonic nano-antenna arrays

Researchers develop novel way to shrink light to detect ultra-tiny substances

02/20/20 — The research could lead to the development of ultra-sensitive devices that can quickly detect pathogens in human blood.

Ceder peeks into the battery pipeline

12/16/19 Berkeley Lab — From cobalt-free to sodium-ion, Berkeley Lab scientist and MSE professor Gerbrand Ceder evaluates some of the most promising battery technologies in development.

Vacuum chamber used to test heat transfer

Heat energy leaps through empty space, thanks to quantum weirdness

12/11/19 — In a surprising new study, Berkeley researchers led by Xiang Zhang, professor of mechanical engineering, showed that heat energy can travel through a complete vacuum due to invisible quantum fluctuations, a discovery that could have profound implications for the design of computer chips.

Mirror mirror

10/25/19 — Researchers broke another record in thermophotovoltaics, raising the efficiency of converting heat into electricity from 23% to 29%.

Our energy grid is vulnerable; locally sourced power may be the answer

10/11/19 — Alexandra “Sascha” von Meier, adjunct professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, talks about the risks posed by the current energy grid and possible solutions moving forward, including solar-powered microgrids.

Eight Berkeley engineers honored as Siebel Scholars

09/25/19 — Eight Berkeley Engineering graduate students - five from bioengineering, two from computer science and one from energy science - have been named to the Siebel Scholars Foundation's 2020 class.

Making the invisible visible

07/22/19 Berkeley Lab — Berkeley researchers have developed a new type of sensor network that is affordable and capable of tracking soot (black carbon). With more than 100 custom-built sensors installed across West Oakland for 100 days, the team created the largest black carbon monitoring network deployed in a single city.