Researchers reveal the ‘hidden’ costs of drinkable water
05/04/23 — Successful water treatment technologies require a deeper understanding of users’ challenges
Sustainability & environment
A Day in the Half-Life podcast: Reimagining plastics
04/18/23 Berkeley Lab — Berkeley Lab: UC Berkeley materials science and engineering professor Ting Xu discusses developing smarter materials that avoid the pitfalls of 20th century plastics
To more effectively sequester biomass and carbon, just add salt
04/11/23 — Salting and burying biomass crops in dry landfills could economically capture greenhouse gases for thousands of years
Berkeley engineers develop synthetic polymers that mimic the body’s natural proteins
03/20/23 — Alternative polymers work as well as real proteins and are easier to synthesize, a possible game-changer for biomedical applications
Energized for real-world impact
01/25/23 — Founded by Berkeley Engineering alumni, Gridware uses sensors to tackle the threat of wildfires
Scientists develop a cool new method of refrigeration
01/04/23 — Berkeley Lab: Berkeley engineers Drew Lilley and Ravi Prasher hope ionocaloric cooling can someday replace current refrigerants and provide safe, efficient cooling and heating for homes
Researchers to help reduce wildfire risk with dynamic modeling, serious games
12/20/22 — CITRIS: With a $2.5 million NSF grant, an interdisciplinary UC team led by civil engineering professor Kenichi Soga is partnering with Bay Area communities to help residents respond to natural disasters more quickly — and more safely.
To battle climate change, scientists tap into carbon-hungry microorganisms for clues
11/30/22 — Berkeley Lab: Scientists led by Peidong Yang have developed a nature-inspired technique for converting carbon dioxide into solar fuels
Fired up for the future
11/07/22 — FIRE Foundry trains young adults from underrepresented communities on cutting-edge firefighting technologies.
Taking up space
11/07/22 — Professor Adam Arkin and CUBES researchers are using synthetic biology to find solutions for living on Mars — and a rapidly changing Earth.
Waste not
11/07/22 — Researchers have developed a fully recyclable and biodegradable printed circuit.
Berkeley climate-tech startup brings Clarity to clean air monitoring
10/12/22 — Clarity Movement Co., co-founded at Berkeley by CEO David Lu, is bringing real-time air quality sensing to cities around the globe, including a new network in Perth, Australia
Bringing arsenic-safe drinking water to rural California
09/21/22 — Berkeley engineers have created a simple, low-cost arsenic treatment system to help low-income communities access safer water (With video)
Berkeley’s Ting Xu wins Science Breakthrough of the Year award from Falling Walls Foundation
09/16/22 — Xu's work on plastic degradation wins recognition in the Engineering and Technology category
Fired up for the future
07/19/22 — FIRE Foundry aims to increase diversity among fire crews and accelerate the adoption of advanced firefighting technologies
Commentary: Failing to act on climate change is robbing future generations of choices
07/12/22 — Chicago Tribune: CEE professor Ashok Gadgil and other frustrated scientists call for a reorientation of climate research to drive effective action and transformative change
New study evaluates NOAA’s wildfire smoke forecasting model
07/05/22 — Using data from the 2018 Camp Fire, civil engineering researchers identify ways to improve experimental smoke prediction tool
Using AI research to solve climate problems
06/02/22 — CDSS: The BAIR Climate Initiative aims to build partnerships and conduct groundbreaking artificial intelligence research to combat climate change
The future of meat
04/15/22 — The Alt: Meat Lab pairs scientific innovation with entrepreneurship to bring plant-based proteins from the classroom to the market.
Tracking smoke
04/15/22 — Tests on a smoke forecasting model from the NOAA has allowed researchers to pinpoint areas for improvement.