Surveying expert James Anderson dies at 92
08/30/18 — Professor James Anderson, civil and environmental engineering faculty member for 25 years and an expert on the theory and practice of surveying, died on Aug. 23; he was 92.
Faculty
Fiona Doyle to retire
08/27/18 — Fiona Doyle, vice provost of graduate studies, longtime leader in the College of Engineering and campus, champion of student services and an influential pioneer in mineral engineering, will retire in June 2019 after a remarkable 36-year career at Berkeley. Read more about her many accomplishments
Ravi Prasher to lead energy technologies at Berkeley Lab
07/19/18 Berkeley Lab — Ravi Prasher, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering, has been promoted to associate laboratory director for energy technologies at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he previously headed the Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division.
Three Berkeley engineers named as top young innovators
06/29/18 — An EECS professor, graduate student and recent alumnus have been named to MIT Technology Review's 2018 list of “35 Innovators Under 35.”
Eugene Haller, leading expert in semiconductor materials, dies at 75
06/28/18 — Eugene E. Haller, professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, founder of Berkeley Lab's Electronic Materials Program and a pioneer in the field of ultrapure materials, died June 22.
Alvarez-Cohen to lead academic planning for campus
06/18/18 — Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, the Fred and Claire Sauer Professor of Environmental Engineering, has been named as Berkeley's next vice provost for academic planning, effective July 1.
Farewell
06/02/18 — Obituaries for Berkeley Engineering faculty and alumni
New & noteworthy
06/02/18 — Class notes and other updates about Berkeley Engineering alumni and faculty.
When geneticists talk sloppily about race
04/30/18 The Atlantic — Bioengineering professor Ian Holmes writes about how a geneticist's recent op-ed in The New York Times caused controversy when it used sloppy language to talk about the tricky relationship between race and genetics research.
New technology could wean battery world off cobalt
04/11/18 — A research team led by Gerbrand Ceder, professor of materials science and engineering, has devised a way to build lithium battery cathodes using materials that have greater capacity, and a far lower price, than the traditional cobalt.
Tiny nerve stimulator gains sophistication
04/10/18 — Berkeley engineers, led by EECS professors Rikky Muller and Michel Maharbiz, have taken implanted neural dust sensors forward by building the smallest, most efficient wireless nerve stimulator ever.
New exercise app uses machine learning to keep goals within reach
03/05/18 — Berkeley researchers are using machine learning to encourage people to get more exercise. They have developed an algorithm for an exercise app that automatically adjusts goals to keep them within reach and to keep users motivated.
Cheap, efficient cookstoves are small-tech solution with big payoff
02/13/18 — Ashok Gadgil, professor of civil and environmental engineering, redesigned a simple technology - the wood cookstove - to help women in refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan. The inexpensive and efficient Darfur stove not only reduced the danger of gathering firewood in the war-torn region, it also reduced health and climate risks from excessive smoke.
Stephen Mahin, earthquake engineering expert, dies at 71
02/13/18 — Civil and environmental engineering professor emeritus Stephen A. Mahin, former director of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, passed away on February 9. He was a world-renowned expert in earthquake engineering, with wide-ranging teaching, research and professional contributions to the field.
Teaching AI about human values
02/08/18 Forbes — Computer scientist and robotics engineer Anca Dragan has a cool name, an impressive CV and an important job: ensuring that our interactions with robots and other artificially intelligent agents are positive ones.
Why traffic apps make congestion worse
01/30/18 — Has your smartphone traffic app ever led you into a traffic jam? Professor and traffic engineer Alexandre Bayen, director of UC Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies, is working on smarter apps that will actually talk to one another to prevent clogged freeways and city streets.
Keeping watch on nuclear weapons
01/22/18 — With her hand in a few different research projects, ranging from nuclear weapons detection to war-game simulations on social media, Bethany Goldblum also finds time to direct and establish groups whose aim is to shape nuclear security policy.
Study shows solar power potential for smart window material
01/22/18 — Smart windows that automatically adjust their transparency in response to light conditions could potentially generate power as well, according to a new study led by Berkeley researcher Peidong Yang, who holds a joint appointment in materials science and engineering. The new study shows that perovskite can switch back and forth between transparency and non-transparency while retaining its electronic properties.
New research centers to help usher in future of microelectronics
01/19/18 — The Semiconductor Research Corporation announced six new multi-university research centers, and Berkeley Engineering faculty are leading partners in three of them. The centers aim to jump-start future technologies for the microelectronics industry.
AI innovation at The House
01/17/18 — In collaboration with several Berkeley Engineering faculty, the Berkeley-based startup institute The House has formed a new AI-focused startup accelerator.