Faculty

Time is now for a new revolution in urban water systems

02/18/14 — As California grapples with what state water officials have called a drought of "epic proportions," UC Berkeley urban-water expert David Sedlak, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been watching for signs that people are ready for a water revolution.

Congratulations to our colleagues

02/12/14 — As we start off the new year, I'm delighted to share with you some great news regarding several of my distinguished colleagues here at Berkeley Engineering.

BEARS CREATE

02/12/14 — The Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) is part of an innovative research model launched in partnership with Singapore's National Research Foundation. The foundation is supporting 10 of the world's best research institutions with ample funding, space and opportunities to scale their investigations beyond the lab.

Pinning down malevolent cancer cells

02/07/14 Berkeley Research — Lydia Sohn, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is analyzing circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream of breast cancer patients, aiming to find new methods for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Her work has earned her recognition as one of five new Bakar Fellows on the Berkeley campus.

Costas Spanos of EECS appointed new CITRIS director

01/27/14 Berkeley Research — Costas Spanos, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, has been named the fourth director of the multi-campus CITRIS (Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society). Spanos, who joined the Berkeley faculty in 1988, succeeds Paul Wright of mechanical engineering, who has led CITRIS since 2007.

CEE’s Sally Thompson on NSF-funded team studying watershed’s critical zone

01/15/14 — A team of UC Berkeley scientists, including Sally Thompson of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will receive $4,900,000 from the National Science Foundation to study the Eel River watershed in Northern California and how its vegetation, geology and topography affect water flow all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Sculpting geometry: The art of math (and vice versa)

12/17/13 California magazine — Carlo Séquin lives in a world of impossible objects and mind-bending shapes. The computer science professor emeritus's office resembles an artist's studio - which makes perfect sense, given that he is both an engineer and an artist, simultaneously.

Stanley Berger, known for his work in blood flow, dies at 79

12/04/13 — Stanley A. Berger, Montford G. Cook professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a renowned expert in fluid mechanics, died on Nov. 25, 2013. He was 79.

Design education shifts to the fast lane

11/22/13 — Given the rising tide of emerging technologies and global challenges in energy, health and elsewhere, we are re-inventing engineering education here at Berkeley. Our students are graduating not only with technical depth, but also with practice in hands-on problem solving, team leadership and entrepreneurship. As Berkeley students, they bring an extra dimension to their learning-a passion for the greater good. The latest chapter in this educational transformation commenced in June, with the creation of our Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.

New UCSD dean

11/01/13 — Albert P. Pisano, a distinguished member of the mechanical engineering faculty for 30 years, has been named dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.

Chart of potential power sources for the western United States

Envisioning low-cost solar

11/01/13 — Berkeley scientists have found that low-cost solar power could supply more than a third of all energy needs in the western U.S. by 2050.

Q+A with Ali Javey

11/01/13 — EECS professor Ali Javey has been widely covered in the science press for breakthroughs ranging from a new, low-cost method for manufacturing high efficiency photovoltaics to improved ‘e-skin'

Why are rubies red?

11/01/13 — Alum and materials science and engineering professor Ron Gronsky explains what makes rubies red.

Under observation

11/01/13 — Scientists have discovered a better way to study integrins experimentally, by creating a computer model.

Check your head

11/01/13 — Researchers have developed affordable technology to help diagnose brain injuries in real time.

Artificial forest

11/01/13 — Berkeley researchers have developed an “artificial forest,” a model that directly converts sunlight into chemical fuels in a process that mimics photosynthesis.

Cracked encryption? Back doors? Cellphone snooping may be easier than ever

10/31/13 NBC News — Computer science professor Vern Paxson weighs in on the National Security Agency's interception of wireless communications, noting that even modern encryption may have flaws if done incorrectly. He also worries about allegations that the NSA is vacuuming up information at a heretofore unimagined scale.

The talk that wasn’t

09/27/13 Scientific American — A story from the Heidelberg Laureate Forum about EECS professor emeritus Manuel Blum -- a scientist, a teacher, a human, and "a person with a genuine curiosity about everything."

Design: The new toolkit for teaching engineering

09/11/13 — While some educators debate the pros and cons of online learning, we think there's a far more pressing and promising innovation that we need to offer today's engineering students: Immersion in experiential design.

Al Pisano named dean of engineering at UC San Diego

07/15/13 Berkeley Engineering — Albert P. (Al) Pisano, a distinguished member of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering faculty since 1983, has accepted appointment as Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, starting September 1, 2013. Berkeley Engineering Dean S. Shankar Sastry called Pisano "an exceptional choice for this leadership position."