Industry

Texas Instruments gives $2.2 million to re-energize introductory electronics courses at UC Berkeley

05/10/12 Texas Instruments — Texas Instruments Incorporated has announced a $2.2 million gift to support engineering education at UC Berkeley. The university will use the gift to transform its traditional introductory Electronic Design Laboratory into a dynamic learning environment for undergraduate students. "This is a unique opportunity to introduce a new generation of engineering students to the fun of building things that matter," said Professor Costas Spanos. "We will do this by infusing the 'maker' ethic early into the learning cycle, and by creating a place that brings together state-of-the-art instructional labs, a student meeting place and student-run space for hardware hacking."

Building green performance motorcycles

04/17/12 — Electric motorcycles are quiet, and from a power perspective more efficient. Both traits are not lost on the rider. “If you get on these electric motorcycles the first thing you notice is a magic carpet ride feel,” says Abe Askenazi, B.S'92, M.S'94 ME. “It's almost like flying. It feels like you are on a glider and this thing is propelling you forward. You don't hear all of the drama of power production, you are just doing it.” Askenazi has traveled a long road to become the chief technology officer at Zero Motorcycles, one of the nation's leading electric motorcycle manufacturers.

High-tech titans: Gordon Moore and Andy Grove

04/06/12 National Public Radio — In a rare joint interview, Intel legends Gordon Moore (B.S. '50, Chemistry) and Andy Grove (Ph.D. '63, ChemE) discuss how their company has thrived over the decades and what they think of the current crop of Silicon Valley techies.

Manufacturing: The road to economic recovery

10/17/11 — We have become a nation of traders, regulators and middle parties. But are we still a nation of designers and makers? In the 1950s, manufacturing contributed more than 25 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. Today, that share has fallen to below 12 percent. China is rapidly overtaking the United States as the world's largest manufacturing nation.

U.S. firms pledge more engineering internships

09/01/11 AAAS Science Insider — During a meeting of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a group of some 50 U.S. companies promised to create thousands of internships for engineering students as a way to increase the number of U.S. citizens who earn engineering degrees and enter the profession. The increase in internships "is a tremendous boon for students," said panelist S. Shankar Sastry, dean of the college of engineering at UC Berkeley. "And it's scalable: If 50 companies join in today, you can expect many more to follow."

President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness announces industry leaders’ commitment to double engineering internships in 2012

08/31/11 Whitehouse.gov — The President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness has announced that 45 industry leaders have committed to double the engineering internships available at their companies in 2012. "For America to stay competitive in the global market, we must train and retain the world's best engineers," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. Intel CEO and Berkeley alumnus Paul Otellini stated, "Looking forward, this nation is at risk of a significant shortfall of qualified experts in science and math to meet the country's needs. Today's announcement is about inspiring and encouraging our next generation of engineers."

Berkeley bywords: Made in the U.S.A.

08/18/11 — When it comes to manufacturing know-how, Berkeley Engineering is the College of Big Shoulders. From minuscule chips to massive aircraft, we invent the tools and methods that power the assembly lines of American manufacturing.

Intel Labs opens latest Intel Science and Technology Centers

08/03/11 Intel — Aimed at shaping the future of cloud computing and how increasing numbers of everyday devices will add computing capabilities, Intel Labs announced the latest Intel Science and Technology Centers (ISTC) both headquartered at Carnegie Mellon University. The center combines top researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California Berkeley, Princeton University, and Intel. The researchers will explore technology that will have has important future implications for the cloud.

At Qualcomm, rise of founder’s son defies hazards of succession

06/12/11 The New York Times — When Paul E. Jacobs took over from his father as chief executive of the chip maker Qualcomm in 2005, mobile phones were just beginning their transition from tools for talking to hand-held computers delivering data and entertainment. "We talk about the future of computing being mobile, but I don't feel that way," said Mr. Jacobs, 48. "I feel the present of computing is mobile." Mr. Jacobs received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley and is the current chairman of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering Advisory Board.

Intel Labs announces new Science and Technology Center hosted at UC Berkeley

06/07/11 Intel — Intel Labs has announced a second Intel Science and Technology Center (ISTC) to open with a focus on secure computing, hosted at the University of California, Berkeley in collaboration with several other universities, and headed by David Wagner, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. The center will focus its research on a variety of areas over the next five years, including making personal computers safer from malware, securing mobile devices, both in terms of data protection for the individual, as well as making it safer to download data to devices, and use of third party applications.

Ford “talking” vehicles give San Francisco peek at more sustainable driving with fewer crashes, reduced congestion

06/01/11 PR Newswire — As Ford's fuel-efficient vehicles gain momentum in California, company researchers are showcasing what could be next: intelligent vehicles that wirelessly talk to each other to reduce crashes and the billions of gallons of gas wasted in congestion each year. Today, Ford convened a panel of auto industry, transportation and technology visionaries to experience the technology and discuss how intelligent vehicles could soon lead to breakthroughs in a more sustainable transportation system. The San Francisco event includes remarks by Dr. S. Shankar Sastry, Dean of UC Berkeley's College of Engineering, and a panel including Dr. Pravin Varaiya, UC Berkeley Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Professor Emeritus.

The origins of Intel’s new transistor, and its future: Q&A with Chenming Hu

05/09/11 IEEE Spectrum — Intel has announced a big change to the electronic switches at the heart of its CPUs. Going forward, the firm will be using three-dimensional transistors to take the place of long-used planar devices. The new transistors are a variation on the FinFET, a transistor design that substitutes the flat channel through which electrons flow with a 3-D fin. How did this 3-D design win its way into production? Spectrum asked the coinventor of the FinFET, Chenming Hu, a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, how the new transistors got their start.

H.P. to work with Hynix on new computer memory chips

08/31/10 The New York Times — Hewlett-Packard said Tuesday that it would commercialize a new computer memory technology called memristors with Hynix, the South Korean chip maker. The agreement to build the memory chips validates the work of Leon O. Chua, a UC Berkeley electrical engineering professor. In 1971, he proposed a fourth basic circuit element (the other three are the resistor, capacitor and inductor) and called it a memristor, or memory resistor, as a simpler alternative to transistors that would allow more computer memory to be packed in even smaller devices.

Apple: Products vs. stock

05/27/10 2010 National Public Radio — On Wednesday, Apple overtook Microsoft as the world's most valuable technology company, at least by one Wall Street measure -- market capitalization. Michele Norris talks with Kyle Conroy, a computer science student at the University of California, Berkeley about a table he's compiled that looks at how much money you might have today had you invested in Apple stock instead of buying Apple products, such as iMacs and iPods.

Toyota’s fractured structure may be at root of safety problems

02/23/10 Los Angeles Times — The fact that Toyota's quality and safety problems have affected almost every model in its line suggests that the automaker has a systemic management problem, said Robert Bea, a UC Berkeley professor who has accumulated about 800 case studies of corporate and government-agency meltdowns. Bea said the cultural and organizational problems affecting Toyota are similar to those that allowed NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers to ignore structural issues leading to the Columbia space shuttle and Hurricane Katrina disasters.

Greening GM

10/02/08 — In the fall of 1975, a young General Motors engineer named Larry Burns loaded up his customized Chevy and headed to Berkeley. The Michigan native came west for doctoral studies in transportation engineering. “It's an area that has served me quite well,” he says. Today, Burns is in charge of next-generation cars and other leading-edge technology for the world's largest automaker. “I wake up every day focused on reinventing the automobile,” he says. A 2007 New York Times article called him “the most visible executive at the American auto companies on green issues.”