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Materials science

A new ferroelectric material developed at Berkeley Lab

Scientists help thin-film ferroelectrics go extreme

05/13/17 Berkeley Lab — Lane Martin, associate professor of materials science and engineering and faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, has created the first-ever polarization gradient in a thin film, greatly expanding the range of functional temperatures for ferroelectrics, a key material used in a variety of everyday applications.
Jungiao Wu and graduate students in the lab

The rule-breaker

05/01/17 — Professor of materials science and engineering Junqiao Wu has identified an outlier in the materials world: Vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity without conducting heat.
Ali Javey holding a sensor chip

Sweating it out for science

03/01/17 Berkeley Research — In a Cory Hall lab converted into a high-tech mini-fitness center, researchers led by Bakar fellow and Berkeley Engineering professor Ali Javey trace the metabolic changes experienced by runners in real time, using a substance any good workout produces: sweat.
Berkeley Lab scientists use a nano-Auger electron spectroscopy instrument to measure the content of materials.

For this metal, electricity flows, but not the heat

01/26/17 Berkeley Lab — A study led by MSE professor and Berkeley Lab physicist Junqiao Wu finds that electrons in vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity without conducting heat - a law-breaking property that could lead to applications in thermoelectrics and window coatings.
Oscar Dubon at awards ceremony

Dubón honored for enhancing campus diversity

01/06/17 — Oscar Dubón, MSE professor and the college's associate dean for student affairs and equity & inclusion, has been selected as the winner of UC Berkeley's 2016 Chancellor's Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence and Equity.

Alivisatos and Herr named National Academy of Inventors fellows

12/13/16 — Two Berkeley engineers - nanotechnology pioneer and materials scientist Paul Alivisatos and bioengineer Amy Herr - were among 175 distinguished academic inventors named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, along with Berkeley chemical engineer Enrique Iglesia.
Kristin Persson

Materials database speeds innovation

11/01/16 — Assistant professor of materials science and engineering Kristin Persson launched the Materials Project to provide a comprehensive materials database to speed up discovery and deployment of new technologies.
Dong-Hwa Seo, Alex Urban, Jinhyuk Lee and Gerbrand Ceder

Next-gen batteries

11/01/16 — A team led by materials science professor Gerbrand Cedar has made an important discovery that could eventually lead to longer-lasting lithium batteries.
Mussel attached by protein-based tethers

Brand new glue

11/01/16 — Inspired by marine mussels, professor Phillip Messersmith is developing a new kind of glue to be used in fetal surgery.
Fiona Doyle

Fiona Doyle wins SME metallurgy award

09/21/16 — MSE professor Fiona Doyle, dean of the Graduate Division, has been selected by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration as the 2016 recipient of the Milton E. Wadsworth Award, which recognizes distinguished contributions that advance understanding of the science and technology of non-ferrous chemical metallurgy.
Wei Gao and his sensor wristband, and Sergey Levine

Seven Berkeley engineers named top innovators under 35

08/23/16 — Wei Gao, an EECS postdoc developing wearable sweat sensors to monitor health, and EECS assistant professor Sergey Levine, who helped pioneer “deep learning” for robots, are among seven Berkeley engineers on this year's list of top innovators under 35, compiled by MIT Technology Review.
Kal Sastry

MSE professor emeritus Kal Sastry dies at 74

07/19/16 Daily Californian — Kal Sastry, a materials science and engineering professor emeritus remembered for his unique life philosophies and his love for the Berkeley community, died July 15. He was 74.
Size comparison of liposomes and 3HM nanocarriers

Finding chemo

06/17/16 Berkeley Science Review — New cancer treatments come in tiny packages, like the 3HM nanocarriers being developed by materials science professor Ting Xu and her collaborators to protect drugs during their journey through the bloodstream to brain tumors.
Kristin Persson

Massive trove of battery and molecule data released

06/16/16 Berkeley Lab — The Materials Project, a Google-like database directed by materials science and engineering professor and Berkeley Lab scientist Kristin Persson, recently released a huge amount of scientific data to the public as a tool to assist engineers working on fuel cells, especially battery technology.
Carlo Séquin, Anca Dragan and Paul Alivisatos

A college of arts AND sciences

05/11/16 — UC Berkeley is rich in both celebrated and hidden artistic talent, including a trio of engineering professors: computer scientist and geometric sculptor Carlo Séquin, roboticist and Lindy hop dancer Anca Dragan, and research vice chancellor and photographer Paul Alivisatos.

Cool composites

05/01/16 — The metallic alloy CrMnFeCoNi is being researched to study the mechanisms that make it one of the toughest at any temperature. The future applications to understanding how it works? Cryogenics and the potential to design even stronger reinforcing metallic materials.
Photoluminescence of MoS2 monolayer: before (left) and after superacid treatment

Making monolayers work

05/01/16 — Berkeley engineers have found a simple way to fix the defects of monolayer semiconductors, leading to a dramatic 100-fold increase in the material's photoluminescence quantum yield.