Mechanical engineering

Novel drone shapeshifts mid-flight

01/19/22 — Interesting Engineering: Researchers at Berkeley's High Performance Robotics Laboratory (HiPeRLab) have developed an experimental drone called the Midair Reconfigurable Quadcopter that can shape-shift in midair, as seen in the lab's video.

The art of engineering

11/15/21 — Mechanical engineering alum Alireza Lahijanian is the co-founder of Rbhu, a company that specializes in large-scale artwork and entertainment structures.

Illustration of heart tissue in isochoric chamber

Super cool

11/15/21 — Using a method called isochoric supercooling, researchers revived human heart tissue after it had been preserved in a subfreezing state for days.

Archie Williams racing in the Berlin Olympics

High school named in honor of alum

11/15/21 — Archie Williams, a mechanical engineering alum, was recognized for his achievements in education, national service and athletics.

microscope image of "spike-liposome" technique

Could liposomes be the unsung heroes of the pandemic?

11/12/21 — Berkeley News: Berkeley engineers attached SARS-CoV-2 “spike” proteins to the surface of liposomes, creating lab-made mimics of the deadly virus as part of a process to enable efficient testing of antibody therapies.

UC Berkeley alum Reginald DesRoches named president of Rice University

11/12/21 — DesRoches is the seventh Berkeley Engineering alumnus to become the head of a university in the past four years

Cold-hearted science: Supercooling technique advances preservation of human tissue

09/22/21 — Berkeley researchers revive human heart tissue that had been supercooled at subfreezing temperatures for days, showing promise of technique that could be a game-changer for organ transplants and medical research.

With a damp TV, Berkeley engineers demonstrate the potential of a green energy harvester

09/06/21 — Researchers report that moisture-induced energy harvesting could be a potential new source of power, particularly in areas of naturally high humidity

The art of engineering

07/20/21 — Berkeley Engineering alum blurs the line between art and science

Firefighter in helmet amid wildfire flames.

Fighting wildfires with computing and data science

07/13/21 — Berkeley's Fire Research Group uses algorithms, machine learning, and simulation to improve fire prevention efforts.

Award fuels female STEM leaders

07/02/21 Johnson & Johnson — Mechanical engineering assistant professor Hannah Stuart is one of six 2021 Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D scholars

Insect-sized robot scurrying through scattered pieces of brick.

Insect-sized robot navigates mazes with the agility of a cheetah

07/02/21 — Flexible, durable robot developed by mechanical engineering professor Liwei Lin's team could become an asset for search and rescue operations

Three engineering faculty receive Young Investigator Award

05/17/21 — Alvin Cheung, Somayeh Sojoudi and Grace Gu to receive highly competitive grants to support their early-career research.

Berkeley engineers win Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times Awards

04/27/21 — Nine engineering teaching groups were honored for innovations in remote instruction

Bring in the reinforcements

04/26/21 — A team of engineers have developed a new way to reinforce concrete using a 3D printer to build octet lattices out of polymer.

Biden nominates Jill Hruby to top nuclear security post

04/19/21 Homeland Preparedness News — Berkeley mechanical engineering alumna (M.S.'82) chosen as administrator of National Nuclear Security Administration

Illustration of single photons approaching metamaterial beam splitter

Berkeley engineers demonstrate unprecedented control of light with a new quantum device

03/15/21 — The at-will control over the behavior of single photons is key to developing optical quantum gates.

UC Berkeley-led team receives $8.4M for AI-based approaches to cyber-physical systems

12/10/20 — Project proposes a novel approach that blends AI and machine learning with guidance from human and computational oracles

Exploded view of N95 mask, and assembled prototype modeled by undergrad researcher Jason Duckering

Anti-COVID mask breaks the mold

12/10/20 LBL — Scientists from Berkeley Engineering and Berkeley Lab have designed a rechargeable N95 mask with a custom fit

Sanjay Kumar, RObert RItchie and Peidong Yang

Top scholars named AAAS fellows

12/02/20 — Engineering professors Sanjay Kumar (bioengineering), Robert Ritchie (mechanical engineering and materials science) and Peidong Yang (chemistry and materials science) are among five Berkeley scholars elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science