Print and plug
11/01/15 — 3-D printers are expanding the possibilities for innovation with personal devices. To demonstrate the potential, mechanical engineering professor Liwei Lin printed a spoil-detecting milk carton cap.
Mechanical engineering
Pi-Bot inventors, STEM proselytizers dive into ‘Shark Tank’
10/30/15 — Lavanya Jawaharlal, a senior in mechanical engineering, and her engineer sister Melissa founded STEM Center USA to open up access to the fields of science, technology, engineering and math to more diverse students.
EnableTech: Engineering for accessibility
10/20/15 — The new EnableTech student group aims to develop creative solutions to minimize challenges presented by disability.
Exciting breakthrough in 2D lasers
10/20/15 Berkeley Lab — Berkeley Lab researchers, led by mechanical engineering professor Xiang Zhang, have developed an atomically thin excitonic laser, achieving bright light emissions at visible light wavelengths in what could be a major step forward for high-performance optical communication and computing applications.
George Johnson honored for faculty service
10/14/15 — George C. Johnson, professor of mechanical engineering, is one of two UC Berkeley faculty members honored by the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate as joint recipients of the Berkeley Faculty Service Award for 2015.
Researchers talk new diagnostic methods at global tech conference
09/18/15 — Four Berkeley Engineering professors took part in the World Economic Forum's ninth Annual Meeting of the New Champions last week in Dalian, China, leading a discussion on how breakthroughs in medical diagnostic technologies are transforming healthcare.
Eko’s digital stethoscope green-lighted by FDA
09/02/15 — The digital stethoscope startup Eko Devices, co-founded by Berkeley Engineering graduates and nurtured by SkyDeck, the campus accelerator, has won federal permission to enter the medical device market.
‘License plates’ for drones could hold rogue operators accountable
08/20/15 — Berkeley engineers from the Lightcense project are testing a kind of license plate for drones - a rectangular array of bright, multicolored LEDs attached to the underside of a craft - that they think could help make drone operators more accountable.
Can we build a better breast pump, already?
08/06/15 Fast Company — Mechanical engineers Ayyana Chakravartula and Jocelyn Bale-Glickman are developing a breast pump that is lighter, smaller, quieter, and has fewer moving parts than current pumps on the market. They describe their prototype as the Apple of breast pumps, and they're beginning their search for investors.
3D-printed ‘smart cap’ uses electronics to sense spoiled food
07/20/15 — UC Berkeley engineers, in collaboration with colleagues at Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University, have expanded the range of 3D printing technology to include electrical components, successfully printing a wireless “smart cap” for a milk carton that detects signs of spoilage using embedded sensors.
The exoskeletons are coming
07/16/15 MIT Technology Review — Workers could soon strap on a power-assist suit to maneuver heavy objects, as several companies are working toward commercially available exoskeletons, including Ekso Bionics, cofounded by Berkeley mechanical engineering professor Homayoon Kazerooni.
Alice Agogino: ME trailblazer
07/15/15 Blum Center — When historians get around to investigating the trials and triumphs of women scientists in the late 20th century, they would do well to spend some time looking at the career of Alice Merner Agogino, a pioneer in mechanical engineering, development engineering and STEM gender equity.
How to grow back the back
07/06/15 Berkeley Research — Grace O'Connell, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is exploring ways to grow human disc tissue – the spongy, protective material between vertebrae – in order to repair or replace damaged cartilage.
New Sandia director will be first woman to lead national security lab
06/23/15 Sandia National Lab — Jill M. Hruby (M.S.'82 ME) has been named the next president and director of Sandia National Laboratories, the country's largest national lab. She will be the first woman to lead a national security laboratory when she steps into her new role July 17.
More women in engineering – what’s working?
06/17/15 — From Dean Sastry: In order to increase the representation of women in engineering, we are moving beyond good intentions with proven strategies for sustaining their interest and fostering leadership.
Google engineer Eve Andersson working to empower people with disabilities
06/10/15 EFE/Fox News Latino — Eve Andersson (M.S.'98 ME) leads the Google team tasked with developing new products for the disabled, and dreams of helping those with disabilities "work at whatever they want, study what they like, travel wherever they wish, feel free and empowered."
ME’s Wienkers is University Medal finalist
05/12/15 — Aaron Wienkers, a graduating senior in mechanical engineering, is one of four finalists for the 2015 University Medal, which honors honors outstanding scholarship, public service and strength of character. He is also the recipient of the ME department citation.
Fostering disruptive technologies
05/01/15 — The Bakar Fellows program supports faculty who are trying to translate research into commercialized technologies.
Vires Aero
05/01/15 — Vires Aeronautics is developing a new technology to make flight more efficient.
ToastBoard
05/01/15 — ToastBoard is designed to make circuit design and testing easier. It's a better breadboard.