Using neural dust to eavesdrop on our organs
06/11/20 — In this TEDMED talk, EECS professor Michel Maharbiz describes using extremely miniaturized implants to get a closer look at organs in real time
Nanotechnology
Materials sciences professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh named to Royal Society
04/29/20 — Ramesh has created nanosized materials that can power small electrical devices with minimal amounts of energy
Researchers discover ferroelectricity at the atomic scale
04/22/20 — A team of researchers have managed to grow ultra-thin material on silicon that can power small electronic devices
Quantum weirdness
04/14/20 — Researchers have shown that heat energy, in the form of molecular vibrations, can travel across a few hundred nanometers of a complete vacuum.
Researchers develop novel way to shrink light to detect ultra-tiny substances
02/20/20 — The research could lead to the development of ultra-sensitive devices that can quickly detect pathogens in human blood.
Heat energy leaps through empty space, thanks to quantum weirdness
12/11/19 — In a surprising new study, Berkeley researchers led by Xiang Zhang, professor of mechanical engineering, showed that heat energy can travel through a complete vacuum due to invisible quantum fluctuations, a discovery that could have profound implications for the design of computer chips.
Alum honored as MEMS pioneer
10/25/19 — Kurt Peterson was awarded the 2019 IEEE Medal of Honor for his contributions to microelectromechanical systems research.
At fault
10/25/19 — A team of earthquake engineers, working out of the lab of professor Steven Glaser, is taking research on asperities to a new level by studying fault mechanics at nanoscale.
Machines that heal
05/30/19 — Rikky Muller is building tiny, wireless devices that can be implanted in the brain, with the aim of treating conditions such as epilepsy or spinal cord injuries.
Berkeley Quantum to accelerate innovation in quantum science
09/28/18 Berkeley Lab — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley have partnered to form Berkeley Quantum, a research alliance that will tackle some of the most difficult problems in quantum information science, and will facilitate the design, fabrication, and testing of quantum devices and technologies.
‘Soft’ semiconductors could transform HD displays
06/29/17 Berkeley Lab — A class of semiconductors called halide perovskites could usher in new generation of optoelectronic devices, according to Berkeley Lab scientists led by materials science and engineering professor Peidong Yang.
Small wonder
05/01/17 — Researchers have created the world's smallest transistor, a development that could advance the performance and efficiency of electronics.
Using brain implants to tune the mind
04/07/17 Kavli Foundation — EECS and neuroscience professor Jose Carmena joined a discussion of how the federally funded BRAIN Initiative could advance brain implants as treatment for a variety of illnesses and disorders, including epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer's and PTSD.
Synthetic spider silk for sale in a $314 necktie
03/15/17 MIT Technology Review — Bolt Threads, co-founded by bioengineering grad David Breslauer (Ph.D.'10), is releasing its first commercially available spider-silk product: a $314 limited-edition necktie, spun from fibers grown in the startup's lab.
Kumar lab sheds new light on cellular stress fiber networks
02/17/17 — New research from Professor Sanjay Kumar's lab, led by bioengineering PhD student Elena Kassianidou, uncovers fundamental design principles of how cells and tissues define and maintain their structure, combining sophisticated micropatterning technologies to engineer cell shape, laser nanosurgery to cut individual stress fibers with light and probe their internal structure, and mathematical modeling.
Heart-on-a-chip
01/26/17 Futurism — Berkeley scientists, led by bioengineering professor Kevin Healy, have developed technology that allows you to grow a model of your organs on a microchip.
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.
Head-Gordon leads Berkeley partnership to improve scientific software
08/04/16 — A nine-university partnership headed by Virginia Tech has launched the Molecular Sciences Software Institute, an NSF-funded program to improve software for the molecular sciences. Bioengineering's Teresa Head-Gordon is the institute's lead scientist at UC Berkeley.
Sprinkling of neural dust opens door to electroceuticals
08/04/16 — Tiny, implantable wireless sensors have been developed by a team led by EECS professors Michel Maharbiz and Jose Carmena. The dust-sized prototypes could stimulate and monitor internal nerves, muscles and organs, as well as introduce the possibility of "electroceuticals" to be used in a wide variety of treatments.
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.