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.
Nanotechnology
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.
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.
Neural dust
11/01/16 — Scientists have created a dust-sized ultrasound sensor that can be placed in the human body to monitor nerves, muscles, or even organs and potentially lead to new treatments for epilepsy or immune system disorders.
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.
Super small science
01/26/16 NSF/NBC — You may have nanotechnology in your pocket and not even know it. In a video feature on nanotechnology's everyday impacts, EECS associate professor Ana Claudia Arias talks about her work with flexible sensors.
Coming to a monitor near you: a defect-free, molecule-thick film
11/30/15 — A team of research engineers at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, led by EECS professor Ali Javey, has discovered a simple way to fix defects in atomically thin monolayer semiconductors using an organic superacid, opening the door to transparent LED displays, nanoscale transistors and more.
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.
Peidong Yang receives MacArthur ‘genius award’
09/29/15 — Peidong Yang, a UC Berkeley chemist and materials scientist who is trying to capture carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into a sustainable transportation fuel, has been named a MacArthur Fellow.
Self-sweeping laser could dramatically shrink 3-D mapping systems
09/03/15 — A new approach that uses light to move mirrors could usher in a new generation of laser technology for a wide range of applications, including remote sensing, self-driving car navigation and 3-D biomedical imaging. The engineering team was led by EECS professor Connie Chang-Hasnain.
Nature’s mood rings: How chameleons really change color
08/31/15 KQED — A PBS program on chameleons' color-changing abilities also looks at work led by EECS professor Connie Chang-Hasnain to create a color-changing array out of nano-sized silicon ribbons etched onto a flexible film.
The graphene switch
05/01/15 — New research holds promise for controlling graphene's properties, potentially opening new applications for its use.
New chameleon-like material
03/12/15 — Berkeley engineers led by EECS professor Connie Chang-Hasnain have created an ultra-thin film that can shift colors as easily as a chameleon's skin when pulled or twisted.