A robot has figured out how to use tools
04/15/19 MIT Tech Review — A machine built by UC Berkeley researchers drew on experimentation, data and observation of humans to learn how simple implements could help it achieve a task.
Research
Microscopic ‘traffic cops’ for optical communications
04/15/19 — Berkeley engineers have built a new photonic switch that can control the direction of light passing through optical fibers faster and more efficiently than ever - and possibly revolutionize how information travels through data centers and high-performance supercomputers.
Meet Blue, the low-cost, human-friendly AI robot
04/09/19 — Blue uses advances in artificial intelligence and deep reinforcement learning to master intricate human tasks, while remaining affordable and safe enough that every AI researcher - and eventually every home - could have one.
Mass-producing biomaterials
04/08/19 — Researchers have developed a device that allows living tissue, bone, blood vessels and even whole organs to be printed on demand.
‘Ambidextrous’ robots could dramatically speed e-commerce
01/16/19 — In a new paper, Berkeley engineers build on 35 years of research with new algorithms that compute robust robot pick points, enabling robot grasping of a diverse range of products without training.
These robots are learning the old-fashioned way—by playing
12/19/18 California Magazine — Unlike most robots, the ones in the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) Lab haven't been programmed to perform a specific task. Instead, they've been programmed to learn new stuff by observation or through physical trial and error.
Greener days ahead for carbon fuels
12/18/18 Berkeley Lab — Researchers led by Joel Ager, MSE adjunct professor, have discovered copper's potential as a catalyst for turning carbon dioxide into sustainable chemicals and fuels without wasteful byproducts.
Jiggly Jell-O makes powerful new hydrogen fuel catalyst
12/13/18 — A cheap and effective gelatin-based catalyst, developed by mechanical engineering professor Liwei Lin and his Berkeley research team, can generate hydrogen fuel from water just as efficiently as platinum, the far more expensive current standard.
This innovation removes deadly arsenic from India’s water
12/12/18 The Better India — Everyday, tens of millions of people drink water that significantly increases their risk of cancer and other deadly diseases. UC Berkeley professor Ashok Gadgil amd Asian Institute of Technology's Joyashree Roy hope to fix that with an efficient and cost-effective system called Electrochemical Arsenic Remediation (ECAR) for removing arsenic contamination from drinking water.
Connie Chang-Hasnain named National Academy of Inventors Fellow
12/11/18 — EECS professor Connie Chang-Hasnain has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, an organization that champions the societal benefits of university research.
Ion drive flight test points to radically different future for aviation
12/05/18 Forbes — Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have conducted a successful 8-second flight test of an aircraft with an ion drive propulsion system, a larger version of the same cutting-edge technology that Berkeley engineers are using to fly centimeter-scale microrobots.
Watch just a few self-driving cars stop traffic jams
11/19/18 Science — Anyone can start a traffic jam - just by tapping the brakes. Now, scientists at Berkeley have shown that a few self-driving cars can prevent such jams - and in some cases double the average speed of surrounding vehicles.
New group to explore engineering solutions for wildfires
11/16/18 Fung Institute — The newly formed Fire Research Group, led by mechanical engineering professor Tarek Zohdi, brings together scientists from UC Berkeley, the Space Sciences Lab and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to find more effective engineering solutions for uncontrolled wildfires.
Playing high school football changes the teenage brain
11/15/18 — A single season of high school football may be enough to cause microscopic changes in the structure of the brain, according to a new study led by Berkeley EECS professor Chunlei Liu.
Origami electronics
11/14/18 — Scientists have fabricated electronic switches and sensors directly onto paper, where folding it can switch circuits on and off.
From waste heat to energy
11/14/18 — Researchers have developed a thin-film device that converts waste heat to energy, using pyroelectric energy conversion.
Cleaning up contamination
11/14/18 — Researchers have learned how to keep proteins active outside of the cell, leading to technology that can soak up chemical pollution.
Better breast cancer screening
11/14/18 — Using microfluidic technology, researchers can distinguish cells that are central to breast cancer development.
Calorie burner
11/14/18 — Scientists found the specific biochemical pathway that activates brown fat and causes the body to burn more calories.
Fire & water
11/14/18 — Restoring natural fire regimes to California's mountains could be a win-win-win: more water, improved biodiversity and a reduced risk of catastrophic fires.