Two faculty named top innovators

October 25, 2019

This article appeared in Berkeley Engineer magazine, Fall 2019

Grace GuRaluca Ada PopaTwo Berkeley assistant professors — mechanical engineering’s Grace Gu and electrical engineering and computer sciences’ Raluca Ada Popa — were included in MIT Technology Review’s 2019 list of “35 Innovators Under 35.”

Gu is advancing 3D printing applications to create novel materials with enhanced mechanical properties. Her research uses machine learning algorithms to identify new and better composite structures based on natural materials.

Popa is one of the co-founders of Berkeley’s RISELab, and her research focuses on secure systems and applied cryptography. She has developed encryption systems that provide security without the use of firewalls, but still allow for complex calculations on data.