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Light-activated curtain

Engineers create light-activated ‘curtains’

01/09/14 — A research team led by UC Berkeley's Ali Javey, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, used carbon nanotubes and plastic polycarbonate to create a new material that moves in response to light. The material can be used to create “smart curtains” that open or close with the flick of a light switch.
Science Translational Medicine cover

MTM article in Science Translational Medicine

01/08/14 — In a Focus article for the journal Science Translational Medicine, leaders of the joint Berkeley Engineering-UCSF Master of Translational Medicine program explore how the innovative program helps scientists and physicians cross the gap from lab bench to patient bedside.
Chris Ategeka

Chris Ategeka named to Forbes 30 Under 30

01/08/14 Forbes — Christopher Ategeka (B.S. '11 ME), founder of CA Bikes, which builds bike and motorcycle ambulances for those in need in his native Uganda, has been selected as one of Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs.
Carbon footprint map

Suburban sprawl cancels carbon-footprint savings of dense urban cores

01/07/14 — According to a new study by UC Berkeley researchers, led by professor Daniel Kammen of the Energy and Resources Group and Nuclear Engineering, population-dense cities contribute less greenhouse-gas emissions per person than other areas of the country, but these cities' extensive suburbs essentially wipe out the climate benefits.
model of VIRES transmission

VIRES Engineering: Revolutionizing power of all kinds

01/06/14 Inc. — VIRES Engineering, a startup founded by a slew of undergraduate Berkeley engineers, mathematicians and business majors, already has four products in the works: a high-efficiency transmission, a plastics recycling machine, a novel drone wing design, and a high-power, low-cost wind turbine. "It's like a think tank of engineers," says co-founder Jordan Greene of the company, which has been named one of America's coolest college startups by Inc. magazine.

Two Berkeley engineers win presidential early-career awards

12/23/13 White House Press Office — Four young Berkeley professors – including Benjamin Recht of electrical engineering and computer science and Junqiao Wu of materials science and engineering – were among 102 researchers named Monday by President Obama as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers.

Engineering leads campus in energy savings

12/23/13 Energy Incentive Program — The College of Engineering topped all other campus operating units in saving electricity in 2013, cutting consumption by more than 1.3 million kilowatt hours and earning a $134,358 incentive rebate. College leaders credited more-efficient light fixtures and sensors and timers that turn off lights and fans when not needed.

Dreams of the world: Flight simulation of robotic birds

12/18/13 National Geographic — Cameron Rose, an EECS grad student whose research focuses on flapping-winged robots in flight, dreams of one day helping the field of robotics achieve "something even close to the level of maneuverability and control that animals possess," he told National Geographic. "I also dream to use my knowledge and passion for robotics to encourage other African American students to pursue similar paths."

Sculpting geometry: The art of math (and vice versa)

12/17/13 California magazine — Carlo Séquin lives in a world of impossible objects and mind-bending shapes. The computer science professor emeritus's office resembles an artist's studio - which makes perfect sense, given that he is both an engineer and an artist, simultaneously.

Do-it-yourself cellular coverage for remote places

12/12/13 MIT Technology Review — With Swedish telephone numbers, a tree-bound base station, and help from a team of Berkeley engineers, a remote Indonesian village is running its own telecommunications company.

Beyond Rube Goldberg’s machines

12/10/13 New York Times — Rube Goldberg's reservoir of elaborate contraptions that mutated simple tasks into madcap feats of ingenuity made him rich and famous. But the Berkeley-trained engineer (B.S. 1904 MSE) was also an all-around cartoon man and artist - the Thomas Edison of the newspaper comics pages - as the new book ‘The Art of Rube Goldberg' makes clear.

Cal football to be played on Kabam Field

12/09/13 San Francisco Chronicle — Kabam, a San Francisco-based mobile-gaming company, has secured naming rights for the playing field at Memorial Stadium. Three of Kabam's founders, including Michael Li, B.S. '01 EECS, are Berkeley graduates, as are 10 percent of the company's 700 employees worldwide.

David Culler to receive the Okawa Prize, 2013

12/05/13 CITRIS — EECS Department Chair and Director of the CITRIS Energy Initiative David Culler has been selected as a recipient of the 2013 Okawa Prize, which is awarded annually by the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications.

Educating a maker: The Berkeley perspective

11/27/13 Forbes — Students are busy in the CITRIS Invention Lab, on the bottom floor of Sutardja Dai Hall. The lab, which is co-directed by Bjoern Hartmann and Eric Paulos, both EECS professors, houses new rapid prototyping equipment, such as 3D printers and laser cutters. Hartmann teaches an interactive device design class, while Paulos teaches a class called Critical Making. Both classes emphasize design thinking and hands-on learning.

Kevin Healy named AAAS Fellow

11/26/13 — Kevin Healy, professor of bioengineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor bestowed upon the association's members by their peers. Healy was cited for his distinguished contributions to the fields of bioengineering and biomaterials science, particularly for the understanding and development of bioinspired materials.