News

Pinning down malevolent cancer cells

02/07/14 Berkeley Research — Lydia Sohn, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is analyzing circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream of breast cancer patients, aiming to find new methods for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Her work has earned her recognition as one of five new Bakar Fellows on the Berkeley campus.

BioE’s Herr and Li are new AIMBE Fellows

02/06/14 — Bioengineering professors Amy Herr and Song Li have been named members of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows. The college is composed of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country.

Carlos Daganzo, J. Karl Hedrick and Jack Moehle

NAE adds three Berkeley faculty to its ranks

02/06/14 — Three Berkeley Engineering faculty - Carlos Daganzo (CEE), J. Karl Hedrick (ME) and Jack Moehle (CEE) - are among 67 new members and 11 foreign associates elected Thursday to the National Academy of Engineering.

UN Scientific Advisory Board aims to build ties between science and policy

02/04/14 UNESCO — At its inaugural meeting in Berlin Jan. 30, members of the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board, including Berkeley Engineering Dean Shankar Sastry, vowed to "pull our resources and wisdom together," strengthening cooperation between the scientific community and policy-makers "to put the world on a sustainable path."

Seafloor carpet catches waves to generate energy

01/28/14 — UC Berkeley mechanical engineers are developing a seafloor carpet system to capture ocean wave energy and convert it into usable electricity. The system could eventually help lower the cost of converting seawater into fresh water, easing the pressure during periods of drought.

Costas Spanos of EECS appointed new CITRIS director

01/27/14 Berkeley Research — Costas Spanos, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, has been named the fourth director of the multi-campus CITRIS (Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society). Spanos, who joined the Berkeley faculty in 1988, succeeds Paul Wright of mechanical engineering, who has led CITRIS since 2007.

Turkeys inspire smartphone-capable early warning system for toxins

01/21/14 — UC Berkeley bioengineers looked to turkeys for inspiration when developing a new type of biosensor that changes color when exposed to chemical vapors. They mimicked the way turkey skin changes color to create easy-to-read sensors that can detect toxins or airborne pathogens.

What if robots had whiskers?

01/21/14 Berkeley Lab — Researchers with Berkeley Lab and Berkeley Engineering have created e-whiskers – highly sensitive tactile sensors made from carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles that should have a wide range of applications including advanced robotics, human-machine interfaces, and biological and environmental sensors.

Undergrads tackle security projects to battle cyber criminals

01/16/14 USA Today College — In an era when billions are stolen by hackers every year, UC Berkeley and other universities are training students to be the next generation of cyber warriors.

CEE’s Sally Thompson on NSF-funded team studying watershed’s critical zone

01/15/14 — A team of UC Berkeley scientists, including Sally Thompson of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will receive $4,900,000 from the National Science Foundation to study the Eel River watershed in Northern California and how its vegetation, geology and topography affect water flow all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Researchers launch ‘Kelp Watch’ to determine extent of Fukushima contamination

01/14/14 Berkeley Lab — California researchers, including nuclear engineering's Kai Vetter, have launched “Kelp Watch 2014,” a scientific campaign to determine the extent of radioactive contamination of the state's kelp forest from Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.

Cleantech to Market team lead Michael Lebow and College of Engineering Ph.D. candidate Sibel Leblebici demonstrate an innovative new fuel cell

Symposium spotlights clean-technology solutions

01/10/14 — Through the Cleantech to Market program, UC Berkeley students work with campus and Berkeley Lab scientists to bring new, environmentally friendly innovations to the world via commercialization.

Kumar and Murthy get Keck grant for cancer cell research

01/10/14 — Bioengineering professors Sanjay Kumar and Niren Murthy have been granted a $500,000 research award from the W.M. Keck Foundation for their research, which aims to develop an assay platform that will allow researchers to routinely perform single-cell proteomic experiments.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.