Farewell
05/02/12 — Obituaries for Berkeley Engineering faculty and alumni
News
African project aims to innovate in educational robotics
05/01/12 IEEE Spectrum — Roboticists in Africa and in the United States have launched an initiative to enhance robotics education, research, and industry in Africa. The African Robotics Network (AFRON) wants to mobilize a community of institutions and individuals working on robotics-related areas, strengthening communication and collaboration among them. One of the co-founders of AFRON is Ken Goldberg, an IEEE Fellow and professor of robotics at UC Berkeley. Goldberg was born in Nigeria, where his parents were teachers.
Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing
05/01/12 The New York Times — The Simons Foundation, which specializes in science and math research, has chosen UC Berkeley as host for an ambitious new center for computer science. The foundation's $60 million grant to establish the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing underscores the growing influence of computer science on the physical and social sciences.
UC Berkeley wins $60 million for computer center
05/01/12 San Francisco Chronicle — UC Berkeley has won a $60 million grant to establish a worldwide center for theoretical computer science to explore high-level mathematical algorithms that could help a variety of scientific fields, including health care, climate modeling and economics. The award from the Simons Foundation of New York will be used to start the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, which is expected start operations in July.
Dean’s word: We’ve changed
05/01/12 — When was your last visit to Berkeley Engineering? If it’s been awhile, you are in for some surprises. Start your virtual tour at North Gate and walk east. What you may remember as the Naval Architecture Building is now renovated—faithful to its historic designation —and expanded as Blum Hall, home to the Blum Center for […]
It starts with a stove
05/01/12 — The Berkeley-Darfur Stoves project addresses the needs of families displaced by violence in western Sudan.
Big theory comes to campus
05/01/12 — The Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing will be coming to Calvin Hall; funded by a $60 million Simons Foundation grant, the institute will create a hub for theoretical computer science.
Science on a shoestring
05/01/12 — Lina Nilsson, a post-doctoral researcher in bioengineering, addresses the needs of the world's underfunded scientists.
Understanding energy by degrees
05/01/12 — A new undergraduate major in energy engineering launching fall 2012 will bring together a number of energy-related courses offered by the college, covering ethics, policy and economics.
New tenants at Richmond Field Station
05/01/12 — In January 2012, the Berkeley Lab named the Richmond Field Station as its top choice for a second campus; pending regulatory reviews, LBNL aims to open new research space by 2016.
Washington calling
05/01/12 — The White House has tapped two of Berkeley Engineering's own for leadership on critical presidential initiatives.
Q+A on excellence and diversity
05/01/12 — Berkeley Engineer sat down with Oscar Dubon, associate dean for equity and inclusion, and Executive Associate Dean Fiona Doyle to learn more about the college's efforts to attract a diverse range of highly qualified students.
Told in tears
05/01/12 — Bioengineering professor Amy Herr and graduate student Kelly Karns developed a microfluidic assay to test human tears for eye disease-specific proteins.
Powerboost
05/01/12 — Artificial photosynthesis, in which solar energy is converted directly into fuel, may just have gotten an important boost.
Slow going
05/01/12 — In California, single drivers of hybrid vehicles could drive in carpool lanes until 2011, but after the state put the brakes on the program, transportation engineer Michael Cassidy and graduate student Kitae Jang found that hybrids in standard lanes slowed traffic on Bay Area freeways.
Startup incubator
05/01/12 — UC Berkeley's new SkyDeck start-up accelerator lets young entrepreneurs skip the borrowed-garbage phase while launching their innovative ventures.
Green governor
05/01/12 — Computers have gotten faster, but the transistor hasn't kept pace with the push for greater efficiency; EECS professor Sayeef Alahuddin and graduate student Asif Khan have demonstrated that transistors can indeed be green.
Molecular Legos
05/01/12 — Led by bioengineering professor Seung-Wuk Lee, researchers have found a way to more easily work with collagen.
Putting water online
05/01/12 — In spring 2012, the Floating Sensor Network project, led by associate professor of EECS Alexandre Bayen, launched a flotilla of 100 robots down the Sacramento River to provide data on water movement and pollutant spread.
From smart dust to smart rooms
05/01/12 — Small and inexpensive wireless sensors placed throughout our physical world are capturing and transmitting streams of information about conditions in places, things and even our behavior.