News

In search of a robot more like us

07/11/11 The New York Times — Designing a robot to mimic the basic capabilities of motion and perception would be revolutionary, researchers say. Yet the challenges remain immense, far higher than artificial intelligence hurdles like speaking and hearing. The limits of today's most sophisticated robots can be seen in a robotic towel-folding demonstration pioneered by a group of students at the University of California, Berkeley, last year. "Our end goal right now is to do an entire laundry cycle," said Pieter Abbeel, a Berkeley computer scientist who leads the group.

Preflight interview: Rex Walheim, Mission Specialist

07/08/11 NASA — Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis carries a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station. The STS-135 astronauts are: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Berkeley Engineering alumnus Rex Walheim. Read a pre-flight interview with Rex Walheim here.

ATIC and UAEU appoint Berkeley Engineering’s Bernhard Boser to inaugural ATIC Professorship for Semiconductor Research

06/29/11 Al Bawaba — ATIC and United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have today announced the appointment of Professor Bernhard E. Boser from the University of California, Berkeley to the newly created ATIC Professorship for Semiconductor Research. Extending Abu Dhabi's collaboration with internationally recognized academic institutions, the first incumbent of the ATIC Professorship for Semiconductor Research, Prof. Boser joins UAEU from the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley.

Berkeley Engineering alum Anantha Chandrakasan named head of MIT electrical engineering and computer science

06/13/11 MIT News — Anantha P. Chandrakasan, the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering, has been named the next head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "As the largest academic department in the School of Engineering, and at MIT, EECS and its faculty are involved in an exceptional range of intellectual, educational, and research activities," MIT School of Engineering Dean Ian Waitz said. "I welcome the new ideas that Anantha will bring to leading EECS and his dedication as he assumes this role." Chandrakasan earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley; he joined the MIT faculty in 1994.

At Qualcomm, rise of founder’s son defies hazards of succession

06/12/11 The New York Times — When Paul E. Jacobs took over from his father as chief executive of the chip maker Qualcomm in 2005, mobile phones were just beginning their transition from tools for talking to hand-held computers delivering data and entertainment. "We talk about the future of computing being mobile, but I don't feel that way," said Mr. Jacobs, 48. "I feel the present of computing is mobile." Mr. Jacobs received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley and is the current chairman of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering Advisory Board.

Sumbat Der Kiureghian: A son’s tribute to his father’s unique style, creativity

06/11/11 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator — Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian is the Taisei Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and the winner of numerous awards and patents. He is also a dedicated son and art lover, who wants to shed light on the legacy of his late father, painter Sumbat Der Kiureghian. His efforts have culminated in a beautiful coffee-table book, The Life and Art of Sumbat, filled with the paintings of his father, which often captured Iranian village life, as well as traditional Armenian life.

Intel Labs announces new Science and Technology Center hosted at UC Berkeley

06/07/11 Intel — Intel Labs has announced a second Intel Science and Technology Center (ISTC) to open with a focus on secure computing, hosted at the University of California, Berkeley in collaboration with several other universities, and headed by David Wagner, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. The center will focus its research on a variety of areas over the next five years, including making personal computers safer from malware, securing mobile devices, both in terms of data protection for the individual, as well as making it safer to download data to devices, and use of third party applications.

Graduation walk, reinvented

06/07/11 — Last month, on May 14, my faculty colleagues and I watched with great pride as more than 1,100 graduates crossed the Greek Theatre stage and walked into the world. Some will go on to more schooling, others to new careers, but all shared a cool, dry Saturday afternoon to mark this major milestone in their lives.

Going with the flow

06/07/11 — A major milestone in microfluidics could soon lead to stand-alone, self-powered chips that can diagnose diseases within minutes. Working as part of an international team of researchers, Berkeley engineers have developed a device that is able to process whole blood samples without the use of external tubing and extra components. “This is a very important development for global healthcare diagnostics,” says bioengineering professor Luke Lee, the study's principal investigator. “Field workers would be able to use this device to detect diseases such as HIV or tuberculosis in a matter of minutes.”

Speaking from experience

06/07/11 — As one of the student speakers at Berkeley Engineering's commencement last month, Christopher Ategeka (B.S'11 ME) recounted his formidable journey to Berkeley from the rural Ugandan village of his childhood. His odyssey entailed unimaginable heartbreak and hardship. For Ategeka, who will return to Berkeley in the spring of 2012 to begin a doctoral program in mechanical engineering, luck as well as a positive outlook helped get him where he needed to go. There was one tool, however, that also played a pivotal role in his success: the bicycle.

A pillow fight on auto-pilot

06/07/11 — The breezeway between McLaughlin and O'Brien halls looks like an electronic components store after an explosion. Color-coded wires, screwdrivers, white sprockets and power tools litter the floor-wherever there isn't a student standing, squatting or lying. In teams of fives and sixes, these local high school engineers are working hard to build robots for the final competition of Pioneers in Engineering (PiE), a robotics competition run by Berkeley Engineering students.

Ford “talking” vehicles give San Francisco peek at more sustainable driving with fewer crashes, reduced congestion

06/01/11 PR Newswire — As Ford's fuel-efficient vehicles gain momentum in California, company researchers are showcasing what could be next: intelligent vehicles that wirelessly talk to each other to reduce crashes and the billions of gallons of gas wasted in congestion each year. Today, Ford convened a panel of auto industry, transportation and technology visionaries to experience the technology and discuss how intelligent vehicles could soon lead to breakthroughs in a more sustainable transportation system. The San Francisco event includes remarks by Dr. S. Shankar Sastry, Dean of UC Berkeley's College of Engineering, and a panel including Dr. Pravin Varaiya, UC Berkeley Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Professor Emeritus.

Obituary: Alexander Murray Wilson

05/28/11 San Francisco Chronicle — Berkeley Engineering alumnus Alexander Murray ("Bud") Wilson, one of the premier figures in the mining industry throughout the world, has died. Bud Wilson was a significant supporter of the University of California during his life and was active as a member of the Hearst Mining Dean's Committee, a volunteer in the Berkeley Engineering Fund, the Engineering Advisory Board, and the Mineral Engineering Advisory Committee.

N.C. A&T names Berkeley Engineering alumna as new engineering dean

05/20/11 Greensboro News & Record — Robin N. Coger has been named dean of N.C. A&T's College of Engineering. Coger is the founder and director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering Systems at the UNC-Charlotte and a professor in the Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science Department at William States Lee College of Engineering. Coger earned her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, and received a master's and doctorate in that field from UC Berkeley.

Exoskeleton lets UC Berkeley grad take a huge step

05/15/11 San Francisco Chronicle — When Austin Whitney, a paralyzed 22-year-old UC Berkeley student, rose from his wheelchair and stepped across the commencement stage on Saturday to shake Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's hand, the crowd of 15,000 at Edwards Stadium went wild with cheers, as if witnessing a miracle. A team of UC Berkeley mechanical engineers - four doctoral students led by Professor Homayoon Kazerooni - have been developing a computerized body brace called an exoskeleton they believe will be good enough to transform thousands of wheelchair users into walking people in a couple of years, and for an affordable price.

The origins of Intel’s new transistor, and its future: Q&A with Chenming Hu

05/09/11 IEEE Spectrum — Intel has announced a big change to the electronic switches at the heart of its CPUs. Going forward, the firm will be using three-dimensional transistors to take the place of long-used planar devices. The new transistors are a variation on the FinFET, a transistor design that substitutes the flat channel through which electrons flow with a 3-D fin. How did this 3-D design win its way into production? Spectrum asked the coinventor of the FinFET, Chenming Hu, a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, how the new transistors got their start.

Berkeley Engineering alum Gary May named dean of engineering at Georgia Tech

05/06/11 Technique — Gary May, professor and chair of the School of ECE at Georgia Institute of Technology, was named Dean of the College of Engineering on May 6, 2011, following an international search. "I am very excited. I think this a dream job. Who wouldn't want to be the Dean of Engineering at school where they sing about engineering in the fight song?" May said. May completed his master's and doctoral degrees at the University of California, Berkeley.

Building the bio toolkit

05/04/11 — In the 1970s, the Berkeley-bred SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) revolutionized microelectronics by creating a toolkit now used worldwide as the standard for circuit design. Our new Synthetic Biology Institute (SBI), launched on April 25, aims to repeat this feat with biological and chemical engineering.

Moving data at the speed of light

05/04/11 — Modern computing has a looming data traffic problem. Sometime in the next decade, experts say, processors will not be able to deliver better performance, because integrated circuits will have reached their capacity. Commonly described as interconnect bottleneck, this phenomenon means that computers, regardless of their processing speed, will be incapable of moving data any faster. But Berkeley engineers, led by Connie Chang-Hasnain, have recently developed a groundbreaking process that could solve the vexing problem of interconnect bottleneck and lead to a new class of faster, more efficient microprocessors.

Sun-driven and Australia-bound

05/04/11 — To build a car powered completely by the sun, a team of Berkeley students is burning lots of midnight oil. A year-and-a-half in the making, a sleek vehicle called Impulse was unveiled at Cal Day and is on track to compete in the world's premier solar car race this October. Behind the effort is the 73-member crew of CalSol, the campus's student-run solar vehicle team. This fall, 15 to 20 students will withdraw from school for the semester to participate in CalSol's first-ever entry in the World Solar Challenge, an 1,800-mile road race across Australia.