News

Architects name Jacobs Hall a top green project

04/22/16 American Institute of Architects — In an Earth Day announcement, the AIA's Committee on the Environment selected Jacobs Hall as one of ten top examples of sustainable architecture and ecological design projects that protect and enhance the environment.

Two engineering professors elected to AAAS

04/20/16 — Professors Jay Keasling (chemical and bioengineering) and Scott Shenker (EECS) are among nine UC Berkeley faculty members elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country's oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers.

Robots that act differently when you’re around

04/19/16 The Atlantic — Roboticist Anca Dragan, head of Berkeley's Interactive Autonomy and Collaborative Technologies lab, is working on algorithms that can help robots coexist with people in the real world.

Meet VC Jeremy Fiance, young Berkeley superconnector

04/18/16 Tech Crunch — Jeremy Fiance, 24, whose 2014 interdisciplinary studies degree combined engineering, design and business, is giving back to his alma mater in a unique way with the launch of the House Fund, a $6 million venture capital fund whose sole goal is to invest in startups coming out of UC Berkeley.

Bioengineering’s Yartsev among new Searle Scholars

04/15/16 — Michael Yartsev, an assistant professor of bioengineering, was one of three young UC Berkeley faculty members appointed Searle Scholars this week. He will receive $300,000 for the next three years to support his research into the neural basis of spatial habit learning using free-flying echolocating bats.

A time of celebration and sadness

04/12/16 — This spring we have come together as a community in celebration with engineering deans from across the country and in reflection as we mourn the passing of faculty colleague David Dornfeld.

Watching snow melt

04/11/16 — The collaborative Sierra Net project builds wireless sensor networks in major California watersheds to modernize the way the state's water supply is measured.

Improving the odds for kidney transplant success

04/11/16 — A student team was recently recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative University for their low-cost kidney transplant monitor.

David A. Dornfeld, professor, manufacturing expert, college leader, 1949-2016

04/11/16 — Faculty director of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and former mechanical engineering department chair was a leader in manufacturing engineering

Arduino Day: Underwater robots, R/C trains and more

04/08/16 Make — Arduino’s founders and fans gathered at Jacobs Hall on April 2 for Arduino Day, a worldwide celebration of the open-source electronics platform that allowed makers and enthusiasts to show off their projects, share ideas and participate in workshops.

From left, Xiang Zhang, Yu Ye, Jun Xiao, and Yuan Wang are part of a team of scientists that made a big advance in valleytronics.

Scientists push valleytronics a step closer to reality

04/04/16 Berkeley Lab — Scientists led by Xiang Zhang, professor of mechanical engineering, have taken a big step toward the practical application of “valleytronics,” a new type of electronics that could lead to faster and more efficient computer logic systems and data storage chips.

Clintons, CGI University at Berkeley this weekend

04/01/16 — Engineering undergrads Ankita Joshi (B.S.'16 ME) and Anh-Thu Ho (B.S.'16 BioE) are among more than 1,000 students gathering at Berkeley this weekend for the Clinton Global Initiative University, a chance to discuss pressing global issues and dig deep for creative solutions.

Bajcsy, Paxson honored as visionary faculty entrepreneurs

03/30/16 — EECS professors Ruzena Bajcsy and Vern Paxson have been selected as 2016-17 Signatures Innovation Fellows, receiving funding to pursue their commercially promising research to assess personal injury and recovery (Bajcsy) and network cyberattacks (Paxson).

Jacobs Hall honored for sustainability practices

03/28/16 Office of Sustainability & Energy — Jacobs Hall, new home of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, has won a 2016 Higher Education Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Award for its efficient use and reuse of energy and water.

ME professor Lisa Pruitt honored as distinguished teacher

03/23/16 — Lisa Pruitt, professor of mechanical engineering, is one of five 2016 winners of UC Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award, the campus's most prestigious honor for educators.

BioE startup Zephyrus acquired by Bio-Techne

03/23/16 GEN — Zephyrus Biosciences, a company spun out of bioengineering professor Amy Herr's lab and nurtured by SkyDeck and the Bakar Fellows program, has been acquired by Bio-Techne Corp. to commercialize its single-cell Western Blot technology.

Berkeley Engineering garners four #1 rankings

03/16/16 U.S.News & World Report — In graduate program rankings released Wednesday, Berkeley Engineering ranked first in civil engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and environmental engineering. All programs remain in the top 10, with bioengineering, industrial engineering and nuclear engineering ranked higher than in 2015.

Automakers go back to school for self-driving cars

03/16/16 Bloomberg Business — Automakers Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen, along with electronic companies Nvidia, Samsung, Qualcomm and Panasonic, are collaborating to fund artificial intelligence research at UC Berkeley, hoping this DeepDrive alliance can help them build the brains behind self-driving cars.

Georgia Tech Engineering Dean Gary May delivers Kuh lecture on increasing diversity

03/15/16 — On March 10, 2016, Gary May (M.S'88, Ph.D'91 EECS), engineering dean at the Georgia Institute of Technology, gave the fifth annual Kuh Lecture about increasing participation and diversity in STEM fields.

Defining the original smart material

03/15/16 — Sonia Travaglini, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering, studies the properties of fungus to discover the composite materials of the future.