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Rendering of early Americans during the last Ice Age

Genes yield clues to arrival of first Americans

07/21/15 — Statistical models, including one created by EECS and statistics associate professor Yun Song, confirm that the original Americans crossed a land bridge from Siberia in a single wave no more than 23,000 years ago, at the height of the last Ice Age.
Diagram of smart cap using 3D-printed plastic with embedded electronics to wirelessly monitor the freshness of milk.

3D-printed ‘smart cap’ uses electronics to sense spoiled food

07/20/15 — UC Berkeley engineers, in collaboration with colleagues at Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University, have expanded the range of 3D printing technology to include electrical components, successfully printing a wireless “smart cap” for a milk carton that detects signs of spoilage using embedded sensors.
Panasonic exoskeleton

The exoskeletons are coming

07/16/15 MIT Technology Review — Workers could soon strap on a power-assist suit to maneuver heavy objects, as several companies are working toward commercially available exoskeletons, including Ekso Bionics, cofounded by Berkeley mechanical engineering professor Homayoon Kazerooni.
Alice Agogino

Alice Agogino: ME trailblazer

07/15/15 Blum Center — When historians get around to investigating the trials and triumphs of women scientists in the late 20th century, they would do well to spend some time looking at the career of Alice Merner Agogino, a pioneer in mechanical engineering, development engineering and STEM gender equity.
Heart muscle cells (red) and connective tissue (green) grown from stem cells.

Researchers create model of early human heart development from stem cells

07/14/15 — Berkeley bioengineers, in collaboration with scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, have developed a template for growing beating cardiac tissue from stem cells, creating a system that could serve as a model for early heart development and a drug-screening tool to make pregnancies safer.
Process behind the Volta phone-charging rocking chair

Rock on: Student-designed chair generates energy to charge phone

07/13/15 California magazine — The Volta, a chair that harnesses the rocking motion of the sitter to generate energy, has won a National Maker Faire award for its inventors - four Berkeley undergrads taking part in the interdisciplinary Interactive Seating Design Competition sponsored by the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.
Sonar image of the USS Independence

Radiation safety for sunken-ship archaeology

07/08/15 Berkeley Lab — Kai Vetter, professor of nuclear engineering and Berkeley Lab scientist, is helping researchers determine the radiation risk of exploring an underwater aircraft carrier scuttled off the Farallon Islands after World War II.
Grace O’Connell (right) and PhD graduate student Megan Pendleton in the lab

How to grow back the back

07/06/15 Berkeley Research — Grace O'Connell, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is exploring ways to grow human disc tissue – the spongy, protective material between vertebrae – in order to repair or replace damaged cartilage.
Relay Rides car sharing and rental

Ride-sharing forces automakers to rethink how they sell cars

06/30/15 Los Angeles Times — Every vehicle that goes into a full-time car-sharing service, such as short-time rental company Zipcar, supplants four to six new car sales and postpones the purchase of up to seven more, says Susan Shaheen, a transportation sustainability researcher and adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Ernie Kuh

Ernest Kuh, professor and dean emeritus, 1928-2015

06/30/15 — Ernest S. Kuh, who greatly expanded the College of Engineering's partnerships with its alumni and industry networks while serving as dean in the 1970s, died June 27 at age 86. A complete obituary will be published shortly.
Alumnus of the Year Steve Wozniak

Steve Wozniak receives top alumni honor

06/29/15 Cal Alumni Association — The Cal Alumni Association presented Steve Wozniak ('86 EECS) with its most esteemed honor, the 2015 Alumnus of the Year award, at a gala event at Memorial Stadium's University Club.