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Home > Research & faculty > Sustainability and resiliency engineering for all > Sustainable resource stewardship
brown mountain ranges during daytime
Sustainable resource stewardship

Engineering with earth’s finite resources in mind

Berkeley Engineering is reconceptualizing materials with a focus on prioritizing the enhancement of public health, the development of a sustainable circular economy, and the improvement of energy efficiency.

We are working to diminish the consumption of energy and materials, thereby eliminating waste and pollution across manufacturing and service sectors, propelling the global community toward a carbon-neutral future.

Graduate student Ivan Jayapurna prepares a sample film of polylactic acid plastic

Left to right: Graduate student Ivan Jayapurna prepares a sample film of polylactic acid plastic; an undegraded film of polylactic acid plastic; biodegraded fragments of polylactic acid plastic. Read more about how materials science professor Ting Xu is re-engineering plastics for the age of sustainability

Samples containing an undegraded film of polylactic acid plastic (top) and biodegraded fragments of polylactic acid plastic

Related news

Civil and environmental engineering professor Joshua Apte and postdoc Sam Cliff take air quality measurements aboard diesel trains, which are in the process of being replaced by new electric trains at San Francisco Caltrain Station.

Electric trains quieter, more reliable — and healthier, study finds

Electrifying SF Bay Area’s Caltrain line was shown to reduce riders’ exposure to carcinogenic black carbon by an average of 89%
Runner tying her shoe next to a bottle of water.

Don’t sweat it!

Wearable sweat sensor can track your hydration status during physical and mental activities
Phillip Messersmith, professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley.

Phillip Messersmith named fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science

BioE professor honored for ‘distinguished contributions’ in wet biological adhesion and biologically inspired materials
Silica nanoparticles affixed with a distribution of polystyrene chains (purple) self-assemble into hexagonal lattices. Depending on how the chains are organized on the particle surface, they tangle together (purple) or unravel (blue) when compressed.

A new way to engineer composite materials

Berkeley Lab: Innovative polymer design combines strength with reversibility

Featured projects

bird's eye view of the tops of various batteries

Discovering halide superionic conductors for catholyte

Professor Gerbrand Ceder has been making significant strides in the field of lithium transport and superionic conductors. In his latest research paper, “Effect of Cation Disorder on Lithium Transport in Halide Superionic Conductors,” Professor Ceder explores how cation disorder affects the transport of lithium ions in halide-based superionic conductors.
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Related centers

  • Alt Meat Lab
  • Bakar Institute of Digital Materials of the Planet
  • Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
  • Berkeley Center for Next Generation of Food Systems
  • Berkeley Manufacturing 360
  • Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES)
  • Ecosystems & Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies
  • Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI)
  • KBase Predictive Biology
  • Materials Project
  • SinBerBEST²
Berkeley Manufacturing 360 students visit ASML
BIDMaP’s Prof. Omar Yaghi was honored with the prestigious Tang Prize for Sustainable Development.
SinBerBEST² office with a wordcloud
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