New & noteworthy
10/25/19 — Class notes and other updates about Berkeley Engineering alumni and faculty.
News
With AI, machines become expert at reading brain scans
10/22/19 — A computer algorithm developed by scientists at UCSF and UC Berkeley bested two out of four expert radiologists at finding tiny brain hemorrhages in head scans - an advance that one day may help doctors treat patients with traumatic brain injuries, strokes and aneurysms.
Piranha-proof fish scales offer inspiration for armor
10/17/19 UCSD — UC Berkeley and UC San Diego material scientists have discovered the secret to Arapaima gigas's impermeable armor. The scales on this Amazonian freshwater fish could serve as inspiration for stronger, lightweight and flexible synthetic armors.
Towers in earthquake country — designers say the new ones are safe to their core
10/15/19 San Francisco Chronicle — Jack Moehle, professor of structural engineering, comments on the safety of towers that have transformed San Francisco's skyline over the past decade.
Our energy grid is vulnerable; locally sourced power may be the answer
10/11/19 — Alexandra “Sascha” von Meier, adjunct professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, talks about the risks posed by the current energy grid and possible solutions moving forward, including solar-powered microgrids.
Andrew Packard, professor and pioneer in robust control systems, dies at 59
10/07/19 — Professor Andrew Packard, professor of mechanical engineering, passed away in September. A popular and gifted teacher, Packard was a pioneering researcher in robust control theory.
Berkeley receives grant to grow public interest technology
10/07/19 — UC Berkeley received a $180,000 grant from the Public Interest Technology University Network to develop an innovative curriculum that encourages students to work across disciplines and understand the ethical, political and societal implications of technology.
ESS turns 10, Bechtel becomes a welcome center
10/07/19 — New center will help visitors and students learn what the college has to offer
Berkeley researchers help secure water future
09/27/19 — The National Alliance for Water Innovation , which includes researchers from Berkeley Engineering, has been awarded a five-year, $100 million Energy-Water Desalination Hub by the U.S. Department of Energy to address water security issues in the United States.
Eight Berkeley engineers honored as Siebel Scholars
09/25/19 — Eight Berkeley Engineering graduate students - five from bioengineering, two from computer science and one from energy science - have been named to the Siebel Scholars Foundation's 2020 class.
Kresge Engineering Library unveils a new diversity and inclusion collection
09/24/19 — Today, Berkeley Engineering unveiled a new diversity, equity and inclusion resource collection at the Kresge Engineering Library. The collection consists of physical books as well as electronic books and other electronic resources.
Can cellphones help cities be more energy efficient?
09/23/19 — Berkeley Engineering, Berkeley Lab and MIT researchers have created a new tool that uses cellphone data to estimate building occupancy rates in urban areas, with the aim of optimizing energy use at a citywide scale - and helping to mitigate climate change.
Warning! AI is heading for a cliff
09/19/19 California Magazine — Electrical engineering and computer sciences professor Stuart Russell proposes a solution to AI's fundamental "design error."
U.S. Military researchers work to fix easily fooled AI
09/19/19 NPR — NPR's All Things Considered talked to EECS professor Dawn Song about her AI work with traffic signs to explain how U.S. Military researchers are working to combat what they call "adversarial artificial intelligence." That's when someone hacks into an AI system to transmit the wrong information.
A single dose for good measure
09/13/19 Berkeley Lab — Nuclear engineering professor Rebecca Abergel and her colleagues at Berkeley Lab have developed a new pill to treat radiation poisoning. The pill could also double as an anti-gadolinium-toxicity pill for MRI patients injected with a commonly-used contrast dye.
Students make neutrons dance beneath campus
09/11/19 — In an underground vault enclosed by six-foot-thick concrete walls, nuclear engineering students are making neutrons dance to a new tune: one better suited to producing isotopes for geological dating, forensics, diagnostics and medical treatment.
Berkeley Engineering is #3 in U.S. News rankings
09/09/19 U.S. News & World Report — Berkeley Engineering's undergraduate program was again ranked third overall and the top public engineering school by U.S. News & World Report. Eight individual engineering programs were ranked among the top 5 in their respective fields, and all were in the top 10.
Sally Floyd, who helped things run smoothly online, dies at 69
09/05/19 New York Times — Sally Floyd (Ph.D '89, EECS) was one of the inventors of Random Early Detection, which continues to play a vital role in the stability of the internet. She passed away on August 25.
New Bakar Fellows are already having an impact
09/05/19 — Three Berkeley Engineering professors have been named 2019–20 Bakar Fellows: Niren Murthy (BioE), Raluca Ada Popa (EECS) and Kenichi Soga (CEE).
Autonomous vehicles: The answer to our traffic woes
08/28/19 Wired — Berkeley Engineering's Alexandre Bayen and Liao-Cho are studying the impact that autonomous vehicles can have on traffic flow. And, their findings suggest that self-driving cars can help alleviate traffic.