Shoe-string theory
04/12/17 — A new study by Berkeley mechanical engineers finally shows why shoelaces keep coming untied.
News
Using brain implants to tune the mind
04/07/17 Kavli Foundation — EECS and neuroscience professor Jose Carmena joined a discussion of how the federally funded BRAIN Initiative could advance brain implants as treatment for a variety of illnesses and disorders, including epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer's and PTSD.
NSF’s $11M to fund natural hazards SimCenter
04/05/17 CITRIS — Structural engineering professor Stephen Mahin will lead a new center for computational modeling and simulation of the effects of natural hazards on the built environment, supported by a five-year, $10.9-million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Working on AR that will help us talk to robots
04/05/17 Wareable — Allen Yang, head of the Center for Augmented Cognition, discusses the burgeoning augmented and virtual reality programs at UC Berkeley, including efforts to build a multidisciplinary VR classroom - a sort of 21st century computer lab.
Learning to think like a computer
04/04/17 New York Times — Computer science professor Daniel Garcia explains an all-important concept in computer science - abstraction - in terms of milkshakes. It's part of a hot trend in education: Demystifying the "magic" of computers and computational thinking.
Taiwan’s Science and Technology Minister Chen visits UC Berkeley
04/03/17 — A delegation led by Taiwan's new minister of science and technology, Liang-gee Chen, learned about entrepreneurial activity at UC Berkeley during an April 3 visit hosted by the Dado and Maria Banatao Center for Global Learning and Outreach from Berkeley Engineering (GLOBE).
X-Trace paper stands the Test of Time
04/03/17 UCSD — A paper on network tracing, authored a decade ago by five Berkeley Engineering grad students and professors, has won the 2017 NSDI Test of Time Award. Honored for their influential paper were former grad students Rodrigo Fonseca and George Porter (now CS professors at Brown University and UCSD, respectively) and EECS professors Ion Stoica, Randy Katz and Scott Shenker.
Cal students pull a marathon to engineer disability solutions
03/23/17 Jewish News of Northern California — Fueled by energy drinks, adrenaline and a strong sense of wanting to make the world better, 11 teams of Berkeley students spent last weekend at Jacobs Hall, working with people with disabilities to create devices that could improve their lives.
In a sample of blood, researchers probe for cancer clues
03/23/17 — Berkeley bioengineers, led by Amy Herr, have made an important step toward liquid biopsy technology, which could allow patients to monitor cancer therapy through a simple blood draw.
A superfast lane for self-driving cars?
03/22/17 Fortune — Imagine a future where self-driving cars zip beside interstates at 120 mph, with absolutely zero congestion. That future could exist as soon as 2050, according to grad students Baiyu Chen (B.S.'14 CEE, M.S.'15 CEE, M.S.'17 EECS) and Anthony Barrs, whose Hyperlane idea was awarded top prize and $50,000 at the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge.
ME’s Tarek Zohdi wins 2017 DTA
03/21/17 Center for Teaching & Learning — Mechanical engineering professor Tarek Zohdi is one of five winners of this year's Distinguished Teaching Award, honored for "teaching that incites intellectual curiosity." Also selected was Khalid Kadir, who created the Engineering, the Environment and Society course.
EBI signs partnership with Shell to fund energy tech research
03/15/17 — UC Berkeley's Energy Biosciences Institute has entered into a five-year, multimillion dollar research agreement with Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. to fund research that meets the growing demand for energy in ways that are economically, environmentally and socially responsible.
A “VAST” step forward in cybersecurity
03/15/17 Berkeley Research — Working closely with cybersecurity experts at Berkeley Lab, CS professor Vern Paxson and postdoc researcher Matthias Vallentin are developing VAST, a system to help forensic analysts pinpoint how much of an organization's computer network has been compromised - and where.
Synthetic spider silk for sale in a $314 necktie
03/15/17 MIT Technology Review — Bolt Threads, co-founded by bioengineering grad David Breslauer (Ph.D.'10), is releasing its first commercially available spider-silk product: a $314 limited-edition necktie, spun from fibers grown in the startup's lab.
Gift from virtual reality pioneer Immerex will create AR/VR lab at Berkeley
03/14/17 — A gift from the entertainment virtual reality company Immerex will outfit a new lab for Berkeley's accelerating work in AR/VR, from training doctors to enhancing artistic performances.
Countering extremism with technology
03/13/17 — Every Thursday afternoon, students gather in a light-filled teaching studio of Jacobs Hall to develop technology-based solutions to a very tangible problem: ideologically motivated violence in the United States.
Origin stories at The House
03/13/17 — A new course this semester combines inspiring startup stories with a nuts-and-bolts guide for accessing and leveraging Berkeley's maturing innovation ecosystem.
Carol Christ is pick for next Berkeley chancellor
03/13/17 UCOP — UC President Janet Napolitano has selected Carol T. Christ, UC Berkeley's interim executive vice chancellor and provost and the former president of Smith College, as her choice to become Berkeley's next chancellor, the first woman to serve in the role. UC Regents will vote on the nomination Thursday.
AI needs more humans in it
03/09/17 Medium — EECS assistant professor Anca Dragan writes about the AI4ALL education program she's leading at Berkeley, BAIR Camp, where high school students will explore human-centered artificial intelligence.
Berkeley engineers join $24 million push for craniofacial repair therapies
03/09/17 — UC Berkeley is part of a California-based, six-university consortium that has been awarded $12 million by the National Institutes of Health to develop strategies for treating craniofacial defects, which affect millions of Americans.