News
Study of aqueous salt solutions deepens our understanding of icy planets’ oceans
Researchers at UC Berkeley, in collaboration with the University of Washington, have developed a new way to measure properties of salty water that may help us better understand whether the icy moons in the far reaches of our solar system can support life. In a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science, a team of researchers…
Read MoreJoin Us for a Commencement Celebration!
The Department of Mechanical Engineering is hosting a commencement reception on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, from 11:30-1:30PM in the Etcheverry Breezeway. The reception will be for graduating undergraduates, M.S and M.ENG graduates, and their families.
Read MoreMaking the cut
Wearable sensors are often used by researchers to gather medical data from patients over extended periods of time. They range from adhesive bandages on skin to stretchable implants on organs, and they harness sophisticated sensors to monitor health or diagnose illnesses. In the past, researchers have built systems for these devices using photolithography, a multistep…
Read MoreResearchers develop innovative 3D-printing technology for glass microstructures
Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a new way to 3D-print glass microstructures that is faster and produces objects with higher optical quality, design flexibility and strength, according to a new study published in the April 15 issue of Science. Working with scientists from the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany, the researchers expanded the capabilities…
Read MoreME Professor Tarek Zohdi Appointed an Editor of Computational Methods of Applied Mechanics and Engineering
As of January 1, 2022, ME Professor Tarek Zohdi has been appointed an Editor of Computational Methods of Applied Mechanics and Engineering, which is the leading journal in the field of computational mechanics. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering was founded over three decades ago, providing a platform for the publication of papers in…
Read MoreME Graduate Student Atsushi Matsuda Wins Biophysical Society’s Student Research Achievement Award
ME Graduate Student Atsushi Matsuda has won the Biophysical Society’s Student Research Achievement Award in the “Theory and Computation” category for his work titled “Structural Flexibility of FG-Nucleoporins Regulates the Molecular Transport Through the Nuclear Pore Complex.” The award was presented at the 66th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting held during February 19-23, 2022. Winners were…
Read MoreHow a dancer’s personal experiences influenced the first student-initiated capstone project
Each UC Berkeley Master of Engineering (MEng) cohort forms teams of students to engineer solutions using cutting-edge technology and methods to address crucial industry, market, or societal needs. Capstone projects are usually proposed by either industry partners or UC Berkeley faculty. This year, however, students are also allowed to initiate their own projects! In this…
Read MoreFung Fellows: Austin Portinause, Conservation + Tech ’22
Austin Portinause is a Conservation + Tech fellow studying Mechanical Engineering. Here, he shares about how his experience in the Navy and enrolling in UC Berkeley, ultimately led him to the Fung Fellowship.
Read More2022 Eaton-Hachigian Fellowship Recipients
The College of Engineering and the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021–22 Eaton-Hachigian Fellowships, awarded this year to two students pursuing Master of Engineering degrees at UC Berkeley. Selected by the Dean of the College of Engineering, the Eaton-Hachigian Fellows are engineering graduate students, pursuing studies in…
Read MoreHumans of Fung: James Cheney, MEng ’21
James Cheney is a current Berkeley MEng candidate studying Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in control of autonomous systems and robotics. Here, he shares his goals as an engineer and his hobbies outside of the MEng program.
Read MoreArchie Williams: The Black Bay Area Gold Medalist, Pilot and Teacher Who Fought Racism Abroad and at Home
After winning the gold medal in the 400-meter race in the Berlin Olympics in 1936, Oakland-born Archie Williams was honored with a parade. But when he graduated from UC Berkeley with a mechanical engineering degree in 1939, he couldn’t get hired in his chosen field because he was Black. So he dug ditches for the East Bay…
Read MoreME Assistant Professor Grace Gu Named Sloan Research Fellow
Four UC Berkeley assistant professors have been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship, one of the most prestigious honors given to early-career scientific researchers. The four are among 118 new 2022 fellows announced this week by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The fellowships recognize young scholars whose “achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific…
Read MoreSlicing the way to wearable sensor prototypes
Engineers at UC Berkeley have developed a new technique for making wearable sensors that enables medical researchers to prototype test new designs much faster and at a far lower cost than existing methods. The new technique replaces photolithography — a multistep process used to make computer chips in clean rooms — with a $200 vinyl…
Read MoreME Professor Masayoshi Tomizuka named to National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced today that it has added another Berkeley Engineering professor to its ranks, one of the highest professional honors bestowed on engineers in the United States. Masayoshi Tomizuka, the Cheryl and John Neerhout Jr. Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, studies optimal and adaptive control, digital control, signal processing, motion control, mechatronics and their…
Read MoreHumans of Fung: Tiffany Tao, MEng ’20
Tiffany Tao graduated from the Berkeley MEng program in 2020, where she studied Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Product Design. Since graduation, Tiffany has worked at Blue Goji, a wellness technology startup company focused on improving the health of users through fitness gamification. Now, she returns to the MEng program as an advisor for an…
Read MoreMeet the MEng students behind the Automotive Affinity Group
Affinity groups are a unique part of the Fung Institute ecosystem, where students come together and form communities based on their technical and career interests. With the support of the institute, groups typically host social events, career development programs, and speaker series. They act as a space for students to collaborate, connect, and learn from…
Read MoreME Assistant Professor Kosa Goucher-Lambert Receives NSF CAREER Award
CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career…
Read MoreBerkeley Discovery: ME Undergraduate Student Lekha Duvvoori
Lekha Duvvoori is a senior Mechanical Engineering major and Linguistics minor with a passion for working with her hands. She’s been a member of CalSol, the UC Berkeley solar vehicle team since her very first semester. She was brakes lead her sophomore year and Engineering Director her junior year, overseeing the Mechanical, Electrical, and Solar…
Read MoreDream On
Hypothermia is one of the greatest factors in preventable infant mortality — particularly in low- and middle-income countries — contributing to the deaths of about one million newborns each year. Ideally, infants have skin-to-skin contact with their mother, but in some cases, that’s just not feasible. To help address this issue, civil and environmental engineering…
Read MoreCould liposomes be the unsung heroes of the pandemic?
Liposomes may be the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the protection of these microscopic vesicles, the delicate strands of messenger RNA (mRNA) that lie at the heart of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines would be quickly destroyed by enzymes in the body, making it nearly impossible for their genetic instructions to reach the…
Read MoreOttobock Acquires Exoskeleton Specialist suitX
AUSTIN, Texas & DUDERSTADT, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ottobock, a leading global innovator for prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeletons, today announced the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of suitX, a US-based company spun out of the Robotics and Human Engineering Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, which specializes in the research and development of occupational and…
Read MoreBerkeley Engineering Launches Aerospace Major
In response to a growing demand for researchers and developers in the fields of aviation, defense and space exploration, Berkeley Engineering has added a new aerospace engineering major to its portfolio of academic disciplines. The full undergraduate program will include a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering — with requirements that will allow students to pursue…
Read MoreTeam CERBERUS Wins DARPA Subterranean Challenge
Team CERBERUS won the DARPA Subterranean Challenge and a $2,000,000 prize reward that comes along! Team CERBERUS is an international consortium involving the University of Nevada Reno (prime contract), ETH Zurich, NTNU, University of California Berkeley, University of Oxford, Flyability, and Sierra Nevada Corporation. The Team Leader is Prof. Dr. Kostas Alexis – of NTNU’s…
Read More‘Extremely cutting-edge’: UC Berkeley scientists revive frozen heart tissue
UC Berkeley researchers completed a study successfully reviving human heart tissue after preserving it in subfreezing conditions for one to three days. The study was conducted by Boris Rubinsky, Professor of the Graduate School in the department of mechanical engineering, and Kevin Healy, professor of bioengineering, materials science and engineering. Other contributors include Matthew Powell-Palm,…
Read MoreCold-hearted science: Supercooling technique advances preservation of human tissue
Researchers at UC Berkeley successfully revived human heart tissue after it had been preserved in a subfreezing, supercooled state for 1 to 3 days. By preserving the cardiac tissue at a constant volume in a rigid isochoric chamber, researchers were able to prevent the formation of ice crystals that could have damaged the micro heart…
Read MoreWith a damp TV, Berkeley engineers demonstrate the potential of a green energy harvester
Watching television in the shower might not rank terribly high on the scale of today’s available personal-tech indulgences. But imagine if the TV — or other small electronic device — was powered by water vapor billowing up from the marble floor tiles. Such moisture-induced energy harvesting is what UC Berkeley researchers, led by mechanical engineering…
Read MoreHumans of Fung: Jack Miller, MEng ’15
Jack Miller graduated from the Berkeley MEng in 2015 where he studied Mechanical Engineering. Since graduation, he co-founded Move2Play, an interactive technology company whose mission is to inspire kids to be active and engaged. Now, he returns to the MEng program as an advisor for an industry-sponsored capstone project. Here, he shares more about his…
Read MoreHumans of Fung: Priyaj Mehta, MEng ’20
Priyaj Mehta graduated from the Berkeley MEng in 2020 where he studied Mechanical Engineering with a focus on sustainable energy. Here, Priyaj speaks about his capstone experience and how networking within MEng helped him land his current role as Associate Mechanical Design Engineer at Tesla.
Read MoreMEng students launch a campus-based marketplace
The Treasure Exchange or TreasureX is an online marketplace intended to connect buyers and sellers within the UC Berkeley student community to encourage resale of working, functional items and to alleviate problematic waste during move-out season.
Read MoreNew food freezing concept improves quality, increases safety and cuts energy use
Shifting to a new food freezing method could make for safer and better quality frozen foods while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, according to a new study. A complete change over to this new method of food freezing worldwide could cut energy use by as much as 6.5 billion kilowatt-hours each year while reducing…
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