Squishy Robotics, UC Berkeley’s BEST (Berkeley Emergent Space Tensegrities) Lab, and a NASA Ames co-author were on the cover of the June 2024 issue of Soft Robotics journal. The referenced paper was co-authored by Dr. Kyunam Kim, as lead author, with ME Professor Emeritus Alice M. Agogino and Dr. Adrian K. Agogino, a NASA Ames …
News items about graduate students
Berkeley researchers send 3D printer into space
Imagine a crew of astronauts headed to Mars. About 140 million miles away from Earth, they discover their spacecraft has a cracked O-ring. But instead of relying on a dwindling cache of spare parts, what if they could simply fabricate any part they needed on demand? A team of Berkeley researchers, led by Ph.D. student Taylor …
Winners of 2024 CITRIS Aviation Prize reach great heights
What would it take to connect the University of California’s campuses in Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz with a safe and sustainable system of air taxis, equipped to ferry students, faculty, staff and cargo across Northern California? That’s the question posed by the 2023–24 CITRIS Aviation Prize, the student design competition organized by CITRIS Aviation, a …
Researchers design soft actuators that mimic ‘bone-in-flesh’ structure of human limbs
Berkeley engineers have developed magnetically controlled soft actuators that mimic the “bone-in-flesh” structure of human limbs. Ultrafast and highly precise in their movements, these bioinspired actuators are easily made with low-cost, off-the-shelf components — qualities that may lead to their expanded use in soft robotics systems. In a study published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, …
Researchers explore the phenomenon of holonomy
BB-8 of Star Wars fame is known for its adorable beeps, dome-shaped head and spherical body. But fighting alongside the Resistance is just one of its many talents. As this spherical robot rolls across surfaces, it’s exhibiting holonomy, a phenomenon in rigid body dynamics that Berkeley researchers think may have broad applications in real-life robotics. …
Small solar sails could be the next ‘giant leap’ for interplanetary space exploration
Nearly 70 years after the launch of the first satellite, we still have more questions than answers about space. But a team of Berkeley researchers is on a mission to change this with a proposal to build a fleet of low-cost, autonomous spacecraft, each weighing only 10 grams and propelled by nothing more than the …
UC Berkeley’s Big Ideas Contest Builds Student-Led Social Innovations
Paige Balcom, the co-founder, co-CEO and CTO of Takataka Plastics, is changing Uganda — one plastic bottle at a time. In 2017, Balcom, who earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, was settling into campus life after spending a year in Uganda on a Fulbright research grant. Only a month into …
Keep it cool
Salt has been long used to prevent ice from forming on roads by lowering the freezing point of water. Now, mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Drew Lilley and adjunct professor Ravi Prasher, working with Berkeley Lab researchers, have used this same concept to develop a new method of heating and cooling. Known as ionocaloric cooling, the technique has the potential …
Join Us for a Commencement Celebration on May 17th!
Greetings, Mechanical Engineering 2023 Graduates: We are happy to invite you and your loved ones to this year’s Commencement Reception, hosted by the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The details are as follows: Date: May 17, 2023 Time: 11am – 2pm Place: Breezeway between Etcheverry and Soda/Jacobs Food and refreshments will be provided. See you there!
ME Students Monica Li and Taylor Waddell Picked as Semi-Finalists in the 2023 Grad Slam Competition
We are excited to announce that two Department of Mechanical Engineering semi-finalists will compete in the 2023 Grad Slam on April 11th! Register to watch and cheer on Monica Li and Taylor Waddell: https://bit.ly/3zcfzeV. Congratulations, Monica and Taylor!
ME Ph.D. student takes the road less traveled to UC Berkeley
For Ph.D. candidate and Chancellor’s Fellowship recipient Alexander Alvara, the path to UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering has been a long and winding road. As a teenager, he would help his six younger siblings get ready for school each morning, while his mother, a single parent, juggled two jobs. He never minded the extra responsibility, …
Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair: October 17th – 21st
If you’re considering a graduate degree, you won’t want to miss our virtual Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair at UC Berkeley, Oct. 17-21! Learn more about our application process and meet with individual programs in 80+ sessions during the week. Register free: https://bit.ly/admitdivfair
ME Joint Professor Somayeh Sojoudi and ME PhD Student Elizabeth Glista Win “Best of the Best” Paper Award at the 2022 IEEE PES GM
ME Joint Professor Somayeh Sojoudi and ME PhD Student Elizabeth Glista have won a “Best of the Best” Conference Paper Award at the 2022 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting. The paper, titled “A MILP for Optimal Measurement Choice in Robust Power Grid State Estimation,” was selected by the Power System Operation, Planning, and …
Lisa Anne Torres receives 2022 Outstanding GSI Award in Engineering
The Graduate Division and Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Teaching and Resource Center recently presented Lisa Anne Torres with the Outstanding GSI Award in Engineering. The Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award honors over 200 UC Berkeley GSIs each year and recipients are nominated from within their teaching department. She received this award for the E295: Communications for Engineering …
Join 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.
ME 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 …
2022 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 …
Join Us as We Celebrate the 2021 Berkeley Engineering Graduates!
Congratulations 2021 graduates! The College of Engineering is hosting virtual commencement ceremonies for eligible students, their family and friends on Thursday, May 20. All undergraduate and graduate students graduating in Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 are eligible to participate.
ME Ph.D. Student Yakira Mirabito Receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Among universities across the nation, UC Berkeley has historically topped the list of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellows. This prestigious and competitive fellowship provides significant funding over one to three years, allowing students to pursue important research in fields ranging from cognitive neuroscience and bioengineering to public policy and particle physics. Since 2015, the …
ME Ph.D. Student George Moore Receives 2021-22 University of California Dissertation-Year Fellowship
ME Ph.D. student George Moore has been selected to receive a 2021-22 University of California Dissertation-Year Fellowship. The fellowship is open to graduate students in academic Ph.D. programs who demonstrate strong potential for university teaching and research, and who are in their final year of dissertation work. Congratulations, George!
ME Graduate Student Paige Balcom Wins Lemelson-MIT Student Prize
Paige Balcom is a lifelong engineer, beginning as an “Inventioneer” in middle school and later winning the 2010 FIRSTLEGO League World Championship with her teammates. She earned a full academic scholarship to study mechanical engineering at the University of New Hampshire where she joined Engineers Without Borders. Her work with Engineers Without Borders led to …
Capstone Project Profile: Precision Freezing 3D Bioprinter for Large Scale Tissue Engineering
The organ shortage for transplants is a growing problem all over the world. Bioprinting could be a solution to this however current attempts at 3-D printing biological materials are encumbered by the slow rate of the process and the “soft” nature of the material. Previous “successes” have only yielded objects no larger than a dime, …
Tracking and Fighting Fires on Earth and Beyond
Mechanical engineer Michael Gollner and his graduate student, Sriram Bharath Hariharan, from the University of California, Berkeley, recently traveled to NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. There, they dropped burning objects in a deep shaft and study how fire whirls form in microgravity. The Glenn Center hosts a Zero Gravity Research Facility, …
Scientists Design New Framework for Clean Water
We rely on water to quench our thirst and to irrigate bountiful farmland. But what do you do when that once pristine water is polluted with wastewater from abandoned copper mines? A promising solution relies on materials that capture heavy metal atoms, such as copper ions, from wastewater through a separation process called adsorption. However, commercially available …
Improving Urban Traffic Throughput with Vehicle Platooning
Before California sheltered in place, UC Berkeley and ITS researchers were out in traffic showing how forming vehicle platoons can dramatically improve urban traffic flow in Arcadia, CA. They recently published a paper(link is external) and video(link is external) on their research and demonstration. Funded by the National Science Foundation and DOT, Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) Chair Roberto …
ME Ph.D. Student Angel Rodriguez Wins 1st Place in GMiS Research Poster Competition
ME Ph.D. student Angel Rodriguez, of the FLOW Lab, has won first place in the Great Minds in STEM Research Poster Competition for his poster titled, “X-ray Computed Tomography of Vertical Bubble Column.” The GMiS Research Poster Competition provides a premiere, national forum for traditionally underserved and underrepresented STEM undergraduate and graduate students to showcase …
Berkeley Researchers Use 3D Printer to Make Stronger, Greener Concrete
Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a new way to reinforce concrete with a polymer lattice, an advance that could rival other polymer-based enhancements and improve concrete’s ductility while reducing the material’s carbon emissions. The Berkeley team used a 3D printer to build octet lattices out of polymer, and then filled them with ultra-high performance …
ME Ph.D. Student George Moore Awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service
George Moore, doctoral candidate in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, was awarded one of the Chancellor’s Awards for Public Service, the 2020 Birgeneau Recognition Award for Service to Underrepresented Students. Chancellor Christ hosted the awards ceremony in honor of the recipients, nominators, and nominees on Tues., Sep. 23, 2020. See video of the award ceremony.
ME Alum Negar Mehr Wins 2020 IEEE ITS Best Dissertation Award
ME Alum Negar Mehr has won the 2020 IEEE ITS Best Dissertation Award. The IEEE ITS Best Dissertation Award is given annually for the best dissertation in any ITS area that is innovative and relevant to practice. This award is established to encourage doctoral research that combines theory and practice, makes in-depth technical contributions, or …
CVR Abnormalities Evaluated in HIV-Infected Women Using Quantitative Whole Brain ASL
A team of scientists from the UC San Francisco Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Neurology, and Division of Infectious Diseases along with the UC Berkeley Department of Mechanical Engineering and Subtle Medical, Inc. (Menlo Park, California) set out to assess whole brain and regional patterns of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) abnormalities in HIV-infected women using …