The coronavirus pandemic’s arrival earlier this year prompted Stephen McNally, a videographer for University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR), to jump on a call with campus researchers discussing how they could turn their labs into workspaces to tackle COVID-19. Faculty member Grace O’Connell agreed to let McNally come to her lab and shoot her team at work …
Off the Scales: Fish Armor Both Tough and Flexible
Humans have drawn technological inspiration from fish scales going back to ancient times: Romans, Egyptians, and other civilizations would dress their warriors in scale armor, providing both protection and mobility. Now, using advanced X-ray imaging techniques, scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, enabling them to understand how the material is resistant to …
ME Assistant Professor Grace X. Gu Named 2020 MRS Communications Lecturer
The Materials Research Society (MRS), along with its publishing partner, Cambridge University Press, congratulates Grace X. Gu, along with Chun-Teh Chen, both of the University of California, Berkeley on receiving the 2020 MRS Communications Lecture award for their paper, Machine learning for composite materials. Published March 27, 2019 MRS Communications Volume 9, Issue 2 Gu …
Capstone Project Profile: Affordable Electrochromic Glass
Electrochromic (EC) coating is one of the ways to alter glass attributes through the application of voltage on conductive layers. However, current manufacturing processes for such glass aren’t optimized and required high-end equipment resulting in high price tag for the product. To make it more accessible, this capstone project approaches from an unconventional angle. Instead …
UC Berkeley Professor Robert Ritchie Co-Leads Study on Fish Scales Which May Provide Better Armor
A project led by Robert Ritchie, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at UC Berkeley, and Marc Meyers, professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego, provides inspiration for fish scales to be used in armor.
Piranha-Proof Fish Scales Offer Inspiration for Better Armor
Arapaima gigas. Image by iStock.com/kurga The scales of the massive Amazonian freshwater fish, Arapaima gigas, are so tough that they do not tear or crack when a piranha—which has one of the animal kingdom’s sharpest bites—attacks. Material scientists have discovered the secret to the fish’s impermeable armor: each scale is made up of a highly …
Berkeley Professors Named Innovators Under 35
Two Berkeley Engineering professors — mechanical engineering’s Grace Gu and EECS’ Raluca Ada Popa — were included in MIT Technology Review’s list of “innovators under 35” today. This honor is given annually to technologists whose work has great potential to change the world.
New hydrogen fuel catalyst
A powerful new hydrogen fuel catalyst developed by Berkeley engineers relies on a surprising ingredient: gelatin, the same material that makes Jell-O desserts jiggle. Composed of nanometer-thin sheets of metal carbide, this catalyst works just as efficiently as platinum to generate hydrogen fuel from water, but at a much lower cost than the rare and …