For six decades he’s paved the way for a smoother ride

Often it’s an unexpected pothole or a bumpy road that draws our attention to pavement conditions. But for Professor Carl Monismith, co-director of the campus’s Pavement Research Center, the technology of road surfaces has been his passion for the past 60 years.

Robotic roach gets wings, sheds light on evolution of flight

When UC Berkeley engineers outfitted a six-legged robotic bug with wings in an effort to improve its mobility, they unexpectedly shed some light on the evolution of flight. The wings nearly doubled the running speed of the 25-gram robot. Find out why that wasn’t good enough for takeoff.

Two UC Berkeley faculty named to Institute of Medicine

Barbara Abrams, professor of epidemiology and of maternal and child health, and Carolyn Bertozzi, professor of chemistry and of molecular and cell biology, have been named to the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the highest national honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Look inside a nano testing machine

Video shows how Berkeley scientists use amazing equipment to develop materials to make future nuclear power plants more reliable and durable.

Modified corn genes may improve biofuel efficiency

Modified corn genes have the potential to make switch grass a much more efficient biofuel, according to new research by a team led by George Chuck of Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. The study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Kicking hybrids out of carpool lanes slows all traffic

The end of a California program granting free access to carpool lanes by solo drivers of hybrid cars has unintentionally slowed traffic in all lanes, according to a new report by researchers at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies. It turns out that when regular-use lanes became more congested with the addition of more hybrids, the carpool lanes slowed down as well. The transportation engineers explain this counterintuitive result.

Wall Street protests echo researcher’s findings on growing income gap

Emmanuel Saez, a UC Berkeley economist, received a 2010 MacArthur “genius” award for his research on the growing income gains of super-wealthy American households and the parallel income erosion of the other 99 percent of the nation. In a Q & A, Saez talks about the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, in light of his work.

For Berkeley physicist, worldwide fame and campus parking

For Berkeley physicist Saul Perlmutter, Tuesday, Oct. 4 began before 3 a.m. with a press call from Sweden, and soon a meaningful moment with his sleepy but excited 8-year-old. Then — quickly and inevitably — came the deluge of phone calls and e-mails, celebratory events and photo ops. And, it goes without saying, a coveted parking pass.

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