Berkeley Researchers Send 3D Printer Into Space
SpaceCAL tests the limits of additive manufacturing on Virgin Galactic 07 mission
Scientists close in on dark energy's mystery 'chameleon' particle
"A team of Berkeley physicists has developed an unprecedentedly precise instrument designed to hunt for dark energy."
Omar Yaghi Wins Prestigious Tang Prize for Sustainable Development
UC Berkeley’s Omar Yaghi received a top sustainability prize on June 18 for his pioneering discoveries unlocking essential tools to combat the climate crisis.
Using AI to Get People Out of Their Cars and Into HOVs
HumanLight traffic signal technology incentivizes ridesharing
A Volcanic Eruption Severed Communications in Tonga. The Reason Lay Deep Under the Sea.
Few know that the backbone of the internet is made up of close a million miles of telecommunication cables on the ocean floor.
5 questions for UC Berkeley’s Ben Recht
Ben Recht, an EECS professor, discusses "his belief that while 'artificial intelligence' per se is overrated, the underlying statistical technology is deeply underrated."
This Alloy is Kinky
Researchers have uncovered a remarkable metal alloy that won’t crack at extreme temperatures due to kinking, or bending, of crystals in the alloy at the atomic level
Bioinspired Design Reduces Drag and Noise Production for Towed Sonar Arrays
Researchers employing textured surfaces to mimic shark skin to make underwater instruments more effective and environmentally friendly.
Tech and Policy Converge: UC Berkeley Summit Tackles AI Governance, Trust, and Ethical Tech
UC Berkeley Tech Policy Summit drew world-renowned academics, thought leaders, policymakers, industry pioneers, and innovators, to discuss and debate the most pressing issues at the intersection of technology and policy.
Cybersecurity Clinic at UC Berkeley Helps Nonprofits Protect Themselves Online
Citizen Clinic, UC Berkeley’s cybersecurity clinic, is a semester-long course that gives students hands-on training and experience as they deliver pro bono digital security assistance to nonprofits and other public interest organizations.
Small Solar Sails Could Be the Next ‘Giant Leap’ for Interplanetary Space Exploration
UC Berkeley researchers aim to create a fleet of low-cost, autonomous spacecraft propelled by light particles.
Fresh water from thin air
Water-absorbing compounds called metal–organic frameworks — developed in the lab of Chemistry Professor Omar Yaghi — could be part of a future in which any house with electricity could reliably address its drinking-water needs with an appliance roughly the size of a microwave oven.
Making the Grade
Armando Fox and Dan Garcia, professors of electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS), are behind UC Berkeley’s pilot run, an endeavor they’ve dubbed “A’s for All (as Time and Interest Allow).”
Hany Farid: To Limit Disinformation, We Must Regulate Internet Platforms
UC Berkeley professor, one of the world’s leading experts on digital forensics and human perception, talks about the storm of digital disinformation so powerful that it’s putting lives, and democracy, at risk.
How To Use AI for Discovery — Without Leading Science Astray
UC Berkeley researchers present a new statistical technique for safely using the predictions obtained from machine learning models to test scientific hypotheses.
Nuclear Power Renaissance
UC Berkeley researchers are working to revisit and reinvent molten salt technologies, paving the way for advanced nuclear energy systems and a carbon-free future.
Berkeley Space Center at NASA Ames To Become Innovation Hub for New Aviation, Space Technology
UC Berkeley will develop a 36-acre site to house companies, labs and students in heart of Silicon Valley.
Researchers Develop New AI-Based Design Method for Metamaterials
UC Berkeley professor investigates the properties and applications of novel metamaterials.
Hybrid Cooling Leads to Significant Energy Savings in Tropical Office Buildings
A UC Berkeley research partnership in Singapore shows that pairing ceiling fans with higher air conditioning settings can reduce energy consumption by one-third without compromising comfort.
Creating a Lithium-Ion Battery for the Future
UC Berkeley researchers demonstrated a new method for using manganese to create cheaper and more powerful Li-ion batteries.
A New Vision for Data Security
Dawn Song, a 2022 Fellow with the UC Noyce Initiative, studies how to keep online data safe, fair and accessible.
Researchers Demonstrate Heat-Induced Pyroelectricity in Viruses
Berkeley scientists have disclosed that engineered viruses can produce electrical energy when subjected to heat, potentially opening the door to advanced biosensors and diagnostic instruments in the future.
Novel Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Woman Speak Using a Digital Avatar
Berkeley engineers explain how advances in AI could help restore natural communication.
Scientists Develop Parallel Method for Fog Harvesting and Water Treatment
UC Berkeley researchers demonstrate how a nanoengineered steel mesh with a solar-powered coating can collect droplets from fog and make water safe for drinking.
Using Tech to Break Bottlenecks in Wildlife Monitoring
A new project funded by a UC Natural Reserve System Climate Award aims to make biodiversity monitoring more efficient.
Michael Rapé Discusses Berkeley’s New Division of Molecular Therapeutics
The Molecular Therapeutics field focuses on innovative approaches to treat diseases, and the division hopes to accelerate the drug discovery process from idea to laboratory to clinic.
Researchers Create Open-Source Platform for Neural Radiance Field Development
Researchers have developed Nerfstudio, a Python framework that provides plug-and-play components for implementing NeRF-based methods.
Hand-Held Water Harvester Powered by Sunlight Could Combat Water Scarcity
Berkeley researchers have designed a portable sun-powered device that can extract and convert water molecules from the air into drinkable water.
Watching Molecules Relax in Real Time
An ultrafast x-ray imaging technique shows how the symmetry of methane’s structure evolves after rapid removal of an electron, providing insights into its physical and chemical properties.
Safe Drinking Water Is a Right. Experts Want AI to Help Make It a Reality.
Two California water engineers are working with the Data Science Discovery program to develop a drinking water regulation chatbot.
ChatGPT Architect, Berkeley Alum John Schulman on His Journey With AI
Berkeley News spoke with Schulman about why he chose Berkeley for graduate school, the allure of towel-folding robots, and what he sees for the future of artificial general intelligence.
IGI’s ‘Audacious’ New Frontier for CRISPR: Editing Microbiomes for Climate and Health
$70M funding will catalyze a bold new initiative led by Jennifer Doudna and Jill Banfield to apply precision genome editing to microbial communities.
Stuart Russell Calls for New Approach for AI, a ‘Civilization-Ending’ Technology
The last “civilization-ending technology” – atomic energy – has been the subject of intense governance and extreme care on behalf of its engineers. Russell says that AI needs the same kind of attention.
From Tort Law to Cheating, What is ChatGPT’s Future in Higher Education?
When it comes to higher education, reviews have been more mixed, a blend of upbeat and uneasy. These UC Berkeley experts say that ChatGPT and similar tools are going to transform education.
Improving the World With Opto-Electronics
Jie Yao, a 2022 Heising-Simons Faculty Fellow, is developing new optical materials for use in information technology platforms and devices.
Evolution on Fast Forward: Grace Gu Engineers AI-Optimized, Bioinspired Materials
The CITRIS principal investigator and assistant professor of mechanical engineering takes inspiration from nature and uses machine learning to create more efficient materials.
Building the Materials for Next-Gen Tech
Felix Fischer, a 2022 Heising-Simons Faculty Fellow, uses his organic chemistry background to build materials for next-generation computers, sensors and communications platforms.
Drawn to Superconducting Magnets
James Analytis wants to understand the underpinnings of superconductors, which could lead to new kinds of MRI machines or supercomputers.
CITRIS Researchers to Help Northern California Communities Reduce Wildfire Risk With Dynamic Modeling and Serious Games
With $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation, an interdisciplinary, multicampus University of California research team is partnering with agencies and community organizations in the Bay Area to help residents respond to natural disasters more quickly — and more safely.
Large-Scale Traffic Experiment Uses AI Against ‘Phantom’ Jam
CEE Professors Maria Laura Delle Monache and Alexandre M. Bayen discuss their research on the impact of AI-equipped vehicles on traffic jams and fuel consumption.
Step by Step Berkeley Robots Learn to Walk on Their Own in Record Time
Using advances in machine learning, two separate teams have developed approaches to shorten in-the-field training for quadruped robots in record time.
Research Team Led by Boubacar Kanté Creates Berkeley Surface-Emitting Lasers (BerkSELs)
A research team led by Boubacar Kanté has created a type of laser, accomplishing the ability to emit a single mode of light while keeping the ability to scale up in size and power.
Digging Deep
The unassuming Pacific mole crab, Emerita analoga, is about to make some waves. UC Berkeley researchers have debuted a unique robot inspired by this burrowing crustacean that may someday help evaluate the soil of agricultural sites, collect marine data and study soil and rock conditions at construction sites.
Physics Nobel Recognizes Berkeley Experiment on ‘Spooky Action at a Distance’
In 1971, graduate student Stuart Freedman and postdoctoral fellow John Clauser took over a room in the sub-basement of Birge Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, and built an experiment that would put to the test one of the most enduring weirdnesses of quantum mechanics, what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.”
Dr. Andrew Reddie Awarded $1.8M to Launch Berkeley Risk and Security Lab
Addressing the toughest questions at the intersection of technology, politics, and security. How will emerging technologies shape the future of war and peace? How might a new era of strategic competition between superpowers complicate matters?
As Online Harms Surge, Our Better Web Initiative Advances at UC Berkeley
With the U.S. midterm elections approaching and political disinformation posing a continued threat to democracy, UC Berkeley’s ambitious new Our Better Web initiative, launched on a small scale in April, is advancing efforts to study and combat online harms including deception, discrimination and child exploitation.
Berkeley Talks: Learning From Nature to Design Better Robots
In Berkeley Talks episode 148, Robert Full, a professor of integrative biology and founder of the Center for Interdisciplinary Biological Inspiration in Education and Research at UC Berkeley, discusses how nature and its creatures — cockroaches, crabs, centipedes, geckos — inspire innovative design in all sorts of useful things, from bomb-detecting, stair-climbing robots to prosthetics and other medical equipment.
A Simple, Cheap Material for Carbon Capture, Perhaps From Tailpipes
Using an inexpensive polymer called melamine — the main component of Formica — chemists have created a cheap, easy and energy-efficient way to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks, a key goal for the United States and other nations as they seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Just For You
In a study presented at the 2022 International Conference on Machine Learning, a UC Berkeley-led research team revealed that certain recommender systems try to manipulate user preferences, beliefs, mood and psychological state
Fired Up for the Future
As another potentially devastating wildfire season begins, California is facing a shortage of wildland firefighters. To meet this challenge, the Marin County Fire Department and UC Berkeley have partnered to form FIRE Foundry (Fire, Innovation, Recruitment and Education), a program that recruits young adults from underrepresented communities for a career in fire service and trains them on cutting-edge firefighting technologies.