Dear Berkeley Engineer:

The College of Engineering welcomed more than 150 alumni, parents and students for a multitude of Engineering Homecoming activities on October 8 and 9. Professor Ken Goldberg discussed Opinion Space 2.0, a new social media tool that engages diverse communities by soliciting and displaying their viewpoints. More than 150 hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers were consumed at our pre-game BBQ and nearly 50 alumni and parents took our Northside engineering tour with a visit to the civil and environmental engineering Fluid Lab as well as the bioengineering Biomolecular Interface Lab. A great time was had by all; we hope you were able to join us!

This fall has brought more prestigious honors to UC Berkeley Engineering faculty. Computer science and mathematics professor James Demmel has been named the recipient of the 2010 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award for his contributions to high-performance linear algebra software. Amy Herr, assistant professor of bioengineering, is one of three UC Berkeley faculty members who have been singled out as an innovator by the National Institutes of Health and will receive a special grant designed to fund "transformative research" that could lead to major advances in medical science. Dawn Song, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, was named a MacArthur "genius" Fellow in late September. Song is being recognized for her innovative work on protecting computer systems from malicious software, or malware.

How about our Ph.D. programs! On September 28, the National Research Council (NRC) released its first detailed survey since 1995 of doctoral programs at the nation's research universities. This new study shows that UC Berkeley continues to have the largest number of highly ranked graduate programs in the country. Based on the NRC's statistical analysis, 48 of UC Berkeley's 52 ranked Ph.D. programs placed within a range that included the top 10. Civil and environmental engineering and mechanical engineering were two of the fourteen programs that included number one in their field.

Join UC Berkeley's online alumni community, @cal, today and receive free email forwarding service and the ability to network with alumni and current students. To register, go to http://cal.berkeley.edu. (If you graduated after May 2009, just log in with your CalNet ID and passphrase.) @cal, great minds online!

GO BEARS!

Dawn Kramer
Associate Director, Events & Programs
College of Engineering
UC Berkeley
(510) 643-7828 ph
http://coe.berkeley.edu/alumni
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Upcoming Events

CAA Engineering Alumni Society Group Presents:  Microsensors: Medical Applications of MEMS
Tuesday, October 26
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
QB3 Byers Hall UCSF - Genentech Hall room 114, 1700 4th St. Ste. 215, San Francisco, CA
Join the CAA Engineering Alumni Society group for a talk on MEMS technology and miniature wireless sensors for medical applications, and to learn about QB3 initiatives to catalyze the commercialization of university research. For more information visit: https://www.123signup.com/register?id=mnztv. 

Discover Cal -- Oil Spill Aftermath: Environmental Science and Corporate Responsibility
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Reception; 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Faculty perspectives and audience Q&A
Monday, November 1, Julia Morgan Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, November 3, Qualcomm Incorporated, San Diego, CA
Monday, November 8, Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica, CA
Recovering from the explosion and spill that resulted in 4.9 million barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico -- a wound in the earth that could not be stopped for nearly three months -- requires our best minds. Discover Cal offers perspectives from Berkeley experts about the effects on the environment and efforts to make oil companies more careful, accountable and socially responsible. Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. For more information and to register visit: http://discovercal.berkeley.edu/.

Berkeley Engineering Alumni and Friends Social Hour
Thursday, November 4
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Duke of Edinburgh, 10801 N. Wolfe Rd, Cupertino, CA
The economy and job market may be struggling, but it's time to celebrate the fall and meet some fellow alumni. Networking is more important than ever! Join Bay Area Engineering alumni at Duke's - a British pub - for a no-host bar in the back area of the restaurant. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Chris Apple (EECS '75) at: chris@applehome.com.

2010 A. Richard Newton Global Technology Conference: Energy Innovation for a Greener Economy
Tuesday, November 16
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Clark Kerr Conference Center, UC Berkeley Campus
This high-level gathering will discuss a global energy future that is both economically and environmentally sustainable -- and share emerging technologies that will help create this future. The three keynote speakers -- all leading thinkers on energy innovation -- represent industry, government and venture capital: James Rogers, chairman, president & CEO, Duke Energy; Arun Majumdar, director, U.S. Dept of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy; and Arati Prabhakar, partner, U.S. Venture Partners. A roundtable discussion featuring the three keynote speakers along with panelists Coleman Fung, founder & chairman of OpenLink Financial; E. Floyd Kvamme, partner emeritus at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; and Tom Siebel, chairman of First Virtual Group, will wrap up the conference. Seating is limited and registration is required by Friday, November 5. For more information and to register visit: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=901184.