 |
|
Recycling is automatic at May design expo
ANOTHER GREAT DESIGN FROM ME 102 :
Then ME senior Bao Zheng demonstrated his team’s project during the ME 102 Spring Design Expo held in the basement of Etcheverry in May. Called the Reyclomatic, the prototype makes recycling easy by automatically separating aluminum, plastic and glass containers into their correct bin. Sensors capture the sound of the container dropping against a metal plate and send it to a laptop where custom software calculates it and assigns it to a certain material. Once assigned, the plate pulls away so the container can drop into a metal shoot, which changes direction and drops the container into the right bin. Zheng’s teammates are, from left, then ME senior Chris Abad, junior Steven Leung, and sophomore Christopher Shing. Not pictured is team member and junior Geoffrey Legg. To learn more about the Recyclomatic and other projects, go to www.me.berkeley.edu/ME102.
|
When the Bioengineering Department first accepted applicants in 1999, it had 387 high schoolers hoping to get into a freshman class of 61. This year, it had 1,021 applicants, and as fall semester kicks off, the department expects 78 lucky souls to fill the incoming class. Applications to the College’s newest department are second only to EECS among the departments. “People see this as really the up-and-coming field to be in,” says BioE chair and professor Dorian Liepmann, who took over the chair in 2004. “It’s hot.”
Much of the major’s popularity, Liepmann says, is due to the national buzz around biomedical fields in general and stem cell research in particular. BioE’s own faculty research projects include diagnostic chips for the collection and analysis of biological data and using cell mechanics to enhance immunity, to name a few. “We’re the leaders in areas such as stem cells and synthetic biology, and we’re doing incredible work, such as making malaria drugs cheaper,” Liepmann says. [FULL STORY]
Jeff Chen (B.S.’05 EECS) has firm ideas about technology. “Just making technology for technology’s sake is nonsense, in my opinion,” he says. “Technology is a tool for you to make an impact. It’s impact on the world that matters.” Since January, Chen has been living his beliefs by running a startup. “I’m working on a product that has to do with enabling people to communicate with each other in physical networking venues, such as career fairs or conventions,” he reports.
But starting this week, Chen will be on campus to start school again. He’s enrolled in the new EECS Five-Year Bachelor’s/Master’s Program, which was first approved by EECS faculty in April 2005. [FULL STORY]
Below is a column in an occasional student essay series on the engineering life. Not your typical summer job is written by ME senior Ryan Youtsey, a midshipman in Berkeley’s Navy ROTC (NROTC) program. Every summer midshipmen participate in some kind of training.
Most engineering students spend their summer interning. My summer was different: I spent a month attached to an F/A-18 Hornet squad-ron, the VFA-125 “Rough Raiders.” [FULL STORY]
|
|
