February 13, 2006 Vol. 77, no. 5S

PUBLISHING UNDERGRADUATES: California Engineer staff members pose in their office with various issues of the magazine, the most recent on the right. Standing, from left, are Lori Chen (editor-in-chief), Sean Tsai (layout), and Brian Yangyuen (activities manager). Sitting, from left, are Ananth Krishna (finance manager) and Jon Tesch (senior staff). (Photo provided by Lori Chen)

Latest issue of California Engineer delivers reader-friendly stories in a first-rate package

In November, California Engineer put out its 83rd volume. The glossy magazine publishes engineering undergraduate research from across the UC system.

As for this issue, “I’m really proud of it,” says Lori Chen, an ME senior and the magazine’s editor. “We’re working to make it more reader-friendly, with technical papers that anybody would be interested in.”

It seems Chen’s strategy is working. The cover story features the work of CEE students Laurie Choi, Manish Dalia, Zylah Doria and Harry Tam, who researched possible solutions for Memorial Stadium’s seismic retrofit. “Nestled amongst the lush pine trees of Strawberry Canyon at the foot of the picturesque Berkeley hills, California Memorial Stadium has been the subject of controversy since its beginnings in the early 1920s,” the article begins. It goes on to compare the technical challenges and finances of rehabilitating the current stadium versus leveling and building anew.

Other articles include research about technology that monitors the movements of elderly people and detects and alerts others if they have fallen, and a system for preventing traffic accidents by programming vehicles to make quicker and more appropriate decisions than humans can in order to maintain control of the car. The magazine encourages engineering students to submit their papers for publication. The papers are edited for grammar, style, and clarity.

California Engineer, which comes out twice a year, is entirely student-run from editing to design, marketing and budgeting. Chen got involved at the end of her sophomore year. “There were a lot of social clubs for engineers, but I wanted to do something productive.” She and other editors encourage engineers who are interested to apply for a position in the group. “We really get to know and respect each other,” she says.

To submit a paper or for more information, go to http://caleng.berkeley.edu/.

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