October/November 2005
Friends of the College of Engineering,
Like everyone else, the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been on all of our minds here at Berkeley . Immediately following Katrina, engineering faculty and students held a Town Hall meeting to discuss ways we might contribute to the reconstruction efforts. One of the most compelling presentations that day was by Bob Bea, a civil and environmental engineering (CEE) professor and risk-assessment expert, who described his own personal account of his experience during Hurricane Betsy in New Orleans in 1965.
The level of interest and commitment at this Town Hall meeting was extremely high and resulted in the creation of the Katrina Recovery Task Force. Members are studying the effects of the devastation and will serve as consultants and advisors to those charged with restoration and rebuilding. It is encouraging to see that not only faculty but both our undergraduate and graduate students will participate in this task force.
Berkeley civil engineers have already been on the scene in New Orleans as part of an independent team of researchers investigating the levee failures. The research team is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Berkeley Professor Ray Seed, CEE, and principal investigator of the NSF project. The team has been working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
As Ray told me, there have been many public statements in recent weeks about the causes of the levee breaches. His team’s job, he says, is "to get to the truth of what actually happened so that we can learn from these failures and identify where we need to improve our defenses." Upon returning to California , Ray and his team announced their findings which were covered widely. We will be keeping a close eye on these findings and, of course, be helping in any way we can -- this unfortunate incident in New Orleans brings our own high-risk levee situation in the Sacramento Delta into very sharp contrast!
On a much lighter note, mechanical engineering professor and ME department chair Al Pisano addressed a full house in Sibley Auditorium at our recent Homecoming with a riveting and humorous presentation on The Future of Gadgets. Al began by exploring the evolution of some of our most useful gadgets, like the sewing machine and vacuum cleaner, then moved on to some of the gadgets of the future that are being developed at Berkeley and elsewhere. It’s a great talk and I encourage you to take a few minutes to enjoy it. Not only is Al one of the most accomplished and insightful faculty in the College, in another life he certainly could have been an entertainer!
Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for the upcoming Big Game. Best wishes from the College and Go Bears!
/rich
A. Richard Newton
Dean, College of Engineering and
the Roy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering
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© 2005 UC Regents. Updated 11/1/05.
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