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Lego my Robot
A gaggle of tiny robots is making its way through an obstacle course, detecting barriers in its path and weaving back and forth along the ground.
Some robots manage to make it from one end to the other, coming to rest at a light source glowing brightly at the edge of the course. They pause and then slowly rotate on their wheels to tackle the task again. This is not a test of new military technology or an experiment in artificial intelligence, but the culmination of industrial engineering and operations research professor Roger Glassey's undergraduate course in robotics. And the contraptions traversing the terrain in this engineering building's basement were constructed from Legos.
A Boom in Satellite Engineering
Two years from now, a group of five small satellites will ride a spacecraft "bus" into orbit where they'll gather data about Earth's magnetosphere. The satellites' 8-foot long articulated limbs, laden with sensors, will measure the spectacular auroral eruptions behind such phenomena as the Northern Lights. It's the job of UC Berkeley mechanical engineering professor Hari Dharan and his students to ensure that the satellites' arms deploy properly and remain steady as they spin around the Earth at thousands of miles per hour.
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Listening for ET
The SETI Institute predicts that we'll detect an extraterrestrial transmission within 20 years. If that turns out to be true, it could well be the folks at UC Berkeley's Hat Creek radio observatory who will have heard the call. Right now, the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) of more than 300 dishes is under construction. Within a year, the first 30 dishes will be operational, forming the basis of a giant ear that listens for intelligent beings in space while simultaneously gathering data for groundbreaking astronomy research. Jack Welch, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and astronomy, has been a driving force in the design and construction of the ATA since the project first got off the ground.
Cool Alumni: Gearhead and filmmaker Benn Karne
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2004 UC Regents. Updated 11/30/04.
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