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Nature's Nanoshells
Taking inspiration from nature's elegant engineering, UC Berkeley graduate students are working to create novel nanoscale structures modeled after a common marine organism. Using techniques pioneered at the Berkeley Center for Synthetic Biology, the students hope to produce designer materials resembling in form and function the tiny intricate shells of photosynthetic algae called diatoms. Initially, the biomimetic diatoms could be employed as filtration systems or self-contained catalysts for a lab-on-a-chip used for medical testing. Eventually, the structures could enable the fabrication of more powerful computer chips containing circuits patterned in three dimensions or act as substrates for the in vitro growth of human tissue for implantation.
Robot Cameras in the Wild
Almost every night, cars are broken into in Yosemite National Park. It's classic smash-and-dash. Windows are shattered and goods stolen. It's not a human crime ring though. The thieves are black bears and they're mostly after food that visitors leave in their vehicles. Soon though, a new telerobotic surveillance system that enables visitors to "tour" the park via the Internet may also help capture footage of the bear burglars. The installation would be a proof-of-concept test for the Collaborative Observatories for Natural Environments (CONE) technology that UC Berkeley robotics professor Ken Goldberg is developing to aid scientists studying natural animal behavior in remote places.
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Mind Machines
For decades, the ability to control computers and robots with our minds has been the stuff of science fiction. Recently though, UC Berkeley professor Jose Carmena has made strides to bring the underlying technology into the real world. His research on brain machine interfaces could someday enable disabled individuals to be fitted with bionic prostheses operated by thought alone.
Cool Alumni: Jonathan Cagan (Ph.D.'90 ME)
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