Press Releases

Visit Berkeley's Public Affairs site for a complete list of press releases from the Berkeley campus.

Nov 19, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter UC Berkeley research garners nearly $65 million in federal stimulus money

Many of the stimulus grants to UC Berkeley support primarily graduate students. An example is the LoCal Energy Network, a project in the College of Engineering that received $1.5 million in funding to overlay the current energy grid with a cybernetwork that would improve the efficiency, reliability and quality of power delivered. According to principal investigator Randy Katz, UC Berkeley professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, the project will support six graduate students for three years.

Nov 09, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Intel, Safeway luminaries to address how tech can lower health costs

Can technological innovation rein in our nation’s escalating health care costs? On Wednesday, Nov. 18, luminaries including Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel Corp., and Steve Burd, CEO of Safeway, will take up this question at the second annual A. Richard Newton Global Technology Leaders Conference, "Translating Technology into Cost-Effective Health Care," hosted by UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering in partnership with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3).

Oct 15, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter NSF authorizes $29 million for world's deepest underground lab

The National Science Foundation has authorized more than $29 million for the University of California, Berkeley, to create a preliminary plan for turning a former gold mine in South Dakota into the world's deepest laboratory.

Oct 15, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter UC Berkeley professor among Popular Science magazine's 'Brilliant 10'

An engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, has been pegged as an up-and-coming scientist to watch by the magazine Popular Science. The publication announced today that Ting Xu, 35, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and of chemistry, is one of the "Brilliant 10" young researchers profiled in its November issue.

Oct 12, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Oliver Williamson named a winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Oliver E. Williamson, a University of California, Berkeley, professor emeritus of business, economics and law, and an expert in anti-trust, deregulation and transaction cost economics, is a winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. This is the fifth economics Nobel for UC Berkeley and the 21st in its history.

Sep 30, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Scientists discover clues to what makes human muscle age

A study led by researchers at UC Berkeley has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. "Our study shows that the ability of old human muscle to be maintained and repaired by muscle stem cells can be restored to youthful vigor given the right mix of biochemical signals," said Professor Irina Conboy, a faculty member in bioengineering at Berkeley and one of the lead authors on the study.

Sep 22, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Young Berkeley Engineering faculty member receives MacArthur 'genius' award

Maneesh Agrawala, a 37-year-old associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, has received a MacArthur "genius" award, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced today. Agrawala's ressearch involves automating the process by which complex information is presented visually. He will receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.

Sep 15, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Berkeley Engineering's Ashok Gadgil wins $100,000 Heinz Award

Ashok Gadgil, UC Berkeley professor of civil and environmental engineering and faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is among 10 recipients recognized by the Heinz Family Foundation for the strides they have made toward a more sustainable and cleaner environment. Gadgil was recognized for his work as a researcher, inventor and humanitarian whose efforts to understand airflow and pollutant transport in buildings and to improve energy efficiency have enhanced the quality of life in developing countries.

Sep 09, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter George Leitmann receives Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award

UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus of engineering science George Leitmann has received the prestigious Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award from the American Automatic Control Council.

Aug 18, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Technology Review magazine names three Berkeley scientists to elite group of young innovators

Three researchers at UC Berkeley are among an elite group of young scientists to watch, according to the national magazine Technology Review's 2009 list of Top Young Innovators Under 35. Ali Javey and Dawn Song, both from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, and Cyrus Wadia of the Haas School of Business and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), were among 35 researchers selected worldwide as top innovators under the age of 35.

Jul 21, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter UC Berkeley researchers bring fluorescent imaging to mobile phones for low-cost screening in the field

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a cell phone microscope, or CellScope, that can take color images of malaria parasites and tuberculosis bacteria labeled with fluorescent markers. The prototype CellScope represents a major step forward in taking clinical microscopy out of specialized laboratories and into field settings for disease screening and diagnoses. "We can take advantage of [existing] mobile networks to bring low-cost, easy-to-use lab equipment out to more remote settings," said Dan Fletcher, associate professor of bioengineering and head of the CellScope research team.

Jul 20, 2009 UC Berkeley NewsCenter Brain can develop motor memory for prosthetics, study finds

Stunning new research now reveals that the brain can achieve motor memory with a prosthetic device, providing hope that physically disabled people can one day master control of artificial limbs with greater ease. In this study, macaque monkeys using brain signals learned how to move a computer cursor to various targets. "We have demonstrated that the brain is able to form a motor memory to control a disembodied device in a way that mirrors how it controls its own body," says UC Berkeley engineering professor Jose Carmena, principal investigator on the study. "That has never been shown before."