News Archive
May 20, 2010
Cell Phone Sensors for Toxins Developed at UC San Diego
A tiny silicon chip that works a bit like a nose may one day detect dangerous airborne chemicals and alert emergency responders through the cell phone network. If embedded in many cell phones, its developers say, the new type of sensor could map the location and extent of hazards like gas leaks or the deliberate release of a toxin. Full Story
May 20, 2010
Rolling Library and Robot Unicorn at Junkyard Derby 2010
Energy, excitement and screaming rose above a eucalyptus grove on the University of California, San Diego campus last Friday, April 14. But it had nothing to do with the 20,000 people coming to campus that night for the Sun God music festival. Instead, the vibe was coming from Junkyard Derby 2010. Full Story
May 18, 2010
Nineteen Projects Awarded Inaugural Calit2 Strategic Research Opportunities Grants
The first awards under a new research grant program at the University of California, San Diego will support a broad range of projects led by faculty members from 13 different departments and staff researchers participating in the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). Full Story
April 20, 2010
Electrical Engineer Turned Solar Concentrator Inventor Wins Research Expo 2010
With his new solar concentrator design, electrical engineering Ph.D. student Jason Karp won the 2010 Rudee Research Expo Outstanding Poster Award. His winning poster “Planar Micro-Optic Solar Concentration” (#98) was one of 250 posters presented by Jacobs School graduate students on April 15th at the 29th Annual Research Expo at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. Full Story
April 20, 2010
National Geographic Taps UC San Diego Students for Technology Solutions
A West Coast campus famous for its high-tech research is now becoming known for its global reach in cultural heritage. Faculty and students are already searching for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan and a masterpiece mural by Leonardo da Vinci not seen in 450 years, and now many more students will get the opportunity to blaze new technology trails in the name of global exploration. Full Story
April 14, 2010
Treat Acne with Coconut Oil and Nano-Bombs
A natural product found in both coconut oil and human breast milk – lauric acid -- shines as a possible new acne treatment thanks to a bioengineering graduate student from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. On Thursday April 15, bioengineering graduate student Dissaya “Nu” Pornpattananangkul will present her most recent work on this experimental acne-drug-delivery system at Research Expo, the annual research conference of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. Full Story
April 12, 2010
Hot Posters at Research Expo 2010 at the Jacobs School
The annual Jacobs School Research Expo features research posters by 250 M.S. and Ph.D. engineering students, technical breakouts led by Jacobs School faculty, a plenary session, and a reception where guests can interact with faculty and students who share their research interests. Full Story
April 1, 2010
Researchers Discover Weak Link in Alzheimer's Drug Candidates
Some current therapies being investigated for Alzheimer's disease may cause further neural degeneration and cell death, according to a breakthrough discovery by UC San Diego researchers. Full Story
March 29, 2010
UC San Diego Energy Dashboard to Help Campus Curb Appetite for Power
After an extensive period of testing, researchers have launched an Internet portal to showcase the real-time measurement and visualization of energy use on the University of California, San Diego campus. The UC San Diego Energy Dashboard (http://energy.ucsd.edu/) allows users to see up-to-the-second information on a structure-by-structure basis for 60 of the largest buildings on the La Jolla campus. Full Story
February 22, 2010
Jacobs School Leadership Affirms Principles of Community
Jacobs School Leadership Affirms Principles of Community Full Story
February 11, 2010
Catching Calcium Waves Could Provide Alzheimer Insights
New insights on what causes Alzheimer’s disease could arise from a recent discovery made by bioengineers from the University of California, San Diego. The finding concerns the infamous amyloid beta peptides (Aβ)—fragments of which form plaques thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. Full Story
January 22, 2010
Jacobs School Diversity Organizations Win Award
Congratulations to the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering’s undergraduate chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. This trio of undergraduate engineering diversity professional organizations won a 2009 UC San Diego Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action and Diversity Award. Full Story
January 20, 2010
UC San Diego Researchers Synchronize Blinking Genetic Clocks
Researchers at UC San Diego who last year genetically engineered bacteria to keep track of time by turning on and off fluorescent proteins within their cells have taken another step toward the construction of a programmable genetic sensor. The scientists recently synchronized these bacterial “genetic clocks” to blink in unison and engineered the bacterial genes to alter their blinking rates when environmental conditions change. Full Story
January 5, 2010
Jacobs School Video Contest
Calling all Jacobs School engineering students—both undergrads and graduate students. Share you best video stories about your research, academic experiences and engineering-related projects. Full Story
January 4, 2010
UCSD Bioengineering Pioneer Honored for Advancing Science Across Continents
For Shu Chien – a pioneer in the growing field of bioengineering – understanding and learning the marvels of how the human body works has been the foundation of his decades-long quest to advance science and technology worldwide. Full Story
December 8, 2009
Supportive Materials will Help Regenerate Heart Tissue
Bioengineers from University of California, San Diego are developing new regenerative therapies for heart disease that could influence the way in which regenerative therapies for cardiovascular and other diseases are treated in the future. Full Story
November 19, 2009
Systems Biology Approach Provides Insulin Resistance Insights
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego recently offered the sharpest-yet picture of how core biochemical pathways in skeletal muscle cells and fat cells are altered in people who suffer from insulin resistance—a primary defect in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Taking a systems biology approach, the bioengineers and medical researchers also determined how a common class of drugs for treating insulin resistance—TZDs—alter these same core pathways. This led the team to uncover previously unknown effects of TZDs and insights that could lead to improved drug therapies for insulin resistance. Full Story
November 3, 2009
University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Ranked 9th in the World
The University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering is the 9th best in the world for engineering/technology and 15th in the world for computer sciences, according to an academic ranking of the top 100 world universities published by the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Full Story
October 8, 2009
UCSD Researchers Pave the Way for Effective Liver Treatments
A combination of bioengineering and medical research at the University of California, San Diego has led to a new discovery that could pave the way for more effective treatments for liver disease. Full Story
September 25, 2009
Bioengineer is One of Five UCSD Recipients of NIH Awards to Encourage High-Risk Research and Innovation
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced $348 million in awards nationwide to encourage investigators to explore bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health. Bioengineering Assistant Professor Adam Engler is one of five researchers from the University of California, San Diego to have been awarded such a grant in 2009. Full Story