News
July 29, 2013
Conference for African-American Researchers in Mathematics Connects Students to Mentors
For Lauren Crudup, a third-year bioengineering student at the University of California, San Diego, the Conference for African-American Researchers in the Mathematical Sciences (CAARMS) presented a unique opportunity to learn just how applicable mathematics is in the real-world—especially compared to the pure mathematics she learned in high school and earlier undergraduate courses. Full Story
June 27, 2013
Faculty Invited to Exclusive Symposium for 'Creative Young Engineers'
Jacobs School of Engineering professors Karen Christman and Gert Lanckriet are among 81 of the nation’s most “creative young engineers” selected to attend this year’s U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium by the National Academy of Engineering. Participation in the event is by invitation-only to engineers between the ages of 30-45 who have “demonstrated accomplishment in engineering research and technical work with recognizable contributions to advancing the frontiers of engineering,” according to an NAE announcement. Full Story
June 21, 2013
Technology-Enhanced Learning: From Campus to the World
The academic landscape is changing rapidly, due in no small part to recent advances in technologies to enable, enhance and deliver teaching and learning to a worldwide audience. At the University of California, San Diego, administrators and faculty are particularly focused on using technology to transform the undergraduate learning experience (saving money in the process). They’re doing this in the context of the UC San Diego Education Initiative, as well as the Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Initiative jump-started by Calit2’s Qualcomm Institute. Both programs are helping to formulate a way forward for the campus, with the Education Initiative focused on policy, and the TEL Initiative experimenting with various models of online learning. Full Story
June 6, 2013
Metabolic Model of E. coli Integrated with Protein Structures Reveals How Bacterial Growth Responds to Temperature Change
Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a computational model of 1,366 genes in E. colithat includes 3D protein structures and has enabled them to compute the temperature sensitivity of the bacterium’s proteins. The study, published June 7 in the journal Science, opens the door for engineers to create heat-tolerant microbial strains for production of commodity chemicals, therapeutic proteins and other industrial applications. Full Story
May 31, 2013
Bioengineer Christian Metallo Selected as 2013 Searle Scholar and Hellman Faculty Fellow
University of California, San Diego bioengineering professor Christian Metallo has been named a 2013 Searle Scholar. He will receive $300,000 over the next three years to pursue his research on the role of oxygen availability in dictating how fat is produced and metabolized in the body. This work will provide therapeutic insights into metabolic diseases such as obesity. Metallo is one of just 15 young investigators across the United States selected from 176 applications submitted by 125 universities.Metallo is the first Searle Scholar representing the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. Full Story
May 16, 2013
UC San Diego Creates Center for Brain Activity Mapping
Responding to President Barack Obama’s “grand challenge” to chart the function of the human brain in unprecedented detail, the University of California, San Diego has established the Center for Brain Activity Mapping (CBAM). The new center, under the aegis of the interdisciplinary Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind at UC San Diego, will tackle the technological and biological challenge of developing a new generation of tools to enable recording of neuronal activity throughout the brain. It will also conduct brain-mapping experiments and analyze the collected data. Full Story
March 11, 2013
Alumnus Mike Chi is Developing Better EEG Recording Equipment at Cognionics
When Mike Chi finished his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at UC San Diego in 2011, he co-founded Cognionics. One of his big goals is to put better sensor technologies into the labs of researchers and physicians who study the electrical signals produced by the brain (EEG) and heart (ECG) for a variety of basic research and medical applications such as diagnosing cardiac disorders or conducting high-resolution brain imaging on freely moving subjects. Full Story
March 11, 2013
What is the Story Behind the Research Expo Gold Squares?
The gold squares on the Research Expo 2013 postcards…what are they? The gold squares are ceramic packages that house experimental circuits developed in the lab of bioengineering professor Gert Cauwenberghs at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. The research is aimed at developing new circuits that increase the speed and decrease the energy required to wirelessly transfer biological data—such as ECG signals from the heart and EEG signals from the brain—from sensors worn on the body to nearby data collectors. Full Story
March 4, 2013
International Consortium Builds 'Google Map' of Human Metabolism
Building on earlier pioneering work by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, an international consortium of university researchers has produced the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of human metabolism to date. Scientists could use the model, known as Recon 2, to identify causes of and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and even psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Full Story
February 20, 2013
New injectable hydrogel encourages regeneration and improves functionality after a heart attack
University of California, San Diego bioengineers have demonstrated in a study in pigs that a new injectable hydrogel can repair damage from heart attacks, help the heart grow new tissue and blood vessels, and get the heart moving closer to how a healthy heart should. The results of the study were published Feb. 20 in Science Translational Medicine and clear the way for clinical trials to begin this year in Europe. The gel is injected through a catheter without requiring surgery or general anesthesia -- a less invasive procedure for patients. Full Story