River project promises clarity, security for California water resources

Researchers at UC Merced are installing wireless sensors across the American River to monitor the water level. This will help pinpoint how fast the snow is melting and when the meltwater will arrive in the reservoirs each spring.

Overcrowded ERs lead to even bigger problems

A UCSF study found that California hospitals in areas with large minority populations are plagued with overcrowding, which has become a major problem in the health system.

A new method to treat diabetes

Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered a new chemical that offers a new and promising direction for the development of drugs to treat metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes.

A virus that helps charge your cellphone

Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory say they have created a virus that generates electricity. It's a first step toward using genetically engineered viruses to build devices that convert the body's motion into electricity.

New TB test promises to be cheap and fast

Biomedical engineers at UC Davis have developed a microfluidic chip to test for latent tuberculosis.

Meet the man who invented the instructions for the Internet

Steve Crocker was among a small group of UCLA researchers who sent the first message between the first two nodes of the ARPAnet, the U.S. Department of Defense-funded network that eventually morphed into the modern internet.

Nano-subs built to grab and move oil spills to collection site

UC San Diego scientists have built a self-propelled 'microsubmarine' that can scoop up oil from contaminated waters and take the droplets to a collection facility.

Engineering researchers use electricity to generate alternative fuel

A UCLA team has demonstrated for the first time a method for converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity.

Mind the gap year

The Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley helps impoverished people around the world by bringing together academics and entrepreneurs to develop technological innovations.

New nanoglue is thin and supersticky

Engineers at UC Davis have invented a superthin 'nanoglue' that could be used in new generation microchip fabrication.

Breakthrough in designing cheaper, more efficient catalysts for fuel cells

UC Berkeley chemists are reimagining catalysts in ways that could have a profound impact on the chemical industry as well as on the growing market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

'Open-source' robotic surgery platform going to top medical research labs

Robotics experts at UC Santa Cruz and the University of Washington have completed a set of seven advanced robotic surgery systems for use by major medical research laboratories throughout the U.S.

Whale-sized computer debuts at UCSD

A $20 million machine called Gordon was built at the San Diego Supercomputer Center to enable scholars from across the nation to rapidly store and analyze some of the largest databases ever created.

Berkeley reveals plan for academic center in China

UC Berkeley plans to open a large engineering research and teaching facility in Shanghai as part of a broader plan to bolster its presence in China.

New seismic inventory identifies potentially unsafe buildings

Understanding what makes a concrete building vulnerable in an earthquake is one of the goals of a UC Berkeley project at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

UC Merced gets grant to track Sierra snowpack

Researchers were awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a revolutionary network for tracking the Sierra snowpack as the climate warms.

Scientists testing earthquake early warning

UC researchers are among those hoping to build a public warning system similar to the Japanese that has been credited with saving lives last March.

Students design solar dryer

UC Riverside engineering students dug through trash for aluminum cans and collected scrap wood to create a solar heat collector that will be used to harness attic heat and power an eco-friendly clothes dryer.

SynapSense raises $16M for data center energy monitoring

A startup, cofounded by a UC Davis researcher, develops sensors that help data centers monitor and cut down energy usage. It raised another round of funds from VCs to expand

Future of electric cars hinges on better batteries

The Bay Area, home to Tesla Motors, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and two dozen battery startups, has emerged as one of the leading hubs of battery innovation in the nation.

Giant leap for treating spinal cord injuries

A man paralyzed from the waist down has regained several abilities as a result of an experimental treatment developed at UCLA and the University of Louisville.

Solar energy institute seeks to shine by raising funds

UC Merced is focused on making solar energy more affordable and efficient, and the funds from its sponsors are allowing the institute to thrive.

A new way to understand PTSD

Recent improvements in imaging technologies offer a detailed look of the brain. A UCSF psychiatrist hopes these tools will help scientists better understand the cause of conditions such as post traumatic stress and sleep disorders.

Electric vehicles are doing even more

UC Riverside scientists say they can extend the rate of vehicles by 10 percent by taking into account real time traffic conditions. They are developing an eco-routing procedure that finds a way to expend the least amount of energy for a trip.

Engineering aid for UC Natural Reserves

Enterprising UC Berkeley engineering students have developed two compact, remote-controlled aircraft to keep tabs on UC Natural Reserves.

Armored caterpillar could inspire new body armor

Military body armor and vehicle and aircraft frames could be transformed by incorporating the unique structure of the club-like arm of a crustacean that looks like an armored caterpillar, according to researchers at UC Riverside.

Robots measure flow of Sacramento River

A fleet of 100 robots, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, floated down the Sacramento River to demonstrate their ability to measure the pace of the river's flow and to navigate the delta's water.

UCSF artificial kidney project tapped for accelerated FDA program

An effort to create an implantable artificial kidney for dialysis patients has been selected as one of the first projects to undergo more timely and collaborative review at the FDA.

'Robosquirrel' deployed to research relationship with rattlesnakes

A lifelike robot, built by a team from UC Davis, can replicate two behaviors squirrels display when confronted by a rattlesnake. It joins a growing list of robot creatures created by the campus.

Tobacco plants turn into living vaccine factories

A UC Davis graduate student has formed a startup to turn tobacco plants into cheap biological factories for churning out bioengineered proteins for human or animal vaccines.

Using social multimedia for enhanced mapping

A UC Merced researcher has received a prestigious National Science Foundation award to fund work on gathering geographic insight from photos and videos submitted by users.

Students use engineering know-how to help people at home and a world away

A small village in the Philippines will soon be safer from typhoons and earthquakes, thanks to the work of a group of UC San Diego undergraduates who are designing a model home that uses new and sustainable technologies.

Little chip, big implications

A startup founded by a former UC Irvine doctoral student offers a technology breakthrough with vast market potential.

Leaping lizards and dinosaurs inspire robot design

UC Berkeley scientists and students looked at how lizards use their tails when leaping. What they found can help design robots that are more stable on uneven terrain and after unexpected falls, which is critical to successful search and rescue operations.

Computers implanted in brain could help paralyzed

It sounds like science fiction, but scientists, including at UC Berkeley and UCSF, are getting tantalizingly close to building the mind-controlled prosthetic arms, computer cursors and mechanical wheelchairs of the future

Hummingbirds shake their heads to deal with rain

UC Berkeley researchers studied slow motion footage of the extraordinary head movements of hummingbirds. Their findings could help engineers develop micro air vehicles that could cope with unsettled weather or even washing machines with an improved drying spin.

Solar suitcase saves lives in poor nations

An obstetrician and UC Berkeley doctoral student developed a solar suitcase for health practitioners in rural areas where there is no electricity.

Scientists see movies in the mind

UC Berkeley researchers were able to reconstruct YouTube videos from viewers' brain activity. It is a feat that might one day offer a glimpse into our dreams, memories and even fantasies.

Technology Review honors inventors

Pieter Abbeel of UC Berkeley, who creates robots, and Gert Lanckriet of UC San Diego, who instructs computers to classify music, were named among top young innovators whose work promises to change the world.

Agilent joins UC Davis in center to research millimeter waves

A technology company and UC Davis will study high-frequency waves, which are used for whole-body security scanning devices at airports, medical imaging and defense applications.

Solar panels provide cool extra benefit

A UC San Diego professor says he found using thermal imaging that a building ceiling could be cooler during the day under solar panels, and at night the panels help hold in heat..

Creating reservoirs under roads and parking lots

John Harvey, UC Davis professor and director of the UC Pavement Research Center, discusses an eco-friendly paving option.

Pavement a hot topic for UC Berkeley researchers

The recently retired director of the UC Pavement Research Center discusses some of the important work conducted at the facility.

Solar cells that produce electricity from windows

UCLA researchers have developed a new transparent solar cell that allows windows in buildings to generate electricity while still letting people be able to see outside.

Astronaut to lead new research center at UC Davis

After retiring from NASA last month, Stephen Robinson will head a new center for research on human-vehicle interaction at UC Davis.

A vision to help

UC San Diego engineering students are working to develop a cheaper, lighter, multi-function microscope that could be used in clinics in developing countries.

Nuisance seaweed found to produce compounds with biomedical potential

A seaweed considered a threat to the healthy growth of coral reefs in Hawaii may possess the ability to produce substances that could one day treat human diseases, a new study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has revealed.

UC Merced innovations all seen as a big win

Solar-powered farm equipment, almond byproducts as biofuels and new valves to improve blood flow for newborns were just some of the projects unveiled by UC Merced engineering and management students at the Innovate to Grow competition.

Get rid of dryer, save $6,500

A team of former UC Riverside students has designed a system that consists of a solar-powered attic fan diverting solar thermal heat from a rooftop solar heat collector, and hot air from the attic, to a retrofitted closet that serves as a clothes dryer.

Energy from lasers: Sure shot or dead end?

The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory opened its doors to their control room for CBS 'Sunday Morning' to witness a laser shot for tests that may change how the U.S. may someday get its energy.

Researchers develop graphene supercapacitor holding promise for portable electronics

UCLA researchers demonstrate high-performance grapheme-based electrochemical capacitors that maintain excellent electrochemical attributes under high mechanical stress.

Engineers create cell phone-based sensor for detection of E. coli

UCLA researchers have developed a sensing platform that can detect the presence of the bacterium that causes a large number of hospitalizations and deaths every year.

Pounding pavement in search of a smoother drive

The UC Pavement Research Center in Davis works on creating longer lasting, quieter and more fuel efficient pavement.

Keeping electronics cool

A UC Riverside engineering professor and a team of researchers have made a breakthrough discovery with graphene, a material that could play a major role in keeping laptops and other electronic devices from overheating.

San Diego's algal biofuels research enterprise continues rapid growth

San Diego's research efforts to produce new transportation fuels from algae generated more than double the number of jobs for local workers in 2011 than were available in the region just two years ago.

UC Berkeley gets grant for quake-warning study

With the goal of giving people precious seconds to run for their lives before the Big One hits, three West Coast universities will share a $6 million grant to improve an earthquake early warning system already being tested.

Mulling the second life of an E.V. battery

Researchers at UC San Diego, Davis and Berkeley are partners in an experiment to get the most out of electric vehicle batteries.

Cellphone becomes medical image device

UC Davis researchers have turned an iPhone into a high-quality medical imaging device that could transform medicine in developing countries.

Can smartphones get attuned to your moods?

A UC San Diego engineering professor is researching how to use sensors to select songs that match your state of mind.

Scientist creates a drivable version of classic video game

A UC Irvine researcher has created a gaming therapy system, which combines an electric golf cart and an arcade-style video game, for people such as quadriplegics.

Students to try to fly balloon across the U.S.

UC San Diego is trying to become the first university to send a zero-pressure balloon across the country, propelled only by the jet stream. It is part of a program to get students to do hands-on projects so that they can see that engineering is more than equations.

In search of a robot more like us

UC Berkeley laundry-folding robot is cited prominently in this piece about development of highly intelligent robots.

E.coli seen spawning biofuel in five years

The bacteria behind food poisoning, the mighty E.coli, could be turned into a commercially available biofuel in five years, said Jay Keasling of UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.