Media Watch
Orange County Water District works to clean polluted groundwater from decades of manufacturing
Daily Pilot -
Russell Detwiler, UC Irvine associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, said many sites of similar magnitude on the Superfund list still end up taking decades. “That’s the cost of these things, it is easy to contaminate an aquifer, it’s very difficult to get it back to its pristine state,” Detwiler said. Detwiler was brought in to provide expert testimony by a law firm of a defendant in the South Basin lawsuit. He said he didn’t end up being deposed or providing any on-the-record testimony. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
LaserChick inspires students through her journey in STEM
City Times Media -
[Desiré] Whitmore then studied at the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a Masters of Science and a Ph.D. in chemical and material sciences. She then worked with some of the fastest lasers on earth during her post-doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. … Now a Senior Physics Educator at the Exploratorium, an interactive museum of “Science, Art and Human Perception” in San Francisco, Whitmore designs learning experiences for the museum’s teacher institute. Read More
Breast Cancer-Detecting Blue Box Allows Women to Swap Mammograms for At-Home Tests
Yahoo News -
For her work, [Judit Giró] Benet won the James Dyson 2020 Award, a scientific and engineering contest. “The day that James Dyson told me that I had won the International prize was a real turning point as the prize money will allow me to patent more extensively and expedite research and software development I am doing at the University of California Irvine,” she says. “But, most of all, hearing that he believes in my idea has given me the confidence I need at this vital point.” Read More
AI Is Changing the Workforce. At This District, It’s Changing the Curriculum Too
EdSurge -
Anaheim Union High School District Superintendent Michael Matsuda s quick to point out that Anaheim isn’t just “rebranding a computer science class and calling it artificial intelligence.” He credits partnerships with Neil Sahota, a United Nations AI advisor and a [lecturer in the school of engineering], at UC Irvine, and several private sector organizations with helping to drive the momentum. Read More
Opinion: Voice: Government can help advance economic resiliency in Coachella Valley and its environs
The Desert Sun -
Another joint effort between local government, and either academia or the federal government, that I would like to see explored is the development of microgrids. As I noted in a Valley Voice here in November 2019, we have local expertise at the National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC) at UC Irvine. The NFCRC is a part of the Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) at the school and was founded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission. Read More
New Crush-Resistant Metamaterials can Prevent Failure of Structures
AZO Materials -
In a new study recently published in the Advanced Materials journal, engineers from the University of California, Irvine and the Georgia Institute of Technology have explained the development of a new range of mechanical metamaterials that prevent failure by delocalizing the deformations. … “This study provides important groundwork for design of superior engineering systems, from reusable impact protection systems to adaptive load-bearing structures,” said Lorenzo Valdevit, Study Senior Co-Author and Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine. Read More
Replicating the Mantis Shrimp: Bacteria Grows Strong Minerals Inside 3D Printed Structure
3D Print -
In the past, researchers have been inspired by the mantis shrimp’s club to create strong 3D printable materials, and now a team of engineers from the University of California, Irvine and the University of Southern California are going down a similar path. Using bacteria, they’ve been able to get minerals to grow inside a 3D printed Bouligand structure. Read More
Capturing a big share of the AI industry
Irvine Standard -
Neil Sahota, UCI lecturer, school of engineering writes, “Consider, City.AI is a global network of AI pioneers, and the Orange County chapter is based in Irvine because that’s where opportunity and talent can be found. Why? Because we’ve built a phenomenal ecosystem within the city. And here are four reasons why: 1. First and foremost, we have incredible thought leadership. UC Irvine has a cornucopia of talent and research, and more importantly, is generating the workforce needed to bring AI from idea to execution. 2. We have a strong, interconnected hub. The Beall Center for Applied Innovation lies at the nexus to incubate ideas, provide resources, and connect the talent, funding and resources within Orange County to accelerate the growth of these opportunities. Read More
The Blue Box Is An Award-Winning Affordable Home-Testing Kit For Breast Cancer
Intelligent Living -
Judit Giró Benet, a 23-year-old Spanish engineer, invented a new way to detect breast cancer from the comforts of home using just a urine sample. The device – called The Blue Box – won the International 2020 James Dyson Award, the competition’s top prize. … Benet said: “The day that James Dyson told me that I had won the International prize was a real turning point as the prize money will allow me to patent more extensively and expedite research and software development I am doing at the University of California Irvine. But, most of all, hearing that he believes in my idea has given me the confidence I need at this vital point.” Read More
Diversity Dies At The Top: Human Or Robot, The Board Rules The Day (Part 2 Of The Time Capsule Project Series)
Forbes -
Neil Sahota, [UCI lecturer, school of engineering], writes, “While many organizations can point to better success with diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the lower-level positions, real D&I success is built upon at all levels, most especially the boardroom. In Part 1 of article series, we shared the general challenges of D&I and the need for the Time Capsule Project. Now, we will share the challenges that exist in achieving D&I in the boardroom.” Read More