Media Watch
California PUC proposes pilot programs to decarbonize buildings
Utility Drive -
Renewable gas and hydrogen need to be part of the zero-emissions future, Jack Brouwer, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Irvine, told Utility Dive. Brouwer is a board member and chair of the renewable hydrogen and energy storage sector action group of the California Hydrogen Business Council. Read More
Cuttlefish-inspired smart camouflage could make for sneakier soldiers
ZD Net -
Cephalopods -- cuttlefish, octopus, and squid -- are renowned for their ability to rapidly change their skin colour and patterns to match their surroundings or warn off attackers. … According to Alon Gorodetsky Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, understanding these biological capabilities could inspire the engineering of dynamic materials for military camouflage applications. … Gorodetsky and his colleagues have already demonstrated the potential of such a "dynamic thermoregulatory material" which was inspired by squid skin. Read More
Foundation trustee donates $5 million to UC Irvine for inclusive STEM recruitment
Daily Pilot -
UC Irvine announced Monday that it has received a $5-million donation from one of its foundation members to benefit the university’s Office of Access & Inclusion, which supports recruitment, retention and graduation of students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math. The donation was made by Stacey Nicholas, a trustee of the UCI Foundation and an electrical engineer who founded the Irvine-based Opus Foundation, which promotes STEM education outreach and the arts.[Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Stacey Nicholas Grants $5M More for STEM at UCI
Orange County Business Journal -
Stacey Nicholas has donated $5 million to foster and support diverse representation at the schools of engineering and computer sciences at University of California, Irvine. “It’s so important to support underrepresented students so they’ll have the same chance of success as their more fortunate peers,” Nicholas said. … The $5 million donation brings the university’s total contributions to $813 million since 2015. UCI announced its $2 billion “Brilliant Future” campaign last October, which included a $200 million gift from the Samueli Foundation in 2017.[Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Researchers find collaborative flood modeling process effective
Smart Water Magazine -
“The impacts of flooding continue to escalate in the U.S. and around the world, and the main culprit is urban growth in harm’s way, with communities underprepared to deal with extreme events that are getting more intense in a warming climate,” said lead author Brett Sanders, UCI professor of civil & environmental engineering. “Our approach rests on making modern flood simulation technologies accessible and useful to everyone within at-risk communities.” Read More
How to Safeguard Against Cyberattacks on Utilities
Harvard Business Review -
“I can’t overemphasize the calamity that these events cause at the neighborhood level. Hundreds of health care facilities don’t have back-up generators,” said Jack Brouwer, an engineering professor and director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. Referencing the deaths caused by previous wildfires in California, he said, “If you’re out of power for an hour, that’s fine, but for a couple of days — those lives count as much as those that would be lost in a fire.”
AghaKouchak, Artemyev, Fischer, Macdonald, and van Sebille Receive 2019 James B. Macelwane Medals
Eos – Earth and Space Science News -
“[UCI Professor] Amir AghaKouchak, has achieved an extraordinary international standing through fundamental contributions at an early stage of his career and has been very proactive in service and outreach and in promoting diversity and inclusive excellence. In just a few years, he has earned the respect and admiration of his peers, and he will continue his leadership role in the field in the future.”
—Isabella Velicogna, University of California, Irvine
Robots: Now coming to a workplace near you
CBS News -
"The easiest, most repetitive and routine tasks are the most likely to be automated," said Pramod Khargoneker, a future of work expert who is vice chancellor for research at the University of California at Irvine. "Robots have a harder time doing physical work in an environment that is unruly or unpredictable."
RCAM Technologies and Accucode Target 3D Printing for Offshore Wind Turbines
3D Printing Industry -
A low-cost wind turbine tower 3D printing method for land has been developed and tested by RCAM in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, with funding from the California Energy Commission Grant EPC-17-023. Concrete 3D printing for offshore wind turbines is the next step.
Scientists from UC Campuses Study Floods, Flood Socioeconomics
Spectrum News1 -
UC Irvine Professor Brett Sanders says .... the data will help urban planning and public policy researchers to see how millions of people living in those high-flood risk areas could be affected. UC Irvine Professor Richard Matthew says that list could include, “their employment, their housing, their health, their transportation, their credit scores.” Matthew says history has shown poor communities fare far worse than wealthy communities. “We could take steps that reduce the vulnerability of the poorest people in our country,” Matthew said.