It gives us great pleasure to announce Berkeley Bioengineering’s next Department Chair, Professor Sanjay Kumar! Kumar joined our faculty in 2005, and will be taking the reins from Professor Dan Fletcher, who will return to his normal teaching and research duties with our sincere thanks.
Bats’ brains sync when they socialize
Professor Michael Yartsev’s lab has shown that bats’ brain activity is literally in sync when bats engage in social behaviors like grooming, fighting or sniffing each other. This is the first study to observe synchronized brain activity in a non-human species engaging in natural social interactions, and opens the door to future study on how our brains process social interactions.
Scientists chart course toward a new world of synthetic biology
The Engineering Biology Research Consortium, a public-private partnership headquartered at UC Berkeley, has released a new roadmap laying out the successes, opportunities and challenges of the maturing field of synthetic biology. It identifies five research areas that the federal government needs to invest in to fuel the bioeconomy and keep the U.S. at the forefront of the field.
Berkeley’s renegade history fuels its rise to the top
Read Professor Amy Herr’s thoughts about Berkeley’s entrepreneurial spirit and “how much we are crushing it.”
Aaron Streets named Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences
Congratulations Prof Aaron Streets, one of 22 early-career researchers joining the 2019 Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences! Streets will explore how obesity leads to unhealthy changes in the cellular, molecular and structural composition of adipose tissue.
Using Artificial Intelligence to Help with Earthquake Response
BioE MEng alumni Thomas Galeon and Meryll Dindin, with CEE teammate Pierre-Louis Missler were recently featured by the Consumer Technology Association for their creation of AsTeR: a platform for collecting and prioritizing information to facilitate decision making during natural disasters.
Arkin Lab studies self-sufficiency on long-term space journeys
Adam Arkin’s lab is working to determine what plants and organisms can be genetically engineered to function and grow into useful products in deep space. Check out Adam’s lab walkthrough video!
Berkeley weighs in on BioE education
Professor Terry Johnson and MTM Director Moose O’Donnell joined other University of California faculty at the 2019 BioMedical Engineering Education Summit Meeting May 29-31. Sponsored by the BMES Council of Chairs, the summit evaluates the current state of educational approaches in BME and fosters progress and improvement that addresses future national challenges.
Congratulations 2019 award winners
Congratulations to our 2019 undergraduate award winners: Kevin Godines, Departmental Citation, Brenda Yang, Chair’s Award in Bioengineering, and Cuong Luu. Bioengineering Service Award. Outstanding work by all!