Impact Area: the Environment

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Bioengineering is ideally placed to address environmental problems in our warming world. Our faculty and students are always looking for ways to apply their research to solving challenges in climate change, agriculture, environmental remediation, green manufacturing, and more.

News About: Environmental Impact

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Equipad wins Collider Cup Alumni Expo Award

BioE-founded startup Equipad is on a mission to provide free, eco-friendly, accessible menstrual care in innovative roll format in restrooms everywhere. Recent BioE graduates Sanjana Gurram and Bryan Wong, with Master of Development Practice alumna Pooja Patel, have developed the materials and dispenser voted best alumni project at the Collider Cup.

Photo of Astolfi standing in front of a soapbark tree on the UC Berkeley campus, wearing an earring of macaw feathers.

Indigenous knowledge helps biotech find new drugs. This grad student wants those companies to give back.

Bioengineering doctoral student Maria Astolfi and her colleagues argue for a new type of partnership with indigenous peoples to create a more ethical bioeconomy.

photo of Messersmith

Messersmith named AAAS Fellow

Bioengineering Chair Phillip Messersmith has been named to the 2024 class of fellows elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and publisher of the Science family of journals.

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Pivot Bio is using microbial nitrogen to make agriculture more sustainable

Co-founded by BioE alumnus Karsten Temme, Pivot is bringing cleaner nitrogen to American farmland.

Illustration of alpha-lipoic acid molecular structure, as clear bubbles on a light blue background

New recyclable adhesives can be easily adapted for medical, consumer and industrial applications

Messersmith Lab has created a family of polymers from a stabilized alpha-lipoic acid which could lead to versatile, high-performance and environmentally friendly recyclable adhesives.

computer graphic showing towers of red and blue DNA and flames

Putting on the heat

Professor Seung-Wuk Lee discusses pyroelectricity: the finding that viruses can generate electricity when exposed to heat, and how this may pave the way for next-generation biosensors and diagnostic tools.

Tony Consiglio, Alan Maida and Boris Rubinsky in their Etcheverry Hall lab. (Photo by Adam Lau/Berkeley Engineering)

Cool it down

How isochoric preservation can protect food, organs — and even the planet. Professor Boris Rubinsky discusses the state of the art in cryogenics and preservation.

computer graphic showing towers of red and blue DNA and flames

Viral Pyroelectricity with Seung-Wuk Lee

Professor Seung-Wuk Lee discusses pyroelectricity: the finding that viruses can generate electricity when exposed to heat, and how this may pave the way for next-generation biosensors and diagnostic tools.

digital photo mockup of new climate hub building

Bakar ClimatEnginuity Hub: Berkeley’s new home for climate innovation

Professor David Schaffer will lead the new Bakar ClimatEnginuity Hub, an incubator that will provide resources and support to entrepreneurs in renewable energy and clean technology.

photo of Dueber in lab coat working at lab bench

Berkeley’s ecosystem of innovation, entrepreneurship combats climate change

Professors John Dueber and David Schaffer are featured in this article highlighting campus research and entrepreneurship in sustainability.