General Department Information

The department has nearly 30,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space in the Engineering Tower. There are extensive facilities for research. The existing laboratories feature highly instrumented and computer-interfaced bioreactors, a peptide synthesizer, ultracentrifuge, UV-IR spectrophotmeter, high performance liquid chromatograph, gas chromatograph, supercritical fluid extraction device, compact equipment for spray atomization, MTS servo-hydraulic system, and UNIX workstations with state-of-the-art software. Students and faculty also have access to campus wide resources including high performance computing (C3840 CONVEX computer with 2 gigabytes of physical memory).

In addition, the Nanomaterials Characterization and Fabrication Facility (NCF2), is also an university-wide user facility that includes advanced microscopy, polymer materials characterization, and micro- and nano-fabrication, offerering state-of-the-art instrumentation for BioMEMs and the analysis of material structure, composition, defects, surface and phase transition. These instruments include SEM, TEM, FIB, AFM, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, DSC, porosimeter and nanoimprinter, as well as specimen preparation equipment.  

Location

Irvine is situated in beautiful southern California. The region abounds in year-round outdoor acitivities. The climate is mild with average day-time highs ranging from 65-80 oF throughout the year. UC-Irvine is located about 4 miles (6 km) from the Pacific Ocean between Los Angeles and San Diego. The Engineering Complex lies adjacent to Aldrich Park at the center of the UC-Irvine campus. Balboa Island, Newport Harbor, San Joaquin Wildlife Reserve, and other places of interest are conveniently located close to the campus.