Media Watch
In a sea of flood-risk data, how can cities know which information to use?
Smart Cities Dive -
“If you’re a regional flood manager and you’re thinking about what the highest priority project [is], the shifts in the data product could shift where the budget goes,” said Brett Sanders, an author of the paper and a Chancellor’s Professor of civil and environmental engineering, urban planning and public policy at UC Irvine. Sanders and his team reached their conclusion by comparing two flood-risk models for Los Angeles County … Read More
The California sand wars: As beaches shrink, neighbors and cities fight for what’s left
Los Angeles Times -
The resident-funded initiative involves trucking in sand from quarries in Simi Valley and Moorpark. It’s a high price tag for a short-term solution, according to Brett Sanders, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine. Sanders said sand costs about $30 per cubic yard to ship. A modest nourishment would be about 100,000 cubic yards — so roughly $3 million. … “When sand gets pulled under, it refills the coastal area near the shore. Sand has to be under and above the water for a beach to be healthy,” he said. “Small amounts of sand go under quickly, but the more we have, the more the beach recovers.” Read More
Timelapse Shows Spread of Raging Wildfire as Nearby Residents Look On
Yahoo News UK -
Residents in areas of Orange and Riverside counties were ordered to evacuate as the blaze spread to over 19,000 acres. By Tuesday night, the fire remained zero percent contained, according to Cal Fire. Footage here was shot by Amir Aghakouchak, with clips showing the scene by Rancho Santa Margarita Lake and from the UC Irvine campus. Credit: Amir Aghakouchak via Storyful. Watch More
Scientists find a new way to reduce arthritis
Knowridge -
In a recent review published in Nature Reviews Rheumatology, biomedical engineers from the University of California, Irvine, are pushing for a new approach to help people suffering from severe osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. … The researchers, led by Kyriacos Athanasiou, a Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering, discussed several new technologies developed to treat diseases and disorders related to cartilage in joints like the knee, hip, and jaw. Read More
100 days of 100-degree misery: A summer of relentless, oppressive heat across the West
Los Angeles Times -
While California’s climate has always had year-to-year and month-to-month variability, the heat the state has experienced recently is consistent with climate change, according to Jane Baldwin, assistant professor of earth system science at UC Irvine. … Los Angeles is an urban heat island … The disparity in climate resilience is even visible from neighborhood to neighborhood, Amir AghaKouchak, a UC Irvine civil and environmental engineering professor, said. More affluent areas are better protected from extreme heat with vegetation and shade, while poorer areas have less shade and air conditioning. Read More
Cal State LA, UC Irvine awarded $1 million grant for materials science
The Orange County Register – City News Service -
Cal State LA, in partnership with UC Irvine, has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to advance research and education in the field of materials science. … “The NSF PREM grant will allow us to work closely with their talented faculty and students, sharing resources and knowledge to drive forward the frontiers of materials research and foster greater inclusivity,” said Xiaoqing Pan, director of UC Irvine’s MRSEC Center for Complex and Active Materials. Read More
UC Irvine Study Links Urban Street Networks And Building Density To Flood Severity
India Education Diary -
New research from the University of California, Irvine suggests that urban form, specifically the building density and street network of a neighborhood, is also affecting the intensity of flooding. … Lead author Sarah Balaian, a UC Irvine Ph.D. candidate in civil and environmental engineering, said that we can expect the future to be marked by more severe weather events and that concentrated masses of people, many of whom lack the means of protection or escape, will be heavily affected by urban flooding. Read More
Poor Communities Pay Highest Costs Because Of Flawed Flood Risk Models
Forbes -
The disparities between these [flood risk] models are not just academic—they have real-world consequences. As the UCI study revealed, discrepancies between model predictions can result in vastly different risk assessments for neighborhoods with different demographic profiles. This divergence is particularly concerning for marginalized communities, which are already more vulnerable to environmental hazards due to factors like historical neglect, economic disparity, and reduced access to resources. Read More
Urban planning may worsen flood risks in cities
Environmental Health News -
A study from UC Irvine suggests that urban street layouts and building density may be exacerbating flood severity in areas already vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change. … “Detailed modeling worldwide is presently impossible for many cities because of inadequate data, so our team was motivated to develop a new way of looking at flood risk based on the form of the built urban environment.” Says Sarah Balaian, a doctoral candidate in civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine. Read More
AI Engineering: The next frontier for research and technological advances
ZDNet -
This intersection between AI and traditional engineering is rapidly becoming its own formal discipline called AI Engineering. To explore this, ZDNET had the opportunity to discuss AI Engineering with Pramod Khargonekar, distinguished professor of electrical engineering and computer science and vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Irvine. Read More