Media Watch

Brian Tarroja, UCI associate professional researcher and lecturer of civil and environmental engineering writes, “Hydropower facilities capture the energy in flowing water by using a device called a turbine. As water runs over the blades of a turbine – kind of like a giant pinwheel – they spin. This spinning turbine is connected to a shaft that spins inside a device called a generator, which uses an effect called induction to convert energy in the spinning shaft to electricity.” Read More

Elizabeth Chiu first got interested in mechanical engineering as a member of her high school, all-girls robotics team. But it was only after she enrolled at UC Irvine that she discovered her dream job. Chiu, 21, and now a senior UCI student, recently accepted an offer to join the R&D Released Product Engineering department for Medtronic Neurovascular in Irvine, the world’s largest neurovascular company. Medtronic had previously hired her as an intern for two consecutive summers, in addition to six months of part-time work during her junior year. “I’m so excited that I get to work with the same team I’ve worked with over two years,” she says. … UCI was one of Chiu’s top choices for college, she says, adding, “It’s such a pretty area, and the school has a great engineering department, with lots of opportunities for internships.” Read More

In a state severely hobbled by drought and wildfires, flood concerns may not seem top-of-mind. But a new study out of UC Irvine found that Los Angeles County's aging flood systems may not be ready for a major flood. "Right now, our research suggests that our infrastructure and the way we've built it out is much more vulnerable to this type of event than I think anyone would have guessed," said Brett Sanders, a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCI and one of the authors of the paper. Read More

At the latest KB Home community in Menifee, they’re putting a new twist on energy efficiency. Each home here is equipped with solar to collect power from the sun and stores it in a battery located in the home’s garage. … These all-electric homes use up to 40 percent less energy than similar homes. The partners involved, including the U.S. Department of Energy, SunPower, the University of California, Irvine, Southern California Edison and Kia, are eager to learn from the project in hopes of applying the concept to more neighborhoods in the future. Read More