Some professors at UC Irvine, like John Smith, got to experience a part of the future after the university installed smart grid technology into their homes. … The UCI study wanted to test the performance of the electrical grid and reduce energy costs and emissions. … "We must have energy storage if we are to make a highly renewable future work," said [Jack] Brouwer, [professor and director Advanced Power and Energy Program]. Read More

The setup and density of urban neighborhoods may be exacerbating the intensity of flood risks in areas already suffering from climate-induced weather extremes, University of California (UC) researchers determined in a new study. … “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,” said Lead author Sarah Balaian, a UC Irvine doctoral candidate in civil and environmental engineering.

The National Academy of Inventors has named two University of California, Irvine researchers as fellows. Guann-Pyng (G.P.) Li, a pioneer in the development of microelectronics for advanced health and sustainable energy applications, and David Reinkensmeyer, who combines robotics and neuroscience to create devices to help people with movement rehabilitation after neurological injury, are among 162 academic inventors made fellows by the NAI this year.

UC Irvine has opened its new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building, introducing a novel approach to research. Colleges traditionally organize buildings by discipline, while UCI is bringing disciplines together to address grand challenges, such as those involving health, energy and the environment. Read More

With a $50-million gift from the couple [Henry and Susan Samueli] that UC Irvine’s engineering school was named for, three new multidisciplinary research institutes will be established under its roof to better foster collaboration across engineering and three other sectors: public health, society and the environment. These institutes will run under the banner of Engineering+ and will be within the Henry Samueli School of Engineering ….