2024 Media Watch Archives
Reports highlight San Clemente, Dana Point beach troubles and restoration efforts
The Orange County Register -
Brett Sanders, a UCI professor of civil and environmental engineering, shared information from a study researchers conducted in nearby Dana Point. … The UCI research found sand placed by the county at south Doheny State Beach and Capistrano Beach last year was chipped away during tropical storm Hilary and winter storms, but much of it made its way back to shore to replenish beaches to the south and also created sand bars near shore. Read More
Deformable Crumpled Nano-ball Coatings with Adaptable Adhesion and Mechanical Energy Absorption for Lunar Dust Mitigation
NASA -
Sungwoo Nam, [professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCI states], “Lunar dust may seem unimposing, but it presents a significant challenge for space missions. Its abrasive and jagged particles can damage equipment, clog devices, and even pose health risks to astronauts. This project addresses such issues by developing advanced coatings composed of crumpled nano-balls made from atomically thin 2D materials such as MoS₂, graphene, and MXenes. … Ultimately, the project contributes to advancing materials science and paving the way for NASA’s long-term vision of sustainable space exploration.” Read More
Person Of Interest: To The Stars
Orange Coast Magazine -
Ronke Olabisi is an associate professor of biomedical engineering at UC Irvine and a team member of The 100 Year Starship, an interdisciplinary initiative for space travel. … “We all have access to so much technology at the tips of our fingers, and it’s largely a result of the advances that were made by trying to go to the moon.” … What is an area of focus in your current research for the project? “One of the things I’m doing is bone growth and regenerative tissue research. … There are so many things about space exploration that can benefit us here on Earth in ways that we don’t realize.” Read More
Meet Musk’s Fixer, the Powerful Executive Reshaping Tesla
The Wall Street Journal -
“I focus on wherever the problem is, so a lot of firefighting,” [Omead] Afshar said at an alumni event in 2019 at the University of California, Irvine. “If there’s an issue, that’s where I am. Usually when people see me, they’re not always happy because it means there’s a problem.” … Afshar … graduated from the University of California, Irvine, where he studied biomedical engineering … Read More
IROS 2024 Concludes In Abu Dhabi, Drawing Record-Breaking 10,000 Participants
Day of Dubai -
Dr. Magnus Egerstedt, Dean of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, delivered the closing plenary session on ‘From Coordination to Collaboration in Multi-Robot Systems,’ providing insights into advancements in multi-robot coordination inspired by ecological models. Read More
The Sky’s the Limit!
Advanced Manufacturing -
Dr. Melissa Orme, vice president of additive manufacturing at The Boeing Co., and SJ Jones, principal manufacturing engineer, Northrop Grumman Corp.—and some extraordinary additive manufacturing (AM) applications that they’ve been involved in. … Prior to joining Boeing in 2019, Melissa [Orme] was a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California-Irvine, where she also served as a mentor and motivator for the next-generation of innovators. Read More
The diabolical ironclad beetle can survive getting run over by a car. Here's how
Head Topics -
The diabolical ironclad beetle, which dwells in desert regions of western North America, has a distinctly hard-to-squish shape. “Unlike a stink beetle, or a Namibian beetle, which is more rounded … it’s low to the ground it’s flat on top,” says David Kisailus, a materials scientist at the University of California, Irvine. In compression experiments, Kisailus and colleagues found that the beetle could withstand around 39,000 times its own body weight. Read More
Squid-inspired fabric allows for temperature-controlled clothing
Health Medicine Network -
Inspired by the dynamic color-changing properties of squid skin, researchers from the University of California, Irvine developed a method to manufacture a heat-adjusting material that is breathable and washable and can be integrated into flexible fabric. They published their proof-of-concept for the advanced bioinspired composites in APL Bioengineering. “Squid skin is complex, consisting of multiple layers that work together to manipulate light and change the animal’s overall coloration and patterning,” said author Alon Gorodetsky. “Some of the layers contain organs called chromatophores, which transition between expanded and contracted states (upon muscle action) to change how the skin transmits and reflects visible light.” Read More
Scientists track and analyze lofted embers that cause spot fires
Phys.org -
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have conducted first-of-their-kind field experiments to better understand the physics of these firebrands, and their results can help authorities better model the outcomes of disasters that are happening with greater frequency in a warming climate. In a paper published in the journal Physics of Fluids, UC Irvine team members describe their setup at the UC Berkeley Blodgett Forest Research Station in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. Read More
Researchers discover atomic-level mechanism in polycrystalline materials
Phys.org -
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other international institutions have for the first time achieved atomic-scale observations of grain rotation in polycrystalline materials. … Scientists have speculated and theorized…for decades…We have been able to transition from theory to observation," said senior author Xiaoqing Pan, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering and UC IMRI director. … "Our results provide…evidence of the mechanism by which grains rotate in polycrystals on an atomic scale," said Pan, who is also a professor in UC Irvine's Department of Physics & Astronomy, a Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering, and director of the UC Irvine Center for Complex and Active Materials. Read More