Media Watch Archives
UCI researchers expose vulnerability of solar inverters
Solar Power World -
In a presentation delivered at the recent Usenix Security 2020 conference, Mohammad Al Faruque, UCI associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and his team revealed that the spoofing mechanism can generate a 32% change in output voltage … “Without touching the solar inverter, without even getting close to it, I can just place a coffee cup nearby and then leave and go anywhere in the world, from which I can destabilize the grid,” Al Faruque said. Read More
Status Update: Raising Canes, Grocery Outlet raise money for the needy
Orange County Register -
The Advanced Casting Research Center has relocated to UC Irvine, effective July 1, moving from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Diran Apelian, ACRC’s founding director, was recently appointed as distinguished professor at UCI’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He retired earlier this summer from his position as Alcoa-Howmet professor of mechanical engineering at WPI after 30 years. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Mantis shrimp's dactyl clubs could hold secrets to more resilient surfaces for human use
Phys.org -
University of California, Irvine materials science researchers are learning about resilience from the mantis shrimp. The ancient crustaceans are armed with two hammerlike raptorial appendages called dactyl clubs that they use to bludgeon and smash their prey. These fists, able to accelerate from the body at over 50 mph, deliver powerful blows yet appear undamaged afterward. … "Think about punching a wall a couple thousand times at those speeds and not breaking your fist," said David Kisailus, UCI professor of materials science & engineering, who has been studying the mantis shrimp for more than a decade. Read More
New framework for evaluating snow droughts around the world
National Science Foundation -
Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, have developed a new framework for characterizing snow droughts around the world. … "Snow is an important global water resource that plays a vital role in natural processes, agriculture, hydropower and the basic socioeconomic conditions of various regions," said lead author Laurie Huning. "While other forms of drought are well-studied, variations in snow droughts on a global scale have been examined to a far lesser extent until now." Read More
High and dry
WaterNews -
University of California, Irvine's environmental engineers have developed a new framework for characterizing snow droughts around the world. "Snow is an important global water resource that plays a vital role in natural processes, agriculture, hydropower and basic socioeconomic conditions of various regions," said lead author Laurie Huning. "While other forms of drought are well-studied, variations in snow droughts on a global scale have been examined to a far lesser extent until now." Read More
Is renewable hydrogen set to revolutionize the grid?
E&E News -
"I would prefer to leave the fossil in the ground and make the hydrogen all the other ways," said Jack Brouwer, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, citing the carbon emissions released from blue hydrogen and the abundance of renewable electricity and biomass. Read More
Engineers evaluate snow drought around the world
Phys.Org -
Environmental engineers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new framework for characterizing snow droughts around the world. Using this tool to analyze conditions from 1980 to 2018, the researchers found a 28-percent increase in the length of intensified snow-water deficits in the Western United States during the second half of the study period. Read More
Hydrogen fuel cells – the future of clean data centers?
TechHQ -
But even before that, [Microsoft] has been exploring ways to use fuel cells, beginning to explore the technology in 2013 with the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, where they tested the idea of powering racks of servers with solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs, which are fueled by natural gas. Read More
Microsoft tests hydrogen fuel cells for backup power at datacenters
Microsoft -
Even before that 2018 demonstration, Microsoft had been looking at ways to use fuel cells. The company started to explore fuel cell technology in 2013 with the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, where they tested the idea of powering racks of servers with solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs, which are fueled by natural gas. Read More