Media Watch
Flooding vulnerabilities of L.A. River’s Glendale Narrows spark concern amid record rain
Los Angeles Times -
In the last decade alone, California has been hit with back-to-back cycles of historic drought followed by historic rain, snow and flooding. “I’m personally concerned about this because our levee systems are very, very old and basically made out of soil,” said Amir AghaKouchak, a UC Irvine professor. AghaKouchak co-authored a 2020 study on the impacts of climate change on levees protecting critical infrastructure–transmission lines, roads, railroads, natural gas and petroleum pipelines in densely populated areas such as Southern California’s coastal communities. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Pajaro: The look of floods to come soon
KTVU -
In California, there are more than 14,000 miles of urban and rural levees. They protect dry land, cities, towns, homes, businesses, farms and public property from floods. … "On average, they are 57 years old and many of them were built using standards that were much less rigorous than are current building practices," said UC Irvine Climate and Flood Scientist [Professor] Amir AghaKouchak. … "We're not doing enough. Lack of maintenance is one of the biggest issues in my opinion," said AghaKouchak. … "Future earthquake can cause actual collapse and failure," said AghaKouchak. Read More
The Compost: How a local university ended up on the front lines of the hydrogen debate
The Orange County Register -
UC Irvine is home to the National Fuel Cell Research Center, which has been testing hydrogen for years. The center is led by Jack Brouwer, an engineering professor at UCI who’s studied hydrogen for 25 years. Brouwer’s team has worked with SoCalGas on other projects, and he told me this next test seemed a natural fit. … SoCalGas hopes to install an electrolyzer at UC Irvine to make hydrogen by shooting an electrical current (powered by the state grid) through water and splitting hydrogen from oxygen. That hydrogen would be stored in tanks until being injected into a skid, where it would blend with natural gas. The mix then would be delivered to buildings on campus.[Subscription required, campus-wide access provided by UCI Libraries. Sign-up here: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/news/ocregister] Read More
UCI leaders to SoCalGas: don’t test hydrogen blend in dining areas and freshman dorms
The Orange County Register -
Jack Brouwer, an engineering professor at UCI who’s been working with SoCalGas on the project, told students he doesn’t believe we can reach a net-zero carbon climate without hydrogen. And of the pilot project, he said: “I can guarantee you that it will be safe,” … he noted his teams have been safely handling hydrogen in their laboratories for 25 years. …University spokesman Tom Vasich said via email that the school responded to student concerns by verbally directing SoCalGas to move the project out of student housing and dining facilities. As for where the pilot might now go, Vasich said it’s still early in the process. [Subscription required, campus-wide access provided by UCI Libraries. Sign-up here: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/news/ocregister] Read More
Had enough of winter weather? Sorry SoCal, atmospheric rivers bringing more rain
KABC -
But with snow from the last storm still piled high in the mountains, concerns are growing about the rain combining with snowmelt to generate flooding, especially in the mountain canyons with creeks that could overflow. "Those collector creeks that are capturing all that snowmelt and rainfall at the same time are going to be seeing some of the highest flows we've seen in some time," said [Professor] Brett Sanders, a climate engineering expert at University of California, Irvine. Read More
UC ANR statements on Richard Rosenberg’s death
ACANR -
Soroosh Sorooshian, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing and chair of the UC ANR Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy: “Mr. Richard Rosenberg was passionate about the well-being of the environment in addition to his responsibilities managing one of the largest financial institutions in the world. His concern about water resources scarcity and international water conflicts led to the establishment of the UC ANR Rosenberg International Forum for Water Policy with an endowment gift from the Bank of America to honor Dick's vision. It is a great honor for the forum to carry the vision of Mr. Rosenberg as a lasting legacy to his commitment to issues related to international water policy.” Read More
Syntr Health Raising $10M for Fat Processing Device
Orange County Business Journal -
Syntr Health Technologies Inc., an Irvine micro fat processing startup based at University Lab Partners, at the UCI Research Park, is raising $10 million to hire a sales team and focus on marketing this year, in preparation for expanding in 2024. The company’s fat processing machine, the SyntrFuge System, yields injectables taken from patients’ own fat tissue that can be applied to various cosmetic procedures, from facial wrinkle reduction to breast cancer reconstructive surgery. … CEO Ahmed Zobi received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in micro and nantechnology from University of California, Irvine. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
‘Global Importance’ of UCI Researchers Honored
Irvine Standard -
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society, honored six UC Irvine researchers for distinguished achievements. These include contributions to cognitive neuroscience, the understanding of quantum materials and aspects of the central nervous system. Researchers include [Professor] Alexander Chernyshev (physics and astronomy), [Professor] Aimee Edinger (developmental and cell biology), [Distinguished Professor] Tryphon Georgiou (mechanical and aerospace engineering), [Distinguished Professor] Gregory Hickok (language science), [Professor] Julie Schoenung (materials science and engineering) and [Professor] Georg Striedter (neurobiology and behavior). Read More
Get Ready — Winter Wonderland Of Snow Heightens Risk Of Bigger Spring Floods (Landslides, Too)
LAist -
A recent study from UC Irvine found that nearly 1 million people in L.A. live in areas that would be significantly affected by a 100-year flood. “The Los Angeles River, the San Gabriel River, Compton Creek, Dominguez channel — some of these channels are no longer able to contain what we would call a 100-year flood,” said Brett Sanders, lead author of the study and a civil and environmental engineering professor at UC Irvine. Read More
New UC Irvine Institute Focuses on Mobility and Connectivity
Assembly -
The future of the automotive industry involves autonomous, connected, zero-emission vehicles. To address the numerous issues and challenges associated with those technologies today, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) recently opened the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity2 (HIMaC2). The new organization is a part of the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UCI, which focuses on the future of mobility, and the integration of the energy and transportation sectors, including its impact on the electric grid. Read More