Media Watch
NASA grant to go toward UCI-led project studying beach, dune loss
Daily Pilot -
University officials in Irvine announced earlier this month that researchers have received a $675,000 grant from NASA that will be divided between both universities. Approximately $350,000 will go to the Irvine campus for what is expected to be a three-year project to support graduate students, researchers and the cost of some of the equipment used in the study. UCI professor of civil and environmental engineering Brett Sanders said the project aims to use satellites to examine the distribution — height, width and volume — of sand on local beaches. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Best of Last Week
Science X -
In technology news …. a team at the University of California, Irvine, developed a light, thin composite material capable of stretching to twice its normal size—called cephalopod skin, the material was found to work well as an insulator. Read More
Self-Driving Cars Work Better With Smart Roads
IEEE Spectrum -
The concept of smart roads is not new. It includes efforts like traffic lights that automatically adjust their timing based on sensor data and streetlights that automatically adjust their brightness to reduce energy consumption. PerceptIn, of which coauthor [Shaoshan] Liu is founder and CEO, has demonstrated at its own test track, in Beijing, that streetlight control can make traffic 40 percent more efficient. (Liu and coauthor [Jean-Luc] Gaudiot, Liu’s former doctoral advisor [and current engineering professor] at the University of California, Irvine, often collaborate on autonomous driving projects.) Read More
Some dams might worsen flooding
KJZZ -
Dams serve a variety of purposes, from energy generation to flood control. But new research in the journal Nature Communications concerning China's lower Yellow River suggests dams actually can raise flood risk by altering the makeup and structure of lowland riverbeds. “The bed is really flat; and then you move upward, closer to the dam site and, immediately adjacent to the dam, the channel bed become really, really rough,” said lead author Hongbo Ma, a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Irvine. Read More
SWE Diverse Podcast: Domino Master’s Wonder Women Team
Society of Women Engineers -
On this episode of Diverse, SWE President Rachel Morford sits down with two members of FOX’s Domino Master’s Wonder Women Team, Farah Bajwa and Brianne Martin. Listen as they talk about their experience on Domino Masters and the engineering knowledge and background they brought to the competition. … Farah Bajwa … received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine. Her electro-mechanical engineering major was a custom major, as it wasn’t formally offered. Read More
The Cephalo-Inspired Technology Of The Future
Science Friday -
“Cephalopods are such exciting sources of inspiration,” says Alon Gorodetsky, [associate professor], a materials scientist at the University of California, Irvine. “The things they do, how they move, even their brains—it’s like science fiction stuff.” … In this segment, Ira chats with Gorodetsky and other technologists about an array of cephalopod-inspired innovations, from adaptive camouflage to self-healing materials. Read More
Hydrogen Blending Well into Climate Change Discussion
Pipeline & Gas Journal -
“We continue to work with SoCalGas on transforming several parts of its gas system for introducing some percentage of hydrogen initially and transforming it for eventually carrying all hydrogen,” said Jack Brouwer, UCI engineering professor and hydrogen [National] Fuel Cell Research [Center] director. UCI’s work with Sempra’s SoCalGas utility involves determining what impacts hydrogen-natural gas blends would have on various gas-fired appliances and end-uses. “We’ve found these appliances can handle blends of up to 30% hydrogen with no problem, and in most cases with reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions,” Brouwer said. Read More
Novel Technique Differentially Maps Phonon Momenta with Atomic Resolution
AZO Materials -
“We developed a novel technique to differentially map phonon momenta with atomic resolution, which enables us to observe nonequilibrium phonons that only exist near the interface,” stated co-author Xiaoqing Pan, UCI professor of materials science and engineering and physics, Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering, and IMRI director. Pan adds, “This work marks a major advance in the field because it’s the first time we have been able to provide direct evidence that the interplay between diffusive and specular reflection largely depends on the detailed atomistic structure.” Read More
Phonon dynamics enable a deeper understanding of how heat travels through quantum dots
Phys.org -
"We developed a novel technique to differentially map phonon momenta with atomic resolution, which enables us to observe nonequilibrium phonons that only exist near the interface," said co-author Xiaoqing Pan, UCI professor of materials science and engineering and physics, Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering, and IMRI director. "This work marks a major advance in the field because it's the first time we have been able to provide direct evidence that the interplay between diffusive and specular reflection largely depends on the detailed atomistic structure." Read More
This Startup Raised Over $10 Million To Make Metal Manufacturing More Efficient And Sustainable
Forbes -
Foundation Alloy, a vertically integrated metal part production platform, announced it has raised a $10.5 million seed funding round …. The startup, which specializes in manufacturing high performing metal parts, was founded in February of this year by CEO Jake Guglin, … Jasper Lienhard, and Professors Chris Schuh (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Tim Rupert (University of California Irvine.) … The company says that through the technologies it has developed, it can make parts using less energy and creating less waste, making the manufacturing process more sustainable for the environment. Read More