Media Watch
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
Researchers quantify, characterize and identify functions of collagen, its subtypes
Technology -
In an article published recently in Nature Reviews Materials, UCI biomedical engineering researchers provide an exhaustive description of the superfamily of this biomaterial, which includes 28 subtypes. “Collagen – which has known connections to maladies including cancer, arthritis and more than 40 hereditary diseases – has been the focus of intensive biomedical research for centuries,” said co-author Kyriacos Athanasiou, Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and Henry Samueli Chair in Engineering at UCI. Read More
Startups & innovations – Financing
Orange County Business Journal -
The University of California, Irvine received $18 million from the National Science Foundation to support research in materials discovery for the technology and life sciences sectors. Research will focus on the development of high strength materials for aerospace, automotive, national defense and space exploration; as well as the study of “living” materials that could improve wound healing or tissue growth. Funds will support a division of the UCI Materials Research Institute …. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
UCI researchers win $529 million in grants and contracts for fiscal 2019-20
News Medical Life Sciences -
From cutting-edge research and clinical trials focused on cancer care to creating a new center devoted to protecting personal data privacy, University of California, Irvine scholars, scientists and physicians are blazing new paths to help change the world. … “This research funding milestone surpasses our campus strategic plan goal of $500 million while accelerating UCI's ascent among its Association of American Universities peers as a world-class research university,” [says UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman]. Read More
UCI reports blockbuster year for research funding, receives $529 million
Orange County Register -
UCI netted $529 million in grants and contracts for research last year, which “surpasses our campus strategic plan goal of $500 million while accelerating UCI’s ascent among its Association of American Universities peers as a world-class research university,” UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said in a press release. Among the areas that have won funding are health sciences fields, which include research on cancer and Alzheimer’s disease; and new centers focused on materials research and protection of personal data, both supported by the National Science Foundation.[Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Startups & Innovations – Coronavirus updates
Orange County Business Journal -
Nanommune Inc. and Velox Biosystems Inc., both of Irvine, have partnered to offer a COVID-19 immune profiling service to researchers and clinicians “to accelerate the use and adoption of microarray tests,” the companies said. …Nanommune spun out of the University of California, Irvine in March. It was founded by Phil Felgner, the director of the Vaccine R&D Center, who developed a series of tests for COVID-19. Testing platform developer Velox Biosystems also counts ties to UC Irvine; its co-founder Weian Zhao is a three-time entrepreneur with startups involved in virus detection, cancer diagnosis and stem cell therapeutics. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Emerging technologies for tracking COVID-19 in higher ed
EdTech -
In a similar vein, University of California, Irvine researchers developed an open-source codebase for a QR code–based app called TrackCOVID, which alerts people if they’ve interacted with infected people. The QR codes will be posted in high-traffic areas, such as university campuses, grocery stores and public transportation hubs. “If you went to the same place as someone who was exposed within a certain time frame, you will be notified that you may have been exposed,” says Tyler Yasaka, co-developer of the app. Read More