Media Watch
Titanium golf club blamed for Orange County brush fire
ABC7 -
That isn't a surprise to James Earthman, a UC Irvine chemical engineering and materials science professor who did a study in 2014. ... "With stainless steel we never saw any sparks," Earthman said. "When we tested a titanium club, every time we hit a rock with a titanium there were a lot of sparks."
20-acre Mission Viejo brush fire was sparked by titanium golf club striking rock, officials say
CBS Los Angeles -
UC Irvine engineering professor James Earthman demonstrated in 2014 how quickly a swing can launch a 3,000-degree spark into the brush. … “It was when companies started making other clubs out of titanium that these fires stated to occur, in particular irons and hybrids made of titanium are particularly hazardous,” he said.
Brush fire in Mission Viejo prompts warning about titanium golf clubs
KTLA -
When news broke about a brush fire that started in Mission Viejo earlier this week, it came as a bit of deja vu for UC Irvine Professor James Earthman. "I was a bit disappointed that this was still occurring, particularly at a golf course that a fire had already occurred." Two years ago we interviewed Professor Earthman about a study he had done that found titanium clubs could spark brush fires in just that way and one of the cases cited came from that very same golf course in Mission Viejo.
Golf club sparked Orange County brush fire
NBC 4 -
A 2014 UC Irvine study determined that titanium alloy clubs caused sparks that generated a small brush fire at Irvine's Shady Canyon in 2010 and another a few years earlier at Arroyo Trabuco. … Chemical engineering and materials science Professor James Earthman, lead author on the study, said: "When the club strikes a ball, nearby rocks can tear particles of titanium from the sole of the head. Bits of the particle surfaces will react violently with oxygen or nitrogen in the air, and a tremendous amount of heat is produced. The foliage ignites in flames."
Report from Maker Faire: Wrist Band Takes Blood Pressure
Science & Enterprise -
Taking blood pressure, a routine task in clinics, gives a one-time snapshot of an individual’s condition, but people who need frequent monitoring of blood pressure must return continuously to the clinic or take their blood pressure at home. In addition, devices that measure blood pressure, known as blood pressure cuffs, can be uncomfortable for some individuals. Two engineering students invented a device that makes possible continuous blood pressure monitoring.
Here's what Hyperloop pods could one day look like
Business Insider -
HyperXite, which hails from University of California, Irvine, is focused mainly on solving rush hour challenges. The team’s design can fit 28 people and will be able to withstand harsh weather conditions. HyperXite was one of three teams who won the Pod Technical Excellence Award at Design Weekend.
Kimberly and Nicole - Slapband (Video)
America’s Greatest Makers -
University of California, Irvine biomedical engineering students Nicole Mendoza and Kimberly Veliz are featured on America's Greatest Makers. "We are both first generation college students ... and we are biomedical engineers at the University of California, Irvine ... we are passionate about finding solutions to medical problems. ... So we made the slapband. ... The future of medicine is not in curing all disease but preventing it in the first place. The slapband will be a tool that can help prevent heart disease."
3-D printers' sounds hold secrets that can be stolen, UCI researchers find
Los Angeles Times -
"The key is small, but the implication is huge," said Mohammad Al Faruque, director of UCI's Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems Lab. "It means that valuable processing information can be lost" to hackers who, for example, might capture audio from the printing process to make parts for cars and planes.
Nanopillared surface inspired by insect wings counteracts bacteria
Gizmag -
"Other research groups have also created antibacterial nanopillar surfaces, but none of their approaches can be used on ordinary polymer surfaces or be scaled up easily," says Albert F. Yee, professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of California, Irvine.
UC grad students drive innovation, merit state aid
The Sacramento Bee -
On Wednesday, I’m taking a break my from chemical engineering research to join other UC graduate students in Sacramento. Our message to lawmakers: Graduate students are the engines that drive California innovation – think Tesla, but a whole lot cheaper.