Leading UCI Labs Featured on The Lab Beat podcast
June 2, 2026 – Fabrics that change transparency like squid skin, methalox rockets, mini gyroscopes and neuroelectronics for the brain are the latest topics featured in UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering’s podcast The Lab Beat. This captivating podcast takes you right into the labs of engineering researchers as award-winning audio journalist Natalie Tso offers 5-8 minute audio portraits. Tune into the latest episodes:
Alon Gorodetsky, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is creating material that mimics the camouflage capabilities of cephalopods. Listen to the episode on Becoming Invisible as Gorodetsky tells how he’s unlocking the secrets of squid skin and has created material that can change color, transparency and temperature.
The Methalox Rockets episode features the UCI Rocket Project liquids team, one of the few undergraduate teams in America that has launched a rocket with methalox fuel, the cutting-edge propellant that industry is using to get to Mars. The podcast takes you inside UCI’s rocket lab as students get ready for a cold flow. You’ll hear from propulsion lead Uma Iyer, operations lead Eric Tran and others about how they’re preparing for their next rocket launch.
Henry Samueli Faculty Excellence Professor of electrical engineering and computer science Dion Khodagholy is trying to cure epilepsy by implanting a neural interface on the brain. In the episode Curing the Brain, you’ll hear the sound of his patient’s brainwaves and learn all about his lab’s creation, the NeuroGrid, that’s being used on patients’ brains in hospitals in the U.S.
A Spanish glassblower inspired Chancellor’s Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering Andrei Shkel to miniaturize the production of gyroscopes. In Revolutionizing Gyroscopes, step into Shkel’s lab to discover how he makes wine-glass-like structures for miniature gyroscopes that are used in drones, SUVs, camera phones and more.
The Lab Beat is a short audio podcast that highlights innovative labs at the UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering. Check out all episodes of The Lab Beat.
- Natalie Tso
