Sustainability & environment

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Paige Balcom, Tomás Vega and Corten Singer, from left, Berkeley alums featured in the award-winning documentary “Pathways to Invention.”

UC Berkeley innovators featured in ‘Pathways to Invention’ film

04/26/24 — Special to debut in May on PBS stations and streaming apps

Distributed fiber optic sensor installation on a new pipeline.

Researchers receive $3M grant to integrate advanced technologies for enhanced risk assessment

04/05/24 — Berkeley geotechnical engineer Kenichi Soga will lead project aimed at enhancing safety and resilience of natural gas storage, pipeline infrastructure

A grey reef shark, Cairns Aquarium, Australia.

Bioinspired design reduces drag and noise production for towed sonar arrays

04/01/24 — Textured surface mimics shark skin to make underwater instruments more effective and environmentally friendly

Vayu Hill-Maini is working to unlock the richly diverse genomes of fungi to engineer them into meat alternatives. Here, he holds petri dishes of growing fungi; the one on the left is the original mold, the right has been engineered using the team

It’s hearty, it’s meaty, it’s mold

03/14/24 — Berkeley Lab: Bioengineers are hacking the genome of fungi for smart foods of the future

Photo showing members of the MDevEng community wearing colorful SHE 4 Change clothing, featuring African prints.

Patricia Quaye (MDevEng ’22): Empowering rural women and African culture through fashion

01/31/24 — Blum Center: SHE 4 Change uses sustainable fashion design to give talented rural women a path out of poverty

Still image from animated IMAX movie, Cities of the Future. Shows young people looking at a futuristic cityscape from inside their flying car.

Berkeley alum Paul Lee (M.S.’16 CEE) discusses cities of the future in new film

01/24/24 — ASCE: Debuting nationwide Feb. 16, IMAX movie gives a glimpse into what the urban landscape may look like in 2070

Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of the new 2D nanosheet as a barrier coating that self-assembles on a variety of substrates. The TEM experiments were conducted at UC Berkeley’s Electron Microscope Laboratory.

Scaling up nano for sustainable manufacturing

11/08/23 — Berkeley Lab: Scientists, led by Berkeley engineer Ting Xu, have developed multipurpose, recyclable nanosheets for electronics, energy storage, and health and safety applications

Nanoengineered steel mesh with a special solar-powered coating

In a fog

11/06/23 — A new technique for fog harvesting could provide millions of people with access to safe drinking water.

Curbing antibiotic resistance

11/06/23 — Increasing access to clean water and flush toilets could be an effective way to curb antibiotic resistance.

The greening of jeans

11/06/23 — Huue, a company co-founded by alum Tammy Hsu, uses biotechnology to create environmentally friendly dyes for denim.

A cool way to save coral

11/06/23 — Technology developed by Berkeley engineers has been used to cryopreserve and revive entire coral fragments.

White pampas grass flowers on the riverside swaying in the autumn wind

Sequestering carbon

11/06/23 — To remove carbon from the air, researchers have proposed burying biomass crops in dry environmental chambers.

Photo of a nanoscale 3D printing benchmarking model called a "3DBenchy" showcases how a new 3D printing technique enabled researchers to embed nitrogen vacancy centers in complex, microscale 3D structures.

Researchers demonstrate new 3D printing technique for quantum sensors

10/31/23 — Innovation may lead to novel applications in precision measurement, biological imaging and environmental monitoring

Rendering of a quantum computer, side view.

Umesh Vazirani awarded $2.4M grant from DOE

10/30/23 — Research will explore ways to advance production-ready quantum computing

Photo of Ashok Gadgil, wearing the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, shaking hands with President Biden.

Ashok Gadgil awarded National Medal of Technology and Innovation

10/24/23 — Distinguished CEE professor's technological innovations have profoundly benefited low-resource communities worldwide

Photo of office interior, with ceiling fans and workers at tables, that served as a laboratory. Researchers controlled air conditioners and ceiling fans as part of a study.

Hybrid cooling leads to 32% energy savings in tropical office buildings — without sacrificing comfort

10/12/23 — CITRIS: Berkeley researchers, academic partners in Singapore combine ceiling fans with higher AC set points

Accelerating sustainable semiconductors with ‘multielement ink’

09/28/23 — Berkeley Lab: New material developed by Berkeley engineers could enable green, low-carbon manufacturing of next-gen microelectronics

Berkeley alum creating a greener future for bluejeans

09/28/23 — Tammy Hsu (Ph.D.’19 BioE) uses her engineering know-how to develop eco-friendly denim dye

Image of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack.

Berkeley engineer Gerbrand Ceder leads new consortium to make batteries for EVs more sustainable

09/13/23 — Berkeley Lab: Breakthrough battery technology could ramp up domestic supply chain of critical minerals driving clean energy transition