News Archive
2018 News Releases
December 19, 2018Hardware-software co-design approach could make neural networks less power hungry
A team led by the University of California San Diego has developed a neuroinspired hardware-software co-design approach that could make neural network training more energy-efficient and faster. Their work could one day make it possible to train neural networks on low-power devices such as smartphones, laptops and embedded devices. Full Story
November 16, 2018The future of healthcare robotics: from home helpers to hospital and surgery assistants
By 2050, the number of people over age 60 will double worldwide. By 2100, it will triple. This population shift will generate dramatically increased demand for caregiving and healthcare services--demand that can’t be met by humans only. In addition, five billion people worldwide lack access to adequate healthcare, especially surgery. These are some of the problems that experts in the field of healthcare robotics from industry and academia came together to tackle during the 2018 Contextual Robotics Institute Forum held Nov. 8 at the University of California San Diego. Full Story
October 15, 2018Jacobs School alum charges startup to $1 million prize
A startup with a Jacobs School alumnus as its CTO won the $1 million grand prize at 43North, the startup pitch competition with the largest prize pool in the U.S. Christopher Ellis, a 2017 electrical and computer engineering graduate, is the CTO of SparkCharge, which is developing a portable electric vehicle charging system that can fit in the trunk of a car, to make distance limitations on electric cars a thing of the past. Full Story
October 11, 2018Samsung licenses 5G polar coding technology developed by UC San Diego engineers
Samsung and the University of California San Diego recently signed a major license agreement for the telecommunications industry, for a standard-essential error-correction technology developed by engineers from the Jacobs School of Engineering. This new technology plays a key role in the 5G wireless communications standard, where it is used to encode and decode polar codes. Polar codes have been recently ratified as part of the 5G New Radio enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) standard, with commercial deployments expected in 2019 to eventually penetrate hundreds of millions of wireless devices. Full Story
October 11, 2018Undergraduate Engineers Get Hands-on Experience with Autonomous Vehicles
The Introduction to Autonomous Vehicles course is all about hands-on learning by doing. Over the course of the quarter, students enrolled in the class build a small robotic car, train it to run autonomously, and trick it out with a bonus feature of their choosing. Full Story
October 4, 2018Using personal data to predict blood pressure
Engineers at UC San Diego used wearable off-the-shelf technology and machine learning to predict an individual’s blood pressure and provide personalized recommendations to lower it based on this data. Full Story
September 28, 2018From stair-climbing robots to motion planning algorithms: UC San Diego at IROS 2018
From stair-climbing robots to algorithms that help robots navigate the world, researchers at the University of California San Diego are making a strong showing at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, or IROS 2018, which takes place Oct. 1 to 5 in Madrid, Spain. Full Story
September 6, 2018UC San Diego clinician-engineer teams selected as 2018 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine awardees
Four clinician-engineer teams from UC San Diego have been selected to receive the 2018 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine (GEM) awards. GEM, an initiative of UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI) and UC San Diego Institute of Engineering in Medicine (IEM), brings engineers and clinicians together to develop innovative technologies that can be applied to solving challenging problems in medical care. This year’s projects address challenges in the areas of urology, telerobotic surgery, oncology, and spinal cord injuries. Full Story
August 16, 2018These tags turn everyday objects into smart, connected devices
Engineers have developed printable metal tags that could be attached to plain objects, like water bottles, walls or doors, and turn them into "smart" Internet of Things devices. The tags can also be fashioned into paper-thin control panels that can be used to remotely operate WiFi-connected speakers, smart lights and other smart home appliances. The metal tags are made from patterns of copper foil printed onto paper-like materials and disturb WiFi signals when touched. Full Story
July 24, 2018UC San Diego selected to lead development of open-source tools for hardware design automation
The University of California San Diego has been awarded $11.3 million over four years from DARPA to lead a multi-institution project which aims to develop electronic design automation tools for 24-hour, no-human-in-the-loop hardware layout generation. Full Story
July 23, 2018Nanocrystals emit light by efficiently 'tunneling' electrons
Using advanced fabrication techniques, engineers at the University of California San Diego have built a nanosized device out of silver crystals that can generate light by efficiently “tunneling” electrons through a tiny barrier. The work brings plasmonics research a step closer to realizing ultra-compact light sources for high-speed, optical data processing and other on-chip applications. Full Story
June 25, 20185G and Beyond: health care and smart transportation
The 5G and Beyond Forum hosted by the Center for Wireless Communications (CWC) at the Jacobs School of Engineering focused on the new applications this enhanced communication network will enable, particularly in health care and smart transportation. Full Story
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June 15, 2018Graduating students honored with Awards for Excellence
Here are some highlights from the impressive resumes of the 2018 Jacobs School of Engineering student award winners, recognized by the IDEA Engineering Student Center and Dean Albert P. Pisano at the Ring Ceremony. Full Story
June 14, 2018A sprinkle of platinum nanoparticles onto graphene makes brain probes more sensitive
Graphene electrodes could enable higher quality imaging of brain cell activity thanks to new research by a team of engineers and neuroscientists at the University of California San Diego. The researchers developed a technique, using platinum nanoparticles, to lower the impedance of graphene electrodes by 100 times while keeping them transparent. In tests on transgenic mice, the electrodes were able to record and image neuronal activity (calcium ion spikes) at both the macroscale and single cell levels. Full Story
June 14, 2018Celebrating the successes of UC San Diego's most dynamic grads
Thousands of UC San Diego’s best and brightest will take the stage this weekend as the Class of 2018 participates in the campus’ various commencement ceremonies June 16-17. Students such as engineering physics major Matt Morris overcame obstacles and gave back while making their mark at UC San Diego. Full Story