
HEADLINES – UCLA Samueli In The News 2017
December 2017
Transforming carbon from pollutant to product
| The Wall Street Journal
“What we’re trying to do is build a really large LEGO set for adults, but which you can use for construction.” – Gaurav Sant, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mummified Egyptian woman’s portrait mapped in incredible detail | Live Science
Macroscale multimodal chemical imaging “will revolutionize the way important and irreplaceable archaeological materials are analyzed.” — Ioanna Kakoulli, Materials Science and Engineering. Also in Artnet News, Phys.org, Scienmag, Technology Networks
From roboticist to Olympic torchbearer
| New York Post
HUBO (humanoid robot) received the torch from Prof. Dennis Hong, founding director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at UCLA. Also in The Verge, Daily Mail, The Korea Times
A movable water treatment system developed at UCLA fits in a shipping container
| Water Deeply
Yoram Cohen of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering says the goal is to help small communities run traditional water treatment plants themselves.
The first message to be sent via internet
| KCBS-TV’s “Innovation Nation” Los Angeles
In 1969 researchers at UCLA were working on transmitting a message a few hundred miles up the coast to the Stanford Research Institute.
V2G: Are We There Yet? | BeFutureReady
We still must fine-tune the technology – e.g., deep versus shallow discharge options – and market incentives to make V2G profitable for all.” — Rajit Gadh, director of the Smart Grid Energy Research Center
What is net neutrality? | KNBC-TV Los Angeles
“The internet was working fine prior to 2015, and so there hasn’t been a lot of evidence suggesting that these rules have actually solved a problem.” – John Villasenor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
November 2017
Invention makes hydrogen cars more affordable | Design Engineering
“Now you can make both electricity and fuel with a single device.” —Richard Kaner, Materials Science and Engineering. Also in The Economic Times, UCLA Newsroom, R&D Magazine
The mystery of four Legionnaires’ cases
| Los Angeles Times
“It’s too early to point fingers at Disneyland.”—Sanjay Mohanty, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Also in Associated Press, Washington Post
Women in science and film | Sloan Film Summit
Danijela Cabric of Electrical and Computer Engineering discusses how she demonstrated the fastest frequency hopping to date based on 1930s actress Hedy Lamarr’s invention.
Engineers use deep learning to reconstruct holograms | UCLA Newsroom
Research led by Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Aydogan Ozcan will help produce accurate images quickly to aid diagnostic medicine.
How “Lo” ushered in the internet
| BBC Mundo (Spanish)
Computer Science’s Leonard Kleinrock explains how “Lo” became the first word sent over the internet. Also on MSN (Spanish)
From roboticist to Olympic torchbearer
| The Korea Times
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Dennis Hong will carry the torch in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Also on Olympic.org
Blizzard CEO: Break large projects into bite-size pieces | UCLA Engineering
Alumnus Mike Morhaime (’90) addressed Bruin Engineers as part of the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Distinguished Speaker Series.
Engine test failure not necessarily a setback
| Los Angeles Times
“Qualification tests are generally used to test new designs, changes in operating conditions or even slight modifications to a part.” –Richard Wirz, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The app that’s modernizing house calls
| CNBC
Alumnus Nick Desai (’92), Heal co-founder and CEO, discusses the on-demand house call app for health care.
October 2017
Can a robot feel? | Newsweek
“Our latest skin prototype creates many new possibilities for machine learning-based approaches for advancing robot capabilities.”—Veronica Santos of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Also in Geekwire, Engadget, Yahoo!, and Daily Mail (UK)
Cleaning up the Santa Susana Field Lab is all about the numbers | NBC4-Los Angeles
“There was ample evidence that contaminants have migrated off-site.”—Yoram Cohen of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Four challenges to going to Mars
| Los Angeles Times
“The challenges are immense, but also inspiring.”—Richard Wirz, director of the UCLA Plasma and Space Propulsion Lab in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Book the next rocket to New York?
| Los Angeles Times
“You may end up saving some number of hours, but… there would have to be hours on either end of you embarking and disembarking on your trip.”—Richard Wirz
Can lifestyle changes reduce carbon footprint? | Fox News
“Ruminant animals have an extra impact in that their natural process produces methane…and that’s a really highly potent greenhouse gas.”—Jennifer Jay of Civil and Environmental Engineering
AI optimizes drugs to combat agriculture parasites | Phys.org
“Feedback system control is a game-changing technology for designing drug combinations.”—Chih-Ming Ho of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Also in UCLA Engineering.
Nine exceptional researchers join the UCLA Engineering faculty | UCLA Engineering
The school welcomes nine new faculty members in 2017-18. Members include world leaders in biomaterials, AI, earthquake engineering, and other critical research areas.
The synergy between robotics and medicine
| Korea Biomedical Review
“As doctors strive to save lives, I am also working to save lives through the study of robotics.”—Dennis Hong of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
‘True robot tech is no science fiction’
| The Korea Herald
“I develop technology to help people, to give them freedom, to give them independence, to give people happiness… That is what drives me and I believe it is the key to change the world.”—Dennis Hong
Deep learning reconstructs holograms
| Phys.org
“This deep learning based framework opens up a myriad of opportunities to design fundamentally new coherent imaging systems.”—Aydogan Ozcan of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tour the new Engineering VI building
| Daily Bruin (Podcast)
Constructing a space for engineers is no easy feat. After all, how does one create a space high-tech enough to impress the leading minds of the field?
New method to measure cell stiffness could lead to improved cancer treatments
| UCLA Engineering
“Measuring cells with our calibrated instrument is like measuring time with a standardized clock.” – Amy Rowat of Bioengineering
How green are electric vehicles? | American Recycler
“Recycling the metals within EV batteries such as nickel or lithium would be the next step in making the automobile transportation sector even cleaner.”—Rajit Gadh of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
September 2017
UCLA scientists create an air conditioner that fits in your pocket | Los Angeles Times
Materials science and engineering professor Qibing Pei, who led the work, says he was motivated by the prospect of delivering personalized comfort with little energy. Original research published in Science. Also in IEEE Spectrum, Axios, Digital Trends, New Electronics, and German public radio.
UCLA Engineering and Medicine improve health in underserved communities | UCLA Engineering
UCLA is developing technologies to help people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, two of the leading causes of death in low-income communities.
UCLA ties for No. 1 public university in U.S. News and World Report ‘Best Colleges’ ranking | UCLA Newsroom
For the second time in as many weeks, UCLA tops the list of U.S. public universities in a prestigious ranking. In the 2018 U.S. News and World Report “Best Colleges” rankings, published today, UCLA shares the No. 1 spot with UC Berkeley.
Everything you need to know about going vegetarian — explained | NBC News
“Most people are trying to lower their carbon footprint, and a really easy way to do that is to opt for a vegetarian diet” – Jenny Jay, UCLA professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Augmented Reality: Making it secure, fast, efficient and resilient | UCLA Engineering
UCLA Engineering and New Mexico State University have received $2 million in funding from the NSF and Intel to integrate augmented reality into new wireless networks.
Enzyme coordinates pericyclic reaction trifecta | Chemical & Engineering News
“This really opens up the idea that nature is able to affect reactions of much broader generality than we ever knew before,” says UCLA’s Kendall N. Houk. Original research, co-led by Yi Tang, was published in Nature.
UCLA’s holographic microscope enables scientists to study spinning head of sperm in 3D | International Business Times UK
The microscope is not only useful for observing sperm, but could also shed some new light on micro robotics. – Aydogan Ozcan, UCLA’s Chancellor’s Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering. Also in Engadget and Phys.Org.
Microalgae separation takes shape
| UCLA Engineering
A team led by Dino Di Carlo, professor in bioengineering, and the University of Tokyo has demonstrated a new capability to sort microalgae cells by their shape, creating new possibilities for industrial and clinical applications. Original research was published in Nature Scientific Reports.
August 2017
The story of the internet | BBC Radio 4
“What drove the internet was the magnificent funding profiling culture of the Advanced Research Projects Agency. This group was formed as a result of Sputnik in 1957,” said UCLA’s distinguished professor of computer science Leonard Kleinrock. (Approx. 3:10 mark)
Earn $100,000 fresh out of school? Choose this type of bachelor’s degree | NBC News
“Companies are desperate to find engineering folks and are beating down our doors as professors to get face time with the students.” – Jonathan Stewart, professor and chair of UCLA Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
New undergrad degree in computer engineering offered in fall | Daily Bruin
In parallel with the new major, the Electrical Engineering Department will be renamed the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
UCLA launches program to train students on sustainable food, energy and water management| UCLA Engineering
Led by Laurent Pilon, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, the UCLA initiative will provide training in research, education and communication.
A new material could aid the body’s cellular repair process| UCLA Engineering
“The injectable gel scaffold is sort of like a garden trellis that plants use to grow on,” said Tatiana Segura, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, bioengineering and dermatology.
3-D images of tissue samples without conventional lenses | Phys.Org
Hologram technology could lead to improved diagnoses of chronic diseases in remote areas. Research is being led by Aydogan Ozcan, professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering.
UCLA ranked No. 2 public university in U.S., No. 12 overall in the world | UCLA Newsroom
UCLA has been named the No. 2 public university in the United States and the 12th best in the world — public or private — in the Academic Ranking of World Universities compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
July 2017
UCLA-led research offers clear evidence for Majorana particle | The Independent
Finding, published in Science, could provide the vehicle for carrying ‘qubits’ of data in quantum computing. Also in Science News, UCLA Newsroom.
UCLA grabs the top spot among 225 universities in business creation
| Los Angeles Times
UCLA beat Stanford, MIT and Caltech for generating the most startups. Article features Water Planet, founded by Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Eric Hoek.
Where’s the beef? Reducing our carbon footprint through vegan meat
| KCRW-FM Los Angeles
Amy Rowat from Bioengineering and Jenny Jay from Civil and Environmental Engineering explain vegan meat and beef’s impact on the environment.
A new generation of giant rockets is about to blast off
| Los Angeles Times
Ann Karagozian from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering comments on new rocket fuels. Is methane a possibility?
How fragile is our energy infrastructure?
| Los Angeles Times
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Rajit Gadh provides expert opinion.
Californians take a shine to solar power
| Agence France-Presse
Rajit Gadh, director of the UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center, stays optimistic about solar power.
Burden of proof: Sexual assault on campus
| The Washington Post
Op-ed from Electrical Engineering and Public Policy’s John Villasenor. Probability models shows that low standards of proof risk false convictions.
No, the laws of Australia don’t override the laws of mathematics
| Brookings Institution
“Policy solutions need to be developed with a clear understanding of the realities that relate to encryption.”—John Villasenor, Electrical Engineering and Public Policy
Smartphones reach striking levels of sophistication | BioPhotonics Magazine
Smartphone-based fluorescence microscopy is proving useful for diagnostic use according to Electrical Engineering’s Aydogan Ozcan.
Watch: Gaurav Sant testifies on carbon dioxide emission solutions
| U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Gaurav Sant testified on carbon upcycling which converts carbon dioxide into a novel building material, CO2NCRETE. Written testimony can be found here, and the full committee hearing may be viewed here.
June 2017
UCLA Formula SAE can fast-track engineering careers | Los Angeles Times
Aerospace giants are finding talent in an unlikely place. On the race track.
Watch: Congratulations to UCLA Engineering’s 2017 graduates! | UCLA Engineering
“Visualize success concretely and watch life surprise you.”— Commencement speaker Adam Cheyer, co-founder of Siri
CS student receives prestigious defense fellowship | UCLA Engineering
Graduating senior Iris Cong has received one of the country’s top honors for students pursuing graduate study.
How much space do solar farms need?
| The Orange County Register
Rajit Gadh, director of the UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center, provides expert opinion.
Watch: North Korea’s ICBM and U.S. interceptor capabilities | KTTV-TV Los Angeles
Aerospace Engineering’s Richie Wirz explains missile technology.
Are you sick? Just look at your wrist.
| San Francisco Chronicle
Electrical Engineering’s Sam Emaminejad is involved in wearable tech that uses sweat to diagnose disease.
Striking a balance between soccer and school | Sportsnet Canada
Materials engineering major and Canadian Women’s National Team midfielder Jessie Fleming on being a UCLA student-athlete.
Watch: Google welcomes one of UCLA’s youngest engineering grads
| KCBS-TV Los Angeles
Chess champ Luke Vellotti graduated with a double major in computer science and math and is now headed to Silicon Valley (also in UCLA Newsroom).
Inaugural reunion welcomes back Bruin engineers | UCLA Engineering
More than 175 alumni and guests reconnected with faculty and friends. Photo gallery.
UCLA is using machine-learning to analyze massive sets of genomic data
| UCLA Engineering
Computer Science’s Sriram Sankararaman and Ameet Talwalkar win National Science Foundation grant.
Watch: Using robotics for human augmentation | EBS TV (S. Korea)
Mechanical Engineering’s Dennis Hong discusses recent developments in robotics (In Korean; 18:55).
How this UCLA grad plans to become the president of Bolivia | EBS TV (S. Korea)
Computer science major Alejandro Rioja, co-founder of Flux Charger, on serial entrepreneurship and his future plans.
May 2017
The making of a medical microchip
| Nature
Professor Dino Di Carlo is featured in an article on breakthroughs in microfluidic devices to diagnose disease.
UCLA team in Carbon XPRIZE competition receives $1.5 million donation
UCLA has received a $1.5 million gift from the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation to support a team competing for the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE.
AP explains: What is ransomware
| Associated Press
Following a global cyberattack earlier this month, professors John Villasenor and Peter Reiher explained how cyberattacks work and how to prevent them.
More than a feeling, robots developing sense of touch | Voice of America News
Professor Veronica Santos described her research group’s work on developing tactile sensors and new capabilities for robots that rely on the sense of touch.
Taking on tuberculosis | ASME
Distinguished research professor Chih-Ming Ho is leading research to fight tuberculosis by identifying optimal drug combinations.
Pocket laboratories | Nature
UCLA Engineering’s Aydogan Ozcan is highlighted for turning mobile phones into portable yet powerful laboratories. His research was carried by Phys.org here and here.
We finally figured out how to make realistic CG mud | Gizmodo
Researchers, including recent UCLA computer science Ph.D. alumnus Chenfanfu Jiang, make a breakthrough on realistic computer-generated mud.
Smooth sailing | Physics World
Professor CJ Kim authored an article on the promise of superhydrophobic surfaces to reduce friction on ships.
UCLA Engineering names director for Women in Engineering program
Audrey Pool O’Neal, a lecturer in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and former senior manager with General Motors, has been named director of the school’s new Women in Engineering program.
Alumnus Adam Cheyer, UCLA Optimist on “Life In the Future”
Adam Cheyer MS ’93, co-founder of Siri, Viv Labs and Change.org, is featured in the latest UCLA Optimists discussion, titled “Life in The Future.” .
April 2017
A Wrist Sensor That Works up a Sweat
| NBCNews.com
UCLA’s Sam Emaminejad is leading research on sweat-based sensors for health care. The research was also highlighted by Yahoo and MSN.
SpaceX hopes to launch a recycled rocket
| Los Angeles Times
Professor Richard Wirz was quoted on the significance of SpaceX launching a recycled rocket into space. He was also interviewed by LinkedIn and Al Jazeera.
UCLA among the nation’s best for commercializing campus research
UCLA is No. 1 in the nation when it comes to the number of startup companies launched as a result of campus research.
Ozcan named Guggenheim Fellow
Aydogan Ozcan was awarded a 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship for computational imaging and sensing of viruses.
New technique to control laser polarization
A research team led by UCLA electrical engineers has developed a new technique to control the polarization state of a laser.
Researchers develop tiny, stable and super accurate clock component
New optical micro-oscillator breakthrough could lead to next-generation timing, navigation and sensing applications.
Four UCLA Engineering students receive NSF Graduate Fellowships
Four students – two graduate students, two undergraduates – have received the National Science Foundation’s prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship.
Computer science Ph.D. student receives 2017 Google Fellowship
Graduate student Muhammad Gulzar received a Google Ph.D. Fellowship, in recognition of his big data debugging research.
March 2017
$20M gift from the Samueli Foundation to support undergraduates
The Samueli Foundation has made a $20-million gift that will support expanding the diversity of undergraduate engineering and computer science students.
California will be short of water forever
| Los Angeles Times
A UCLA civil and environmental engineering doctoral student co-authored an op-ed on California’s water future.
Portable Smartphone-Powered DNA Detector Developed at UCLA
| Medgadget
This development may herald cheap point-of-care genetic diagnostics for cancer and infectious diseases.
Also carried in BioOptics World.
Federal privacy laws won’t necessarily protect you from spying drones | Recode
John Villasenor, a UCLA professor of engineering and public policy, testified at a Senate hearing on drones, suggesting existing privacy laws adequate.
Seidlits receives NSF CAREER Award for therapeutic biomaterials research
Stephanie Seidlits, an assistant professor of bioengineering, has received the agency’s highest honor for faculty members at the start of their careers.
His mission impossible takes him from core of the Sun to center of the Earth
Professor Jaime Marian creates computer models of extreme conditions that cannot be replicated in a lab.
Retired Aerospace Corporation President and CEO on STEM education
Dr. Wanda Austin, an internationally honored aerospace industry leader, spoke to several hundred UCLA students earlier this month.
Bruins build zero-emission, self-sustainable home for Solar Decathlon | Daily Bruin
A UCLA club is working to build a 975-square-foot home that will supply its own food, water and energy.
New engineering club takes strides toward furthering space technology | Daily Bruin
Bruin Space is one of the newest student groups to reach for the stars – literally.
February 2017
UCLA pioneers elected to National Academy of Engineering
Three faculty recognized for their significant contributions in field programmable gate arrays, network algorithmics, and broadband communications.
Creating safer batteries for the future | KNBC
Bruce Dunn, professor of materials science and engineering and one the country’s top experts on battery technology, was recently interviewed in a KNBC story.
Novel antenna array boosts THz detection
| New Electronics
In New Electronics, an antenna array developed by UCLA engineers expands the operation bandwidth and level of sensitivity terahertz-based technologies.
Computer science professor named 2017 Sloan Research Fellow
Sriram Sankaraman’s areas of research include computational biology, statistical genomics and statistical machine learning.
Severe West Coast erosion during 2015-16 El Niño
Timu Gallien, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, was part of USGS-led team documenting damage from the recent powerful El Niño.
And the Academy Award goes to…
Two UCLA alumni have each received a 2017 SciTech award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for innovations in filmmaking.
Celebrating National Engineers Week 2017: UCLA Engineering Awards
UCLA Engineering celebrated the achievements of students, faculty and alumni, including Alumna of the Year Joanne Maguire.
January 2017
For the third straight year, UCLA Engineering’s Online Master’s program ranked #1
The program received high marks in all criteria, including top scores for student services and technology, admissions selectivity.
New Design Could Offer Phones Unlimited Bandwidth | Popular Mechanics
The UCLA team’s design could offer what has been the dream for years: unlimited bandwidth, no matter the situation.
Aerospace firms step up their competition with Silicon Valley for young engineers | Los Angeles Times
Dean Murthy urges defense companies to engage with UCLA students on campus to prevail in this highly competitive environment.
Machine lets your smartphone analyze DNA | Popular Science
The phone-turned-microscope designed by a UCLA Engineering-led team brings DNA sequencing capabilities to remote locations. Also in PC Mag and Quartz.
Nanoparticles improve melting and solidification for manufacturing processes
New research heralds revolutionary improvements in fields as diverse as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and energy storage.
Defense grant for robotic ordnance disposal
Professor Veronica Santos received a major Office of Naval Research grant for her work in robotic search and retrieval of buried objects. Watch an NSF video on her work here.
Two new endowed chairs established by gifts from alumni
The new chairs will support the addition of world-class faculty to help meet UCLA Engineering’s aggressive expansion plans.
News
UCLA Engineers Discover Permanent Fluidic Magnets for Liquid Bioelectronics
Fluid magnets open the door to a variety of new technologies, including bioelectronics that can change the way we look at health and medicine
Elaheh Ahmadi and Mitchell Spearrin Receive Presidential Early Career Award
Two faculty members from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering — Elaheh Ahmadi and Mitchell Spearrin — are among nearly 400 outstanding
Perspective: Post-fire Slope Stability in the Wake of the Palisades and Eaton Fires
Slopes burned by wildfires are susceptible to erosion, landslides, and debris flows. Fires affect physical, chemical, and biological
UCLA’s Online Engineering Master’s Program Ranked No. 1 for Three Years in a Row
For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering’s online master’s degree program No. 1 in the country
First-Gen UCLA Engineering Student Bridges Communities from LA to the Central Valley
McFarland, a small farming town in California’s Central Valley, is known for its hardworking families and tightly knit community. For Jasmine Herrera, a third-year electrical engineering
L.A. Fires: UCLA Campus Updates and Resources
The fires in Los Angeles County have posed immense challenges for the Bruin community, and we are here to support you in any way we can.