2 UCLA Samueli Professors Elected to the National Academy of Engineering Aydogan Ozcan, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering, and Lixia Zhang, a distinguished professor of computer science, have been elected to the 2025 NAE class, one of the highest professional honors granted to American engineers.
UCLA Engineers Discover Permanent Fluidic Magnets for Liquid Bioelectronics A team of UCLA engineers led by Jun Chen, an associate professor of bioengineering, has developed a permanent fluidic magnet that can be used in liquid bioelectronics. The advance could lead to applications such as organ monitoring during medical procedures, voice sensing and recognition, as well as ambulatory cardiac monitoring.
Post-Fire Slope Stability in the Wake of the Palisades and Eaton Fires UCLA Samueli civil and environmental engineering associate professor Idil Akin shares her research on how wildfires affect stability of slopes, soil water retention and regional water quality, as well as methods to stabilize wildfire-burnt slopes to reduce soil loss.
Paper-Based Sensors May Lead to Rapid Detection of Heart Attacks The National Science Foundation highlights a paper-based test developed by Aydogan Ozcan — a professor of electrical and computer engineering, bioengineering, and who holds the Volgenau Chair for Engineering Innovation. The test is said to be capable of measuring a biomarker of a heart attack in just 15 minutes and costs $4 per test.
New Copper-Dependent Enzyme Catalyzes Unprecedented Halogenation Reactions A UCLA research group, led by professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and bioengineering Yi Tang, has discovered a new type of metal-containing enzyme from a natural fungus that can perform surprising halogenation reactions on organic molecules.
Elaheh Ahmadi and Mitchell Spearrin Receive Presidential Early Career Award Associate professors Elaheh Ahmadi of electrical and computer engineering and Mitchell Spearrin of mechanical and aerospace engineering are among nearly 400 outstanding researchers from across the country who received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers — the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers early in their careers.
UK Orders Apple to Open Access to Encrypted Data, Report Says Professor John Villasenor, who co-directs UCLA’s Institute for Technology, Law and Policy, warns that the convenience of cloud storage may come at a potentially very significant cost in loss of control over who might get access to that data.
Even One Person's Food Choices Affect the Whole Planet | Opinion Jennifer Jay, a professor of civil and environmental engineering with an appointment in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, opines that systemic changes to food production are necessary to stem greenhouse gas emissions.
Polar Bear Fur has a Built-In Deicing Feature Pirouz Kavehpour, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who previously studied the anti-icing properties of penguin feathers, comments on the differences in how that mechanism works for the Antarctic seabirds versus the new discovery.
Waymo on Freeways Jiaqi Ma, director of UCLA’s Mobility Center of Excellence and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, explains the rationale behind Waymo’s autonomous taxi fleet expanding to freeways, and how self-driving cars might handle increased driving speeds.
