Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021 - 60

FACILITY FOCUS
University of California, Berkeley
he University of California, Berkeley was founded in 1868.
A public university, Berkeley's academic research reflects
pressing global challenges in the areas of health, energy, and
the environment.
In 1931, the College of Engineering was established but even
prior to that, a number of technology milestones were
achieved.
* 1887: Earth sciences professors set up the Western
Hemisphere's first string of seismographic stations to systematically
record seismic activity and publish earthquake
records.
* 1907: Chemistry professor Frederick G. Cottrell developed
an electrical precipitation device to clean smokestack emissions.
It is still in use today.
* 1924: Chemist Joel H. Hildebrand formulates a mixture of
helium and oxygen for deep-sea diving, enabling divers to
explore deeper into the sea than ever before without experiencing
" the bends. "
* 1952: Physicist Hugh Bradner invents the first wetsuit that
transforms commercial, military, and recreational deep-sea
diving and understanding of oceans.
* 1961: Charles Dalziel, electrical engineering and computer
sciences professor, invents a ground-fault interrupter, a
device now found in virtually every home and building to
protect people from electrical shocks caused by defects in
appliances or grounding systems.
* 1972: A team develops the Simulation Program with In -
tegrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) - a tool that, along with
its derivatives, has been used in the design of almost every
integrated circuit since its invention.
* 2011: Neuroscientists led by Jack Gallant are the first to use
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to reconstruct from
brain waves what a person is seeing, opening the door to possibly
watching other people's dreams or visual memories.
A new device combines wearable biosensors with artificial intelligence
software to help recognize what hand gesture a person intends to make
based on electrical signal patterns in the forearm. The device paves the
way for better prosthetic control and seamless interaction with electronic
devices. (Image courtesy of the Rabaey Lab)
Engineering Departments
Berkeley Engineering encompasses eight focus areas:
Bioengineering
The handheld CRISPR-SNP-Chip device, based on CRISPR gene editing technology,
could lead to faster, portable genetic testing for diagnostics and
research. (Photo courtesy of Cardea Bio).
60
Cov
Bioengineering applies engineering principles of design and
analysis to biological systems and biomedical technologies.
Bioinstrumentation - This focus is the measurement and
manipulation of parameters within biological systems; for
example, instrumentation for imaging, disease diagnosis, and
therapeutics.
Biomaterials - This includes living tissue and artificial materials
used for the repair, replacement, and stimulation of biological
systems.
Cell & Tissue Engineering - Cell and tissue engineering centers
on the application of physical and engineering principles
to understand and control cell and tissue behavior. Two areas
in which the department has established leadership are cellular
mechanobiology - which focuses on understanding the
interaction and conversion between force-based and biochemical
information in living systems - and stem cell engineering,
which includes platforms to expand, implant, and mobilize
stem cells for tissue repair and replacement.
Computational Biology - This area focuses on the application
of computational techniques to problems in molecular
biology, genomics, and biophysics. Using tools adapted
from computer science, mathematics, statistics, physics,
chemistry, and other quantitative disciplines, computational
biologists address a wide variety of problems ranging from
analysis of protein structure and function, to management
of clinical data.
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