Media Watch Archives
Battery scientist shares honest review after one year of driving Tesla Model Y — here's what she had to say
The Cool Down -
Battery scientist Jill Pestana's Tesla Model Y has somehow improved itself during the first year she has owned it, as the expert shared in a glowing review on TikTok. … Pestana is a battery engineer who obtained her Master of Science in materials science and engineering at the University of California, Irvine, according to her LinkedIn profile. Read More
After the LA Fires, Scientists Study the Toxins Left Behind
Inside Climate News -
Chris Olivares Martinez, an aquatic pollution researcher … at the University of California, Irvine who also became part of the 50-home study, hopes the [LA Fire Health Study] Consortium will serve as a model for academic institutions to build a more collaborative framework for scientific research. “These disasters are happening so quickly, and they wreak havoc in so many domains,” he said. Read More
Creating macromolecules that could help hearts heal – Herdeline Ardoña
Chemical & Engineering News – Talented Twelve -
Little children often dream of becoming astronauts or deep-sea explorers, but at age 5, Herdeline Ardoña wanted to be a chemical engineer. … As a biomaterials engineer at the University of California, Irvine, Ardoña—who goes by the nickname Digs—creates materials that might one day solve the organ donor shortage or help scientists grow tissues that could be used to screen drugs or study diseases. Read More
Millions in the U.S. may rely on PFAS-contaminated drinking water
Environmental Health News -
Predictive models like these can assist agencies in prioritizing their limited resources, especially given the high costs associated with PFAS testing, Jialin Dong, a civil and environmental engineer at the University of California, Irvine, who studies PFAS contamination, told EHN. Dong was not involved in the study, but said that national-scale findings, paired with localized results from research like her California-focused PFAS contamination model, “can help the government to identify which area or what kind of area they should focus on first.” Read More
FDA Clears Makani Science’s Respiratory Monitor
Orange County Business Journal -
Makani Science is one step closer to commercial launch. The Irvine medtech company last month received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its wireless, wearable respiratory monitor in adults. … Makani was co-founded in 2019 by Michelle Khine, a biomedical engineering professor at the University of California, Irvine, and her post-doctoral student Michael Chu, who is now chief technology officer. Read More
Researchers find drinking water is safe in Eaton, Palisades burn areas as utilities lift last ‘do not drink’ order
Los Angeles Times -
The utilities’ recommendation [is] to run all faucets in the entire house for at least five minutes to flush contaminants out of the lines before using the tap water. “I’m optimistic from these results,” said Chris Olivares, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine, who has led the tap water-testing part of the LA Fire HEALTH Study. “The major takeaway, I think, is the importance of flushing.” Read More
A Battery Breakthrough Inspired by a Can of Compressed Air
UC San Diego Today -
A UC San Diego engineering alumnus reflects on how a chance curiosity about a can of compressed air, along with support across campus, fueled an innovation in battery technology. … We also used neighboring labs at UC Irvine for their TEM [transmission electron microscope] characterization as well. [The UC Irvine Materials Research Institute is supported in part by the NSF.] So it wasn’t only at UC San Diego, but also the network within the UC system that really helped us along. Read More
California’s RaccoonBot: Solar-Powered Robot Revolutionizes Remote Monitoring
Energy Innovation Review -
In the heart of California, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, are pioneering a technological marvel that could revolutionize environmental monitoring and energy management. Led by Efrain Mendez-Flores from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the team has developed a solar-powered wire-traversing robot, aptly named RaccoonBot, designed to operate autonomously in remote areas for extended periods. Read More
San Clemente needs sand
LAist -
Brett Sanders, a professor at UC Irvine, said the study to find pockets of sand that can be used for beach replenishment is a “really great opportunity.” “ We have very limited data on the availability of sand along the coastline of southern Orange County,” Sanders said, adding that finding sand closer to San Clemente will open up savings for taxpayers. The beaches of Orange County, he added, are “enormously important for the economy of the region” as they drive tax revenue by attracting people to local hotels and restaurants. “When coastal communities look at the cost of maintaining the beaches, they look at the potential losses they might find in the future if they didn't have beaches,” Sanders said. Read More
UCI Robot Ecology Lab inspired by nature
Daily Pilot -
“The Robot Ecology Lab became the Robot Ecology Lab when we realized that these robots are in essence, living out in nature and they’re part of an ecosystem, and we started thinking about them almost like living organisms because they have to harvest energy while they’re out there, just like animals have to harvest food,” said Magnus Egerstedt, UCI dean of engineering and director of the UCI Robot Ecology Lab. “The whole kind of purpose now in the Robot Ecology Lab is teams of robots out in nature, trying to figure out what’s going on with the environment.” Read More