Alumni News
UC San Diego Celebrates New Three National Academy of Engineering Members
February 28, 2025
Three members of our Jacobs School community have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Congratulations to Robert W. Heath Jr., Richard Sandstrom and Doug Cameron. Full Story
New Tool Enables Phylogenomic Analyses of Entire Genomes
January 23, 2025
Researchers led by electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a better way to perform the comparative analysis of entire genomes. This approach can be used to study relationships between different species across geological time scales. Full Story
Joan and Irwin Jacobs Honored with UC Presidential Medals
December 12, 2024
The UC Presidential Medal, the University of California’s highest honor, will be presented to San Diego-based philanthropist and business leader Irwin Jacobs, and in honor of his late wife and community leader, Joan, in recognition of their positive impact in education, health care, technology, the arts and more. UC President Dr. Michael V. Drake will present the medals at the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Medal Awards in March 2025. Full Story
Expanding early access to engineering courses
October 3, 2024
Students at a Chula Vista high school now have the opportunity to take an award-winning, hands-on UC San Diego electrical engineering course right at their own school, during their school day. It's part of our effort to expand earlier access to engineering concepts and skills. Full Story
A breakthrough in inexpensive, clean, fast-charging batteries
July 3, 2024
Grayson Deysher, a recent PhD graduate from the UC San Diego Materials Science and Engineering program and advised by Professor Shirley Meng, is the first author on a new paper in Nature Energy that describes creation of the world’s first anode-free sodium solid-state battery. Full Story
Alumna-led Giving Day challenge encourages support for Jacobs School of Engineering students
May 13, 2024
Sally Schoberg earned a degree in Applied Physics and Information Science (APIS) – what today would be electrical and computer engineering – from UC San Diego in 1972. More than five decades later, she continues to recognize the value of her degree, and is motivated to ensure the next generation of engineering students has the same opportunities she was afforded. Full Story
ServiceNow Developer David Loo Returns to His Roots to Accept CSE’s Distinguished Alumni Award
April 3, 2024
From his childhood home near the South China Sea to the singing eucalyptus trees overlooking La Jolla’s scenic shoreline, University of California San Diego alumnus David Loo (BS ’91) has zigzagged continents to earn a world-class education and launch global companies, including ServiceNow. Loo recently returned to the university’s Computer Science and Engineering Department (CSE) to accept its 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. Full Story
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Engineering Alumna Becomes Newest NASA Astronaut
March 19, 2024
Deniz Burnham, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, became one of NASA’s newest astronauts on March 5. Full Story
Bringing a Bird's-Eye View to You
February 20, 2024
From the campus that brought you GoPro (Nick Woodman ‘97) comes the latest in drone videography: Epic Drone Tours. The company, founded by two UC San Diego student-athlete alumni, uses GoPro cameras mounted to small, customized drones to capture immersive, first-person view tours of indoor spaces, from luxury hotels to commercial real estate buildings. Full Story
Behind the Scenes with National Geographic Explorer Albert Lin
December 21, 2023
Mika Elizabeth Ono of UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute (QI) caught up with National Geographic Explorer Albert Lin, a QI associate research scientist and Jacobs School Ph.D. alumnus. on the occasion of his new show, “Lost Cities Revealed.” Episodes of the six-part series are premiering on National Geographic, Hulu and Disney+ channels this fall before airing worldwide. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) Full Story
New Insights on Pelvic Floor Damage after Vaginal Birth, and New Directions for Treatment
August 2, 2023
UC San Diego bioengineers are leading a team reporting new insights in Science Translational Medicine on pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunction and new directions for treatment and prevention. Full Story
UC San Diego Startup Wins $2.4 Million Defense Department Contract to Improve Battery Performance
May 23, 2023
Ateios Systems, a battery materials innovation company started by two UC San Diego alumni, announced recently that it has been awarded $2.4 million by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to help improve battery material performance and production. This effort will support a variety of critical military applications. Full Story
Commercial-scale Biomanufactured Melatonin is Here
April 11, 2023
For the first time, large amounts of melatonin are being made by bacteria. Engineered E. coli are feeding on glucose and churning out melatonin, the hormone that controls circadian rhythms. This mode of manufacturing is growing thanks in part to bioengineering advances made at UC San Diego. Full Story
Team of UC San Diego Entrepreneurs Pushes Biomedicine Forward with Virtual Reality
March 27, 2023
If you were looking for a poster child for the strength of UC San Diego’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the company Nanome would be a strong contender. Founded by Steven McCloskey ’15, Keita Funakawa ’16, Edgardo Leija ’14 and Samuel Hessenauer ’16 in 2016, Nanome offers software that brings molecular interactions to vivid, three-dimensional life in virtual, augmented and mixed reality. The interface has proven successful in accelerating drug discovery and has attracted clients that include over half of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical firms. Nanome’s educational software has been downloaded by more than 250 universities. Full Story
Alumni-led startup makes 3D printers for rugged environments
January 25, 2023
For Eric Shnell, his innovation journey began right here at UC San Diego in 2018 when he founded his startup Craitor, which develops highly capable, resilient and intuitive 3D printers for those who work far outside the sterile controls of a lab or shop. Full Story
Alumni startup aims to make 3D-printed prostheses accessible and affordable.
November 4, 2022
By using a combination of personalized scans as well as digital designs and 3D printing on a large scale, the LIMBER team believes it could reduce the cost of a prosthesis by anywhere from 50% to 90%, delivering prosthetics much faster to those who need them. Full Story
Franklin Antonio Hall opens its doors
September 29, 2022
The UC San Diego campus community turned out in big numbers last Friday to celebrate the opening of the sleek and soaring Franklin Antonio Hall. The 186,000 square foot building is not only innovative in its architecture, it’s also ground-breaking in how research teams are organized within the building. Full Story
Setting the stage for solid-state battery success
August 2, 2022
Battery researchers and other engineers from University of California San Diego, with collaboration from the LG Energy Solution, have published a forward-looking perspective article in the journal Joule. In the article, the researchers outline three categories of engineering challenges that must be solved in order to transition all-solid-state batteries from the laboratory toward large-scale industrial manufacturing. These three challenges are that of precursors, processing and pressure. Full Story
Alumni Q&A: David Loo, serial entrepreneur on his journey and inviting luck into your professional life
May 24, 2022
David Loo graduated from UC San Diego in 1991 with a degree in computer engineering. During his 35-year career, he worked his way up from software engineer to founding developer of ServiceNow and CEO of Perspectium, the company he cofounded after leaving ServiceNow. In this Q&A, Loo talks about his journey and gives some advice about how to invite luck into your professional life. Full Story
Student startup LIMBER makes 3D-printed prostheses affordable and accessible
May 19, 2022
Using this combination of personalized scans as well as digital designs and 3D-printing on a large scale could reduce the cost of a prosthesis by anywhere from 50% to 90% and deliver prosthetics much faster to those who need them. Ph student Joshua Pelz, postdoctoral researcher Luca De Vivo and prosthetics expert Herb Barrack have formed a startup, LIMBER Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc., to commercialize the technology. Full Story
Arrhythmia mapping technology demonstrates positive clinical results
May 4, 2022
Bioengineers and cardiologists from UC San Diego invented a technology that can accurately and noninvasively map atrial and ventricular heart arrhythmias in a matter of minutes. The technology demonstrated 97.3 percent accuracy in a clinical validation study, and recently received FDA clearance. Full Story
Bioengineering alumnus on COVID-19 antiviral pill development team
February 24, 2022
Jacobs School of Engineering alumnus Britton Boras shares how his graduate degree prepared him for a career at Pfizer, where he was on the team that developed a COVID-19 antiviral pill. Full Story
Let There be Light
January 27, 2022
After arriving in the United States from Myanmar at age 13, UC San Diego alumnus Lin Thu Hein is now using his degree in electrical engineering to bring solar-powered lighting to people off the grid and displaced by the recent unrest in his home state of Kachin in Myanmar. He received an Echoing Green Fellowship for this work. Full Story
UC San Diego faculty member" />News Obituary: Remembering Paul A. Libby, founding
UC San Diego faculty member
January 24, 2022
Paul A. Libby, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the University of California San Diego, passed away on Nov. 2, 2021, at the age of 100 in La Jolla, Calif. An international expert in turbulence and combustion, Libby was recruited in 1964 by Professor Stanford “Sol” Penner as one of 10 founding faculty members of the Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Science (AMES) at the newly formed campus in La Jolla. Full Story
Once again, NASA chooses a UC San Diego graduate for astronaut training
December 6, 2021
NASA on Monday chose a UC San Diego chemical engineering graduate to train to become an astronaut, a decision that comes as the space agency is preparing to send humans back to the moon, possibly as early as 2025. Full Story
Bioengineering alumnus' sustainable chemical company raises $118M
August 5, 2021
UC San Diego bioengineering alumnus Christophe Schilling is the cofounder and CEO of Genomatica, which just raised $118M in funding led by Novo Holdings. Genomatica makes sustainable, renewably-sourced chemicals and materials. Full Story
Alumna Chuah delivers 2021 CFK Memorial Lecture to Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
August 5, 2021
After earning her PhD in electrical engineering from the Jacobs School, Mooi Choo Chuah spent years conducting research in industry before becoming a computer science professor at Lehigh University. Chuah, who holds 63 patents, shared her industry to academia journey as she delivered the 31st Annual Professor Chin Fung Kee Memorial Lecture. Full Story
Titomic acquires alumni-led Tri-D Dynamics
August 5, 2021
Congrats to UC San Diego engineering alumni Deepak Atyam (aerospace), Alexander Finch and Jesse Lang (both structural), whose company Tri-D Dynamics was acquired by Titomic Limited. Tri-D develops smart, IoT connected pipe infrastructure. Full Story
Ishwar K. Puri named USC vice president for research
July 7, 2021
Ishwar K. Puri, an internationally known scientist and engineer whose research has explored fire safety, nanotechnology and 3D cell printing, has been named USC’s new vice president for research. Puri earned a PhD in engineering Science from the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Full Story
Women in Engineering --Anna Pridmore, P.E., Ph.D.
June 23, 2021
Anna Pridmore graduated from UC San Diego in 2009, with a Ph.D. in structural engineering, with a focus in advanced composites, design, material science and structural analysis. Today, she is vice president-pipeline and water infrastructure solutions at Structural Technologies. Full Story
UC San Diego Engineering Ranks #9 in U.S. News and World Report Best Engineering Schools Rankings
March 30, 2021
For the second year in a row, the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering has ranked #9 in the nation in the influential U.S. News & World Report Rankings of Best Engineering Schools. Full Story
With gene therapy, scientists develop opioid-free solution for chronic pain
March 10, 2021
A gene therapy for chronic pain could offer a safer, non-addictive alternative to opioids. By temporarily repressing a gene involved in sensing pain, the treatment increased pain tolerance in mice, lowered their sensitivity to pain and provided months of pain relief without causing numbness. Full Story
The Spectacular Synthesis of Spider Silk
January 26, 2021
For David Breslauer, a UC San Diego bioengineering alumnus and co-founder and chief scientific officer at Bolt Threads, a bioengineering company in Emeryville, Calif., the potential of the spider and the mushroom represent not just another way to make apparel, but a way to bring greater sustainability to the clothing industry. Full Story
Triton 5: Ji-San Lee '11
January 26, 2021
Structural engineering alumnus Ji-San Lee is the senior designer for CLAE Footwear, working to make their shoes more sustainable through recycled materials. Full Story
UC San Diego Alumnus at Helm of Company Behind First At-Home COVID Test
January 21, 2021
In November 2020, Lucira Health received emergency use authorization for the first rapid at-home COVID-19 test from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Erik Engelson, a UC San Diego bioengineering and microbiology alumnus, is president and CEO of Lucira Health. He spoke about the process of getting the COVID-19 test kit through FDA emergency use authorization, his time at UC San Diego, and advice for students, in this Q&A. Full Story
Alumna spotlight: Bridget Benson, electrical engineering professor at Cal Poly
January 8, 2021
Jacobs School computer science and engineering and Center for Machine Integrated Computing and Security alumna Bridget Benson shares her journey to becoming an associate professor of electrical engineering at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Full Story
Moving forward, looking back
December 23, 2020
As we look back at 2020 and move forward in 2021, there are two high-level moves we are also making. These moves are designed to ensure the Jacobs School emerges more ready than ever to confront the challenges, injustices, and societal and innovation needs laid bare by the pandemic. Full Story
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Jacobs School alumni kickstart Dean's Scholars of Excellence program
December 15, 2020
Education is the great equalizer. Jacobs School of Engineering alumni Mary Bui-Pham and Dan Pham have seen this play out in their own lives, and have donated the funds to endow a scholarship supporting students with outstanding academic merit, including students who have made or show potential to contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion; first generation; and low-income engineering students. Their gift launched the larger Jacobs School of Engineering Dean’s Scholars of Excellence program, a school-wide scholarship program meant to advance equal access to a Jacobs School education. Full Story
Bioengineering alumnus named to Forbes 30 Under 30
December 15, 2020
UC San Diego bioengineering and biology alumnus Joshua Yang was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Healthcare. Yang, an MD-PhD student at Johns Hopkins, cofounded kidney diagnostics startup Nephrosant, and is active in healthcare venture capital due diligance. Full Story
Passing of Shao-chi Lin, Professor Emeritus of Engineering at UC San Diego
December 11, 2020
Shao-chi Lin, Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of California San Diego, died on October 8, 2020 at the age of 95. He is remembered by former students and colleagues as a talented and caring teacher, mentor and researcher; and an active member of the campus community. Full Story
ECE department launches virtual alumni mentorship program
November 19, 2020
In an effort to keep students and alumni engaged and connected to campus resources during months of remote school and work, the Jacobs School’s Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department’s Alumni Advisory Board launched an ECE Alumni Mentorship Program (AMP) in October. Full Story
Alumni-led Lucira Health earns 1st FDA authorization for at-home COVID test
November 18, 2020
On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization to the first rapid at-home COVID-19 test, developed by Lucira Health. Erik Engelson, a UC San Diego bioengineering and microbiology alumnus, is president and CEO of Lucira Health Full Story
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Alumni bring advanced 3D printing to space
November 16, 2020
UC San Diego alumni here on Earth and in space were part of the team that brought a Turbine Ceramic Manufacturing Module to the International Space Station. Full Story
Alumni battery startup raises $1.25M
November 6, 2020
Flexible battery startup Ateios, founded by Jacobs School of Engineering alumni, has raised $1.25 million in seed funding to bring its paper-thin, customizable batteries to market. Full Story
Company founded by engineering alumni advances 1-hour COVID test
April 7, 2020
Medical diagnostic company Fluxergy, founded by UC San Diego engineering alumni, submitted an Emergency Use Authorization to the FDA for their quick, point-of-care COVID-19 test. Full Story
Passion drives True Tritons to service
January 30, 2020
From creating scholarships and providing leadership, to student mentoring and preserving the arts, four shining examples of Triton passion and commitment will be honored Feb. 7 at UC San Diego’s True Triton Celebration to be held in the Great Hall on campus. Full Story
UC San Diego startup selected as finalist in UC Pitch contest
January 30, 2020
A startup founded by a UC San Diego electrical and computer engineering graduate student is one of five finalists in the 2020 UC Pitch Startup Showcase held Jan. 29 and 30 in tandem with the Global Corporate Venturing and Innovation Summit in Monterey, Calif. Full Story
Ozgur Sinanoglu (PhD '05), Cybersecurity Trailblazer
January 28, 2020
In Ozgur Sinanoglu’s Design for Excellence lab at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus, a major development in cybersecurity has emerged. The Electrical and Computer Engineering professor and his team of eight researchers have made news over the last couple of years with their strides to create a chip that can stand up to a variety of threats and attempts to violate its security. A first-of-its kind chip that would be unhackable. Sinanoglu is an alumnus of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego. Full Story
The Epic Lives of Albert Lin
January 9, 2020
UC San Diego engineering alumnus Albert Yu-Min Lin can be described in many ways: explorer, engineer, scientist, artist, surfer, humanist, traveler, philosopher, father. It’s a challenge to capture Lin, whether in a few words or just for a quick phone call. He seems to have an endless supply of momentum—an energy, curiosity and optimism as big as the world he is continually exploring. Full Story
Bianca Zadrozny (PhD '03): Developing Novel Approaches to Natural Resources Discovery and Exploration
January 8, 2020
Since earning her PhD in computer science in 2003, Bianca Zadrozny has pursued her computer science career, in both industry and academia, in two countries. Her path has led her to IBM Research in Brazil, where she oversees natural resources analytics research. Her group’s mission is to conduct research projects in data-driven and physically driven analytics, aiming to develop novel technologies that can help in smarter natural resources discovery and exploration. Full Story