New Conversational AI Tool Uses Trusted Medical Protocols to Help People Decide When to Seek Care
April 23, 2026
A new chatbot could reliably help people decide what to do about their symptoms — and do so based on guidance that is both medically sound and easy to understand. Designed to improve self-triage, it could help reduce unnecessary hospital visits and ensure that those who need care seek it sooner. Full Story
Six New Projects Are Empowering Early-Career Engineering and Computer Science Faculty
April 23, 2026
Six teams from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering have been awarded funding to accelerate interdisciplinary research collaborations that include an early-career faculty member. The big idea is to empower early-career faculty to build interdisciplinary research collaborations to the point that they are competitive for multi-year external funding. The effort is funded by Irwin Jacobs and his late wife, Joan. Full Story
MRI and Augmented Reality for Better Back Pain Surgery Wins at Research Expo 2026
April 21, 2026
Mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Songyuan Lu won the grand prize at this year’s Research Expo, where more than 150 students presented their research posters across the six departments at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. Lu’s work focuses on computer-assisted surgery using MRI and augmented reality. Full Story
AI-enhanced Microscopy Produces Crisp, Real-time Video Inside Live Cells
April 20, 2026
Using artificial intelligence, engineers have developed a new way to watch the inner workings of living cells in real time. The process both captures images that are twice as sharp as conventional microscopes and is fast enough to play as smooth video. Full Story
These Engineers Are Working on a Better Asteroid Warning System
April 14, 2026
Despite all the excitement Hollywood offers with blockbuster films about saving Earth from disasters like asteroids, the truth is that saving the planet in those scenarios involves math. A lot of math. Fortunately, Jacobs School of Engineering researchers such as professors Thomas Bewley and Aaron Rosengren, and doctoral student Benjamin Hanson, are at the forefront of protecting us from this kind of potential disaster. Full Story
Using Physics, Engineers Create Fentanyl Test Strips That Are 100 Times More Sensitive
April 13, 2026
Engineers have developed fentanyl test strips that are about 100 times more sensitive than current commercial versions. They achieved this feat by creating a new physics-based model that explains, for the first time, how these test strips work and how to systematically improve them. Full Story