Combining nanomaterials in 3D to build next-generation imaging devices
April 12, 2021
UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Oscar Vazquez-Mena is taking nanomaterials to the next dimension. By integrating different nanoscale materials together in 3D, he is creating a new generation of devices for environmental monitoring, energy harvesting and biomedical applications. Vazquez-Mena recently received a CAREER Award through the NSF to develop devices that can "see" wavelengths of light that are invisible to the human eye, such as IR and UV light. He also received a DARPA Director's Fellowship to develop a material that can let ultrasound through the skull and do non-invasive imaging and stimulation of the human brain. Full Story
Understudied Mutations Have Big Impact on Gene Expression
April 9, 2021
An international team of researchers led by computer scientists at the University of California San Diego have identified 163 variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) that actively regulate gene expression. In a paper published in Nature Communications this week, the researchers provide new insights into this understudied mechanism, how it may drive disease and other traits and could ultimately impact patient care. Full Story
Diversifying the ranks of engineering faculty
April 5, 2021
UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering partners with University of Michigan on program to address the lack of diversity in academia. 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
New ways of looking inside living cells
March 29, 2021
From developing new imaging platforms, to asking new biological questions, and developing new disease diagnostics, UC San Diego bioengineering professor Lingyan Shi is pushing the boundaries of what's possible when we look inside living cells. Full Story
Robot, heal thyself
March 26, 2021
Living tissue can heal itself from many injuries, but giving similar abilities to artificial systems, such as robots, has been extremely challenging. Now, researchers at the University of California San Diego reporting in Nano Letters have developed small, swimming robots that can magnetically heal themselves on-the-fly after breaking into two or three pieces. The strategy could someday be used to make hardier devices for environmental or industrial clean up, the researchers say. Full Story