January 2024: The UCI Engineering+ Equation

January 2024

Alumnus Starts Groundbreaking Carbon Capture Company

Matt Lee ’12, Ph.D., has invented a game-changing carbon capture solvent that catches one thousand more times carbon than a forest - and it does it for less than $100 a ton, a goal set by the U.S. Department of Energy. Lee’s new solvent is modeled after alveoli, or air sacs in the lungs, and is shaped like round balls.

Teaching Excellence Celebrated

The exceptional undergraduate teaching of Quoc-Viet Dang and Mo Li was acknowledged by the UCI Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation at UCI Teach Day and the 31st Annual Celebration of Teaching on Sept. 21, 2023.

2 Engineers Named Fellows by National Academy of Inventors

Guann-Pyng (G.P.) Li, a pioneer in the development of microelectronics for advanced health and sustainable energy applications, and David Reinkensmeyer, who combines robotics and neuroscience to create devices to help people with movement rehabilitation after neurological injury, are among 162 academic inventors made fellows by the NAI this year.

Smith Honored by Popular Science’s Brilliant 10

UCI’s Quinton Smith is named one of the top 10 brilliant scientists "on the cusp of changing the world" with his groundbreaking research in stem cell engineering. An assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, Smith is growing tissue from stem cells to develop organoids, which are lab-grown cells that can be used to research and potentially treat disease.

Alexa Smart Speaker Investigation Earns Privacy Researchers Best Paper Award

A multi-university research team from ProperData Center won the Best Paper Award for its study showing that Amazon collects and uses smart speaker voice data to target advertisements.

Foundation Supports Engineering Students with Funding

The Rose Hills Foundation has awarded four graduate fellowships and 11 undergraduate scholarships for Samueli School students. The program recognizes STEM students from underrepresented communities in Southern California with financial need who demonstrate academic excellence and leadership skills.

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