November 2023: The e+ Equation

November 2023

Message from Dean Egerstedt

Welcome to a redesigned newsletter from the UCI Samueli School of Engineering that has been retooled to align with our new strategic plan. That plan is centered around the three broad themes of Educational Journeys, Collaborative Research and Meaningful Partnerships, which are reflected in the new newsletter sections. In addition, we realized through the planning process that although we are doing great engineering research and education, we are actually doing more than that. We are doing something we have started referring to as EngineeringPlus, or e+. The 2022-23 Dean's Report is all about manifestations of the e+ idea and you can view it here.

Best,

Magnus Egerstedt, Ph.D.

Stacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering

Students design innovative modular homes for the homeless

An image of rebirth inspired students from UC Irvine and Orange Coast College (OCC) as they designed and built a home named LuminOCity to enter into the Orange County Sustainability Decathlon.

BioGals partners with Belize community for sustainability experience

When Shakira Hobbs was an undergraduate at University of Maryland, she spent her spring break in Belize, sloughing through the Sittee River measuring mangroves. That experience, as part of a tropical ecology course, fueled an interest in sustainability.

Engineering-Plus collaboration with medicine aimed to enhance biomanufacturing

The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office and the National Science Foundation have selected a joint project between the UCI Samueli School of Engineering and School of Medicine, UC Davis and Argonne National Laboratory researchers to receive $1.5 million in funding.

Climate change experiment explores ecosystem sensitivity

In a pioneering climate change experiment, UCI researchers have been studying a five-acre area on Loma Ridge, near the Limestone Canyon Preserve, northeast of Irvine. The project aims to gain a better understanding of Southern California’s ecosystems’ sensitivity to various environmental shifts, primarily how changes in water and nitrogen levels impact the nearby grasslands and shrublands.

Experts talk trends in NewSpace

“We’re in a new era, the renaissance of the next generation of NewSpace,” said Blue Origin Chief Architect Robert Moeller at the UCI Samueli School’s NewSpace Symposium. The forum gathered experts from leading space companies to discuss upcoming trends and engage with UCI students interested in the field.

UCI engineering involved in national Energy Earthshot projects

Three engineering faculty – Russell Detwiler, M.J. Abdolhosseini Qomi and Iryna Zenyuk – are participating in projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots Initiative to accelerate innovations toward more abundant, affordable and reliable clean energy solutions.

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