Dean Mark Asta high fives with student speaker Lauren Lee. (Photo by Adam Lau / Berkeley Engineering)

MSE professor Oscar Dubon chest bumps with ESS Director of Student Programs Marvin Lopez. (Photo by Adam Lau / Berkeley Engineering)

The crowd cheers in the Haas Pavilion stands. (Photo by Adam Lau / Berkeley Engineering)

From left: Evan Wong, Laura Viera, Mark Asta, Lauren Lee and Gabe Sianez show off their Berkeley Engineering jerseys. (Photo by Adam Lau / Berkeley Engineering)

So many fun moments during our Cal Day kickoff at Haas Pavilion on Saturday! We can’t wait for our new admits to start their first semester at Berkeley Engineering. 💙💛

(Photos by Adam Lau / Berkeley Engineering)

Berkeley engineers, are you ready?! 🐻⚙️

Today is Cal Day, a starting point for our new admits’ academic journey at Berkeley.

Here are scenes from this morning, when Berkeley Engineering kicked off our festivities at Haas Pavilion.

Welcome, and Go Bears! 💙💛

Lab members from the Ahmad Omar lab outside on the UC Berkeley campus.

Ahmad Omar, a QB3-Berkeley affiliate and @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social prof at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social, uses statistical mechanics to explore soft condensed matter.

Read how his lab models the building blocks of life: qb3.berkeley.edu/news/faculty-focus-ahmad-omar/

@berkeleyengineer.bsky.social PhD candidate Zhe Fu Receives 2026 Outstanding Graduate Peer Mentor Award! its.berkeley.edu/news/fu-rece...

Giving plastic a second life - Berkeley Engineering UC Berkeley Engineering alum Paige Balcom is turning plastic waste into economic opportunity through her recycling company in Uganda

With Takataka Plastics, a recycling social enterprise in northern Uganda, Paige Balcom (Ph.D.’22 ME) is helping to transform discarded PET plastics into durable wall tiles, providing an innovative solution to waste challenges while creating jobs for the local community.

An array of circuit-like patterns on a metal wafer, illuminated in blue, pink, and yellow light.

Three researchers in white lab coats holding in a laboratory, standing in front of blue-windowed workspace holding a piece of equipment.

A researcher in white coat and glasses working inside biosafety cabinet, handling colorful sample containers and conducting bioengineering experimentation.

In a first-of-its-kind Nature Biomedical Engineering study, @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social researchers detail how they can accelerate the biological age of human fat and liver tissue by 40 years—all in as little as four days.

Learn more about their findings: nature.berkeley.edu/news/2026/03...

Researchers grow immune cells with more targeted cancer-fighting abilities - Berkeley Engineering New approach could lead to therapies for a wider range of diseases and with fewer side effects

Scientists at UC Berkeley figured out how to grow better cancer-fighting immune cells by recreating the physical environment of lymph nodes. A materials science twist that could boost next-gen immunotherapies. @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social engineering.berkeley.edu/news/2026/03...

CEE Department Chair Joan Walker, CEE Professor Susan Shaheen and DCRP Professor Daniel Rodriguez

DCRP Professor Daniel Rodriguez, SafeTREC Director Julia Griswold and Leah Shahum, Executive Director, Vision Zero Network, talk next to ITS Berkeley Acting Director Scott Moura and UCLA professor Jiaqi Ma

CEE professor, TSRC Director, RIMI Director Susan Shaheen

ITS Berkeley Acting Director Scott Moura

UC Berkeley @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social faculty and researchers were featured at the UC ITS Mobility 10x Summit, the capstone event of the Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative (RIMI). See photos and read more about RIMI projects: its.berkeley.edu/news/its-ber...

Zihui Zhou, BIDMaP postdoctoral fellow, and Omar M. Yaghi, BIDMaP’s chief scientist, stand side-by-side wearing blue lab coats and smiling with arms crossed.

BIDMaP researchers have unveiled a new material, COF-1000, that captures carbon dioxide from outdoor air at unprecedented speed, serving as a new climate solution.

🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/4a599le

@berkeleychemistry.bsky.social @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social

Berkeley Students Advance to Phase 2 of CITRIS Aviation Prize Competition | Institute of Transportation Studies A pre-competitive applied research consortium uniting industry, government, and academia to advance connected, electrified, and autonomous systems

Congrats to our @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social students who advanced to Phase 2 CITRIS Aviation Prize Competition! its.berkeley.edu/news/berkele...

Two Berkeley Engineering professors named to NAE - Berkeley Engineering Ken Goldberg and Kam Lau elected to the esteemed organization

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced that two UC Berkeley engineering faculty members — Ken Goldberg and Kam Lau — have been elected to its ranks.

The number of engineering faculty members in the NAE is now 73. Additionally, 10 alums were added to this year’s roster of inductees.

Text: “New 'molecular sponge' pulls carbon from the air faster than ever before!” Zihui Zhou, a BIDMaP Postdoctoral Fellow and the study’s first author, pictured with senior author Professor Omar M. Yaghi, BIDMaP’s Chief Scientist. (Courtesy BIDMaP)

Berkeley researchers unveiled a new 'molecular sponge' pulling carbon from the air faster than ever before!

Learn more: bit.ly/4a599le

ICYMI: @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social's Seung-Wuk Lee, a faculty scientist in #BioBSE, pioneered a sustainable biomining approach using genetically engineered viruses to extract rare earth elements. Read more: go.lbl.gov/biomining

Watch how Berkeley research turned coffee spills into a life-saving test - Berkeley News A new technology born at UC Berkeley uses the "coffee-ring effect" to deliver rapid test results for COVID, cancer and more.

Researchers from @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social turned the “coffee-ring effect” into a rapid disease test that can detect COVID, sepsis, and even cancer markers in just minutes. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/09/w...

Excited to read about @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social CEE PhD candidate Linda Lim, a 2025 graduate of Eno’s Leaders Development Conference (LDC), recipient of the Lillian Borrone Scholarship, featured on Eno Center for Transportation's website. Learn more about Linda: enotrans.org/article/buil...

Ashmita Kumar works outside her grandparents’ garage in San Jose. (Marcus Hanschen)

Ashmita Kumar (B.S.’25 EECS; Business), the 2024 Big Ideas Contest winner, co-founded Code Blue, a startup that uses AI to detect strokes.

She's emblematic of UC Berkeley's top ranking for producing student- and alumni-led startups!

Read her California Magazine profile: bit.ly/3LFcNbW

Using the microbiome to combat lung pathogens - Berkeley Engineering Novel approach offers a way to stop deadly infections without using antibiotics

A team of scientists led by UC Berkeley is working on a system that uses probiotics, beneficial bacteria within our bodies, and prebiotics, the nutrients that support these good bacteria, to combat lung pathogens.

Tech For Good | CNN A team of researchers is developing biodegradable seed carriers that can be deployed using drone technology.

CNN recently featured professor Lining Yao's Morphing Matter Lab on the show Tech for Good!

The researchers' work on self-burying E-seeds were highlighted as an innovation in reforestation efforts.

Researchers uncover new rules for designing protein-like polymers - Berkeley Engineering Findings could lead to eco-friendly plastics and other materials

UC Berkeley researchers have unlocked “design rules” that upend long-held views on polymers and could pave the way for eco-friendly plastics and other materials.

Berkeley Engineering’s 2025 in review - Berkeley Engineering Nine standout stories from the year

‘Tis the season for retrospective lists, and Berkeley Engineering is here to bring you the best of our research, accomplishments and community in 2025!

Brace yourself for everything from classic arcade games to swanky student hubs to Nobel prize wins.

As we head into the holidays, we wanted to express our deep gratitude for all who make up the Berkeley Engineering community!

To brighten this wish, we are featuring the Strauch Hypercube, a dynamic art installation that illuminates the Grimes Engineering Center.

Fiat Lux!

Nature provides the answers - Berkeley Engineering Phillip Messersmith harnesses the natural world to engineer medical innovations

Did you know? Mussels attach to surfaces with protein fibers called byssal threads… and this biological feature is inspiring professor Phillip Messersmith to develop cutting-edge adhesives.

Two UC Berkeley professors elected to the National Academy of Inventors - Berkeley Engineering Ana Claudia Arias and Tahir Ghani named as 2025 fellows

Ghani, visiting professor of EECS, is a senior Intel fellow and director of semiconductor research at Intel Corp. Dubbed “Mr. Transistor,” he has played a central role in the transformation of transistor technology across three decades. His career has resulted in over 900 patents.

Two UC Berkeley professors elected to the National Academy of Inventors - Berkeley Engineering Ana Claudia Arias and Tahir Ghani named as 2025 fellows

Arias, professor of EECS, centers her research on printed and flexible electronics, using these materials to fabricate bendable devices and sensors for health applications. She has developed skin-like sensors, wearable monitors, and devices that make MRI procedures easier and safer for children.

Two UC Berkeley professors elected to the National Academy of Inventors - Berkeley Engineering Ana Claudia Arias and Tahir Ghani named as 2025 fellows

Ana Claudia Arias and Tahir Ghani, both faculty members in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, have been elected to the National Academy of Inventors!

The honor, awarded to 185 inductees this year, marks the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors.

👏👏👏

Congrats to CEE PhD student Albert Cao, Professor Marta Gonzalez, and the HumNet Lab team for earning second-best contribution at ACM SIGSPATIAL 2025 for their work, “sparkmobility: A Spark-based Python Library for Processing, Modeling, and Analyzing Large Mobility Datasets.”

Yao holds a PneuMesh robot at the Morphing Matter Lab. (Photo by Adam Lau/UC Berkeley Engineering)

Two hands hold up a PneuMesh robot. (Photo by Adam Lau/UC Berkeley Engineering)

A hand holds up the underside of a MorphingSkin bracelet. (Photo by Adam Lau/UC Berkeley Engineering)

Yao poses with a large pine cone. (Photo by Adam Lau/UC Berkeley Engineering)

Check out these outtakes from our photo shoot in Professor Lining Yao’s Morphing Matter Lab for Berkeley Engineer magazine!

Yao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, envisions a future where materials respond through interaction with the environment.

Read all about it: bit.ly/4nSSDbI

Game changer - Berkeley Engineering Arcade legend Eugene Jarvis looks back on his time as a Berkeley undergrad

Jarvis would go on to use his programming bona fides to create 1980’s Defender, which innovated how video games on a whole were structured. He’s also responsible for other cabinet classics such as the Cruis’n series and Robotron: 2084, among many other games!

Game changer - Berkeley Engineering Arcade legend Eugene Jarvis looks back on his time as a Berkeley undergrad

Eugene Jarvis (B.S.’76 EECS) is a certified game changer — as in, a pioneer of the arcade gaming space!

His storied career got its start in Birge Hall, next to the Campanile. It was in the basement where he got his first taste of video games, specifically 1962’s Spacewar!