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Trafficking in Roadway Sensors
We drive over them constantly but may have never noticed the octagonal shapes in the freeway. Buried below the surface of many roadways are wire sensors called loop detectors that, when they're on, count how many cars pass over them and the average time a car is on top of the loop. UC Berkeley researchers have used the loop detectors to monitor congestion hotspots and let commuters know before they get on the road. The next step, says professor Pravin Varaiya, is to replace them with wireless studs that not only count the vehicles but also distinguish between cars, SUVs, and trucks as they zoom past.
Bioengineers Battle Stowaways at Sea
Three UC Berkeley bioengineering students are developing an approach to sniff out stowaways on cargo ships. But not human stowaways. What they are looking for are invasive marine species that hitch a ride in a ship's ballast water before it leaves one port and can wreak havoc on the non-native ecosystems where they're eventually released. The students, recently-named fellows in the University's Management of Technology (MOT) International Research Program, will head to China this summer to conduct a feasibility study of their innovative idea for combating the problem.
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Spare Parts for the Human Body Shop
From garage doors to auto shocks, mechanical parts fail from repeated use. The same holds true for artificial hips, shoulders, and knees. Swapping the natural joint for an artificial one the first time is traumatic enough, but eventually the implants wear out as well. UC Berkeley mechanical engineer Lisa Pruitt leads an effort to lengthen the lifetime of artificial parts in the human body shop.
Cool Alumni: Francisco Castillo, civil engineer against the odds
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