News Archive

July 7, 2015 — Researchers have developed a new design for a cloaking device that overcomes some of the limitations of existing “invisibility cloaks.” In a new study, electrical engineers at the University of California, San Diego have designed a cloaking device that is both thin and does not alter the brightness of light around a hidden object. The technology behind this cloak will have more applications than invisibility, such as concentrating solar energy and increasing signal speed in optical communications.

June 25, 2015 — Electrical engineers have broken key barriers that limit the distance information can travel in fiber optic cables and still be accurately deciphered by a receiver. Photonics researchers at the University of California, San Diego have increased the maximum power — and therefore distance — at which optical signals can be sent through optical fibers. This advance has the potential to increase the data transmission rates for the fiber optic cables that serve as the backbone of the internet, cable, wireless and landline networks. The research is published in the June 26 issue of the journal Science.

June 18, 2015 — In a new study, researchers explain why one particular cathode material works well at high voltages, while most other cathodes do not. The insights, published in the 19 June issue of the journal Science, could help battery developers design rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that operate at higher voltages.

May 18, 2015 — Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego developed a gel filled with toxin-absorbing nanosponges that could lead to an effective treatment for skin and wound infections caused by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), an antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This nanosponge-hydrogel minimized the growth of skin lesions on mice infected with MRSA – without the use of antibiotics. The researchers recently published their findings online in Advanced Materials.

May 5, 2015 — William S. C. Chang, who helped usher the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering into the electronics era, passed away April 25, 2015 in La Jolla. He was 84.

April 23, 2015 — A new procedure will enable researchers to fabricate smaller, faster, and more powerful nanoscale devices ─ and do so with molecular control and precision. Using a single layer of carbon atoms, or graphene, nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a new way of fabricating nanostructures that contain well-defined, atomic-sized gaps. The results from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering were published in the January issue of the journal Nano Letters.

April 21, 2015 — Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered a method to increase the amount of electric charge that can be stored in graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The research, published recently online in the journal Nano Letters, may provide a better understanding of how to improve the energy storage ability of capacitors for potential applications in cars, wind turbines, and solar power.