Science & Technology

Peter Donovan

Stem cell grant to boost training program

The state today tentatively approved $3.3 million over three years to enhance UC Irvine’s stem cell training program, which teaches tomorrow’s experts the techniques, ethics and clinical knowledge critical to this fast-growing field.

An image of a preneuron

What Obama’s presidency means to UCI research

Barack Obama swept into the presidency on a platform of change, one that includes a number of scientific policy and research issues. As a major research university, UC Irvine is deeply involved in some of these key areas – stem cells, global warming and alternative energy, to name a few. Research vice chancellor Susan Bryant discusses how changes made in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento, especially during the current economic crisis, will impact research efforts at UCI.

a drop of water pinching off from a column of fluid

Drippy faucets offer lesson in physics

Peter Taborek uses high-speed video to capture the motion of drops and bubbles coming apart. Knowing the details of this “pinch-off” process is important when designing inkjet printers and also is useful in biotechnology when fluid is used on microchips, as well as for applications in cosmetics, food and structural materials industries.

WALL-E

Robots and superheroes: taking science public

James Hicks and Michael Dennin could tell you a story about the ontogeny of cardiovascular regulation in reptiles and Langmuir monolayers. Or they could talk to you about the science of WALL-E and Superman.

UCI neuroscientist Hans Keirstead

UCI behind world’s first embryonic stem cell study in humans

A therapy developed at UC Irvine that made paralyzed rats walk again will become the world’s first embryonic stem cell treatment tested in humans.

Professor Hongkai Zhao

Mathematics in the real world

Professor Hongkai Zhao uses mathematics to make computers run better, which in turn improves medical imaging and engineering design.

Mads Sulbaek Andersen

Termite insecticide a potent greenhouse gas

An insecticide used to fumigate termite-infested buildings is a strong greenhouse gas that lives in the atmosphere nearly 10 times longer than previously thought, UC Irvine research has found.

Dr. Steven Potkin

Brain imaging facilitates mental illness treatments

As a brain imaging researcher who studies schizophrenia, Dr. Steven Potkin saw a large problem limiting growth in his field and the potential for new clinical treatments.

Scientists use environmentally controlled clean rooms to manufacture a variety of products

Small-scale lab yields large possibilities

UC Irvine opens its second clean room suitable for producing microdevices with organic material.

Frank LaFerla

Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia gets new chief

Neurobiologist Frank LaFerla is taking the reins of the UC Irvine Institute for Brain Aging & Dementia, hoping to boost clinical offerings and move forward with a new building dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease research.