http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Tue, 15 May 2012 23:07:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/02/06/circuit-simulator/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/02/06/circuit-simulator/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:30:40 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=24323 Virtually every electronic microchip developed in the world today is the product of SPICE computer simulation software, or one of the modeling program’s derivatives. Based on Department of Defense-funded research conducted at Berkeley during the 1960s, the original SPICE program was developed in 1972 under the direction of Donald Pederson. Later, A. Richard Newton, professor of engineering, collaborated on crafting [...]]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/02/06/circuit-simulator/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/09/smart-dust/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/09/smart-dust/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:25 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=21343 Kris Pister, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, coined the term “smart dust” as he pioneered the development of wireless sensor network technology to measure and transmit data on conditions, such as temperature, light, moisture, vibration, movement, magnetism and pollutants. Pister co-founded Dust Networks to commercialize the technology, in which arrays of low-power microsensors are inked together to form [...]]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/09/smart-dust/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/02/search-engine-solution/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/02/search-engine-solution/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:00:05 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=21366 Eric Brewer, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, laid the foundations for today’s giant server farms, using clusters of computers to create a cost-effective, scalable Web-search platform. Building on the prototype, Brewer co-founded Inktomi and helped lead the startup onto the NASDAQ 100. Adopted by Internet giants, including Yahoo, Google, MSN and Amazon, Inktomi’s search engine technology led the [...]]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/02/search-engine-solution/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/11/07/bionic-reality/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/11/07/bionic-reality/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:30:20 +0000 Roibín Ó hÉochaidh http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=17316 The first company in the world to commercialize a bionic exoskeleton, UC Berkeley spin-off Ekso Bionics could help millions of paraplegics walk again. The Ekso (formerly eLegs) exoskeleton, which made Time magazine’s list of the 50 best inventions of 2010, evolved from a DARPA-funded, campus research project to develop a mechanical brace that could enhance human strength, endurance and load-carrying [...]]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/11/07/bionic-reality/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/27/breaking-the-microprocessor-barrier/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/27/breaking-the-microprocessor-barrier/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:36:05 +0000 Roibín Ó hÉochaidh http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=17327 UC Berkeley researchers broke through the microprocessor performance roadblock with two revolutionary transistor designs — Silicon-On-Insulator and 3D FinFET — that allow microchips to process information faster in a smaller footprint, with less power and more reliability. Embraced as the preferred next-generation technologies, the UC Berkeley designs are set to underpin the $304 billion semiconductor industry over the next 15 [...]]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/27/breaking-the-microprocessor-barrier/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/05/metamaterials_acoustic_imaging/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/05/metamaterials_acoustic_imaging/#comments Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:22:07 +0000 Steve McConnell http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=1169 New "metamaterials" can overcome some of the limitations of microscopes and imagers, including ultrasound imagers. Researchers in the Nano-scale Science & Engineering Center have come up with a metamaterial to improve the picture quality of ultrasound by a factor of 50. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/05/metamaterials_acoustic_imaging/feed/ 0