According to researchers, alumni and students in the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering, it's a "sizzling" and an "exhilarating time" to be involved with quantum information sciences. Not just because it is grabbing headlines and inspiring blockbuster movie storylines but because there is a new surge of new opportunities related to quantum information sciences for students at UC Davis.
Photonics, which operate based on particles of light (photons), are increasingly important for applications such as optical communications, connections between electronic and optical networks, and imaging. But silicon, the go-to semiconductor for making electronic chips, is not a great material for photonic applications because it shows poor absorption of near-infrared light compared to other semiconductors such as gallium arsenide.
Biomedical engineering seniors at the University of California, Davis, have received the 2023 Sandia Engineering Design Award for a capstone project that may transform how doctors treat elevated intracranial pressure, a severe condition where pressure continues to develop in someone’s head due to a tumor, brain infection or neurological injury.
For most people, contracting Zika virus, a flavivirus carried by mosquitos, is akin to getting any mildly inconvenient virus. You might get a fever and a rash, and it's gone in a few days. But for pregnant people, there is a roughly 4% chance that a bite from a mosquito with Zika virus could have life-altering effects on developing fetuses in the form of microcephaly, a neurological condition that indicates an under-developed brain.
For decades, Ruihong Zhang, a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, has been studying biological conversion of food waste to explore solutions that could address environmental challenges. Her recent research on biodegradable plastics using dairy byproducts may reduce the global level of plastic pollution.
Marina Leite is on her fourth cell phone. A professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Davis, and a Chancellor’s Fellow, Leite is holding out on upgrading her phone because tossing her old one would produce excess waste.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Professors J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz and Q. Jane Gu are co-principal investigators on one of six projects to receive funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan.
UC Davis doctoral graduate Abby Niesen, M.S. '21, Ph.D. '23 is arguably one of the most productive doctoral students in the history of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and quite possibly the College of Engineering, according to faculty who have been associated with UC Davis for nearly 50 years.
Using an approach based on computer vision technology, researchers can work back from COVID-19 mortality data to see how infection rates changed on the day a lockdown or similar measure was introduced. The approach could be generally useful in future epidemics and pandemics.
The inside of a living cell is crowded with large, complex molecules. New research on how these molecules could spontaneously organize themselves could further our understanding of how cells manage their essential biochemistry in the crowded space.