Jacobs School Structural Engineering News: Top Stories

Engineers Develop Nanofoams for Better Body Armor, Layers of Protection for Buildings

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are developing nanofoams that could be used to make better body armor; prevent traumatic brain injury and blast-related lung injuries in soldiers; and protect buildings from impacts and blasts. It’s the first time researchers are investigating the use of nanofoams for structural protection.

Research Shows How Earthquake Damage Can Impact Building Fire Safety Performance

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Damage to building structural elements, elevators, stairs and fire protection systems caused by the shaking from a major earthquake can play a critical role in the spread of fire and hamper the ability of occupants to evacuate, and impede fire departments in their emergency response operations. These are among the conclusions of a groundbreaking study of post-earthquake building fire performance conducted in 2012 by researchers in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Peer Mentoring Program, Dean Emeritus Receive Diversity Awards

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 PDT

The Jacobs School of Engineering was in the spotlight at this year’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action awards ceremony Feb. 13 here on campus. A pair of graduate students from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering , Laura Connelly and Margie Mathewson, who created a peer-mentoring program, as well as Frieder Seible, now Dean Emeritus of the Jacobs School of Engineering, received three of eight campus-wide awards.

Engineer Named FAA Outstanding Student of the Year

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Diego, has been named one of two outstanding students of the year by the Federal Aviation Administration. Gabriela DeFrancisci works in the research group of Hyonny Kim, a professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at the Jacobs School. She be recognized Jan. 12, 2013 during an awards ceremony at the Transportation Research Board annual meeting in Washington, D.C., and receive a $1,000 award.

Jacobs School Shines at Fluid Dynamics Conference

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Simulations that help doctors perform life-saving surgeries; a better way to model climate in urban areas; and optimized blood flow patterns for heart patients with pacemakers. Fluid dynamics researchers from the University of California, San Diego, will discuss their research on these topics—and many others—at the 65^th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics here in San Diego Nov. 18 to 20. With about 2,300 contributed presentations, the APS/DFD annual conference is the largest scientific meeting of researchers in fluid dynamics.

A Better Heart Pump for Sick Children

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Structural and mechanical engineers at the University of California, San Diego, are working together to create blood flow simulations that could lead to improvements in the design of a cardiac pump for children born with heart defects. They hope that the design changes will improve young patients' outcomes.

Challenging the fundamental notion of enzyme specificity

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Open an undergraduate biochemistry textbook and you will learn that enzymes are highly efficient and specific in catalyzing chemical reactions in living organisms, and that they evolved to this state from their “sloppy” and “promiscuous” ancestors to allow cells to grow more efficiently. This fundamental paradigm is being challenged in a new study by bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego, who reported in the journal Science what a few enzymologists have suspected for years: many enzymes are still pretty sloppy and promiscuous, catalyzing multiple chemical reactions in living cells, for reasons that were previously not well understood.

Company Co-founded by Professor Acquired

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Pattern Insight announced Aug. 8 that it has come to an agreement with VMware Inc. to sell its Log Insight product, together with its team and technology. Yuanyuan(YY) Zhou, a computer scientist at the University of California, San Diego, co-founded Pattern Insight with several members of her research team when she was on faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain. She is currently the company’s chief technology officer. She joined the faculty of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego in 2009.

Dean Inducted into Chinese Academy of Engineering

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Frieder Seible, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, has been elected a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The honor recognizes his “outstanding achievements in engineering and technological sciences, as well as remarkable contributions to China’s engineering and technological developments.”

Engineers Conduct Seismic Tests on a Five-story Building Equipped with a Wide Range of Nonstructural Components

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Researchers at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego will put a five-story building, fully equipped with an intensive care unit, a surgery suite, a working elevator, piping and air conditioning and fire barriers through a motion from the 7.9-magnitude Denali earthquake which occurred in Alaska. These tests are the second of two phases of seismic motion testing. The first phase involved isolating the building with large rubber dampers, while for tests tomorrow the building’s foundation will be anchored directly on the shake table. These tests will likely result in more severe damage to the structure and its contents.