Nanosponge Video

Below is the nanosponge video that we worked on, to go with the press release.

Nanosponges Soak Up Toxins Released by Bacterial Infections and Venom

This particular project is one of what is likely an ongoing series of projects that highlight the exciting ways that red blood cell membranes can functionalize nanoparticles.

This work follows up on the 2011 research by the same team of nanoengineers. That work was published in PNAS.

At Research Expo this Thursday, two different aspects of this work will be presented at the graduate student poster session. On-site registration for Research Expo is the way to go b/c online registration closed yesterday.

182. A BIOMIMETIC NANOSPONGE AGAINST PORE-FORMING TOXINS

Student(s): Ronnie Hongbo Fang
Professor(s): Liangfang Zhang
Industry Application Area(s): Life Sciences/Medical Devices & Instruments | Materials

184. ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE-CLOAKED NANOPARTICLES AS A BIOMIMETIC DELIVERY PLATFORM

Student(s): Brian Tsengchi Luk
Professor(s): Liangfang Zhang
Industry Application Area(s): Materials | Bioengineering | Nanomedicine

 

CodeSpells Creator Sarah Esper is Presenting at Research Expo on April 18

Computer Science PhD student Sarah Esper is one of the creators of CodeSpells, a videogame that teaches kids Java. CodeSpells has gotten a lot of attention recently (press release, CodeSpells blog) . Here's a sample of some of the media coverage it's received so far:

Wired: Experimental Videogame Teaches Kids How to Program in Java

Gizmag: Video game teaches Java programming language to players

Examiner.com: A new game lets you save the world and learn Java at the same time

Esper is one of the 200+ grad students presenting their research projects at Research Expo on April 18, here at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Register for Research Expo here.
UC San Diego alumni receive half-price admission.
Employees of CAP member companies receive 2-for-1 admission.

The poster title and abstract are below:

31. CODESPELLS: LEARNING TO PROGRAM THROUGH IMMERSIVE GAMEPLAY

Department: Computer Science & Engineering
Faculty Advisor(s): William G. Griswold | Elizabeth A. Simon

Primary Student
Name: Sarah Esper
Student CollaboratorsStephen Foster

Abstract
CodeSpells is a 3D immersive video game designed to teach CS1 level programming concepts to novice students. It is meant to be a stand alone system that guides students through CS1 concepts in a explorative way, encouraging students to engage in pre-defined ?quests? that address particular concepts, but also informally through exploring the 3D world. There have been results to indicate that CodeSpells is a system that is engaging for students ages 9-24 who are complete novice programmers, interested in programming. Early results indicate that little external help is necessary for the students to complete the pre-defined challenges. This study aims to determine what kind of help is necessary as well as how much learning occurs in normal game play.

Related Links:

1. http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=1347
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TslR9CG6yKI

Audacious Speculations

The Audacious Speculations event at UC San Diego will consist of a series of short, performative presentations on research that is so ambitious people often roll their eyes in disbelief, including activist projects that transform the socio-political landscape, or scientific research and experiments that are particularly poetic or speculative, and more. 

Documenting both existing and speculative work, the presenters include engineers who think like artists; scientists who think like poets; physicists who think like dancers; and artists who think like scientists, hypnotists – even like foxes. 

The evening will include presentations on movies for monkeys; a gestural language of physics; tracking trash in Tijuana; hypnosis; butterflies without borders; beautiful brains; biomimicry; smart underwear; finding your bliss; new silhouettes; and a fashionable approach to science education. 

Click on PRESENTATIONS for program details.

There will also be a live webcast and video archive...so if you stumble upon this post after the April 12 event, you can still enjoy it.

Want to Connect with the Future? Attend Research Expo at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Advances in tattoo sensors for health monitoring, on-chip optical networking, low-cost cancer diagnostics, video games designed to teach computer programming, new materials for protecting soldiers from blasts, and energy-efficient high-wire robots. These are just a few of the 200+ projects from Jacobs School of Engineering graduate students that will be on display at Research Expo on April 18 at the University of California, San Diego.

“Research Expo is a great opportunity to get an inside look at the world-class research happening at the Jacobs School of Engineering, which is fueled by $164 million in research funding,” said Juan C. Lasheras, Interim Dean of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. “At the poster session, you also get the chance to meet more than 200 of the graduate students who are engaged in this cutting-edge research.”

Research Expo is April 18^th from 2:00‒6:00 p.m. at the Price Center at UC San Diego.

Register today.

Tattoo sensors for health monitoring, from the lab of NanoEngineering professor Joseph Wang.

Allergen Detection Device

(L-R) Alexander Corelli, Kevin Huynh, Jaime Meriwether, and Roger Huang 

Kevin Huynh, Electrical Engineering graduate student and team lead. (Kevin also earned his undergrad degree here at the Jacobs School.)

Jaime Meriwether, NanoEngineering undergraduate and a team lead.

A few shots from the "Allergen Detection Device" team at the design competition of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, on Warren Mall today. This was part of the campus wide Triton Day at UC San Diego.

The team showed off their allergen detection device prototype...which is just one of the many possible applications of the technology they are developing: an automated ELISA assay and detection device.

You hear the word "interdisciplinary research" thrown around all the time, but the students highlighted how this project was the real interdisciplinary deal.

Team Leads:
Kevin Huynh (Electrical Engineering)
Jaime Meriwether (NanoEngineering)

Team Members:
Alexander Corelli (Electrical Engineering)
Roger Huang (Electrical Engineering)
Aung Myo (Rady School of Management)

I had to leave the event before the winning design team was announced...stay tuned to find out which ECE team won.

BRAIN Initiative and UC San Diego

"Mapping the brain is wave of the future."

That's the headline to Gary Robbins' story in the San Diego Union Tribune describing President Barack Obama's announcement of BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative. UC San Diego and others on "the Mesa" including the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences are going to be deeply involved in this project. 

Mike Freeman had a related story in the UT: "Qualcomm joins Obama's BRAIN project"

The UC San Diego story on the BRAIN Initiative  will break tomorrow ran in our weekly This Week @ UC San Diego digital news magazine. We'll add that link as soon as we have it.

Check out brain-related research at Research Expo on April 18 here at the Jacobs School. A number of the posters from Bioengineering are tied to the brain. But dig into the 200+ posters. I'm sure you'll find more connections. 

Here is a story and video from the White House: "BRAIN Initiative Challenges Researchers to Unlock Mysteries of Human Mind"

Alumni Event Sat April 6: Bench to Innovation

Find out what it takes to start your own company!

Have you ever wondered how lab technologies and techniques become the next hot commercial product or service? Is there a technology that you want to license, or see as a future possibility? Are you interested in how start-up companies are formed? Are you aware of your legal rights and responsibilities throughout the tech-transfer process?  Answers to these questions, as well as many others, will be addressed by a panel of UC San Diego alumni innovators involved in different phases of the tech-transfer process—from “the bench” to leading a successful industry startup!

Engage with talented entrepreneurs focused on supporting the professional and career development needs of our community—especially those of graduate students and postdocs. This session will feature a panel of talented alumni entrepreneurs, including:

•             Albert Lin, B.S. ’04, M.S. ’06, Ph.D. ’08

•             Raj Krishnan, Ph.D. ’06

•             John Yamauchi, B.S. ‘03, Ph.D. ’12

Moderated by Ms. Gioia Messinger, B.S., M.A. Electrical Engineering; MBA, UCI 

For detailed bios and to register (required), please visit: http://tinyurl.com/csxhl9x or http://www.scholarssocietyucsd.com/spring-symposium.html

A free, open event, but space is limited. 

Saturday, April 6

4:00 – 5:30pm

Price Center, Theater | UCSD

Sponsored by UCSD Alumni, as part of Triton Day 2013!