Nanoparticles Made From Plant Viruses Could Be Farmers' New Ally in Pest Control
September 21, 2023
UC San Diego engineers have devised a new solution to control a major agricultural menace, root-damaging nematodes. Using plant viruses, the researchers created nanoparticles that can deliver pesticide molecules to previously inaccessible depths in the soil. This "precision farming" approach could potentially minimize environmental toxicity and cut costs for farmers. Full Story
A $2 Million UC San Diego Materials Science Win
September 20, 2023
Materials science researchers at UC San Diego, University of Alabama, and Colorado State University are working together to solve a vexing materials-for-extreme-environments challenge. Their efforts could pave the way for better-performing ceramic materials for a series of critical applications including concentrated solar power, hypersonic flight and nuclear fusion reactors. Full Story
3D-Printed 'Living Material' Could Clean Up Contaminated Water
September 5, 2023
A "living material," made of a natural polymer combined with genetically engineered bacteria, could offer a sustainable and eco-friendly solution to clean pollutants from water. UC San Diego researchers developed their living material using a seaweed-based polymer and bacteria that have been programmed to produce an enzyme that transforms various organic pollutants into harmless compounds. In tests, heir material decontaminated water solutions tainted with a pollutant from textile manufacturing: indigo carmine, a blue dye that is used to color denim. Full Story
Probing lithium ions near a solid's surface reveals clues to boost solid-state battery performance
April 28, 2023
Using computer simulations and X-ray experiments, researchers could "see" in detail why lithium ions move slowly in a solid-state battery—specifically, at the electrolyte-electrode interface. The work could lead to new strategies to enhance ionic conductivity in solid-state batteries. Full Story
Nanoengineers Develop a Predictive Database for Materials
November 28, 2022
Nanoengineers at the UC San Diegothe Jacobs School of Engineering have developed an AI algorithm that predicts the structure and dynamic properties of any material—whether existing or new—almost instantaneously. Full Story
Nanoengineers receive $4.3M from NIH to continue studies using plant viruses to treat cancerOctober 17, 2022
Researchers led by Nicole Steinmetz, professor of nanoengineering at the University of California San Diego, have received $4.3 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance their research using plant viruses to develop cancer immunotherapies. Full Story
Setting the stage for solid-state battery successAugust 2, 2022
Battery researchers and other engineers from University of California San Diego, with collaboration from the LG Energy Solution, have published a forward-looking perspective article in the journal Joule. In the article, the researchers outline three categories of engineering challenges that must be solved in order to transition all-solid-state batteries from the laboratory toward large-scale industrial manufacturing. These three challenges are that of precursors, processing and pressure. Full Story
Plant virus plus immune cell-activating antibody clear colon cancer in mice, prevent recurrenceJune 21, 2022
A new combination therapy to combat cancer could one day consist of a plant virus and an antibody that activates the immune system’s “natural killer” cells, shows a study by researchers at the University of California San Diego. In mouse models of colon cancer, the combination therapy eliminated all tumors and prevented their recurrence, which in turn resulted in 100% survival. The therapy also increased survival in mouse models of melanoma. Full Story
One step closer to fire safe, recyclable lithium-metal batteries
June 16, 2022
A team of nanoengineers from UC San Diego demonstrated inherently fire safe liquefied gas electrolytes, as well as a one-step solvent-recycling process which promises sustainable operation at scale, in a Nature Energy paper published on June 16. This work provides a route to sustainable, temperature-resilient lithium-metal batteries with fire-extinguishing properties that maintain state-of-the-art electrochemical performance. Full Story
Researchers transform an amorphous solid into a new lithium-ion battery materialMay 2, 2022
Researchers at UC San Diego and Boise State University have developed a new approach to making novel lithium-ion battery materials. The approach transforms a non-crystalline material into a crystalline anode material with exceptional battery properties—by cycling it with lithium. Full Story
10 Jacobs School faculty among 2021 list of most highly cited researchers in the worldNovember 30, 2021
Ten professors at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are among the world’s most influential researchers in their fields. The professors, Ludmil Alexandrov, Trey Ideker, Rob Knight, Prashant Mali, Ying Shirley Meng, Shyue Ping Ong, Bernhard O. Palsson, Joseph Wang, Sheng Xu and Liangfang Zhang, are amone 51 professors and researchers at UC San Diego named in the prestigious list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2021. Full Story
Researchers determine optimum pressure to improve the performance of lithium metal batteries October 18, 2021
A team of materials scientists and chemists has determined the proper stack pressure that lithium metal batteries, or LMBs, need to be subjected to during battery operation in order to produce optimal performance. The team, which includes researchers from the University of California San Diego, Michigan State University, Idaho National Laboratory and the General Motors Research and Development Center, presents their findings in the Oct. 18 issue of Nature Energy. Full Story
DOE awards UC San Diego nanoengineers $1.25M to improve batteries for EVsSeptember 27, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $1.25 million to nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego to improve the electrolytes that carry ions in lithium-sulfur batteries. The researchers will partner with General Motors and Ampcera Inc, a solid-state battery materials and technology company. Full Story
A new solid-state battery surprises the researchers who created itSeptember 23, 2021
Engineers created a new type of battery that weaves two promising battery sub-fields into a single battery. The battery uses both a solid state electrolyte and an all-silicon anode, making it a silicon all-solid-state battery. The initial rounds of tests show that the new battery is safe, long lasting, and energy dense. It holds promise for a wide range of applications from grid storage to electric vehicles. Full Story
Grow and eat your own vaccines?
September 16, 2021
The future of vaccines may look more like eating a salad than getting a shot in the arm. Scientists at UC San Diego, UC Riverside and Carnegie Mellon University are studying whether they can turn edible plants like lettuce into mRNA vaccine factories. One of the challenges with this new technology is that it must be kept cold to maintain stability during transport and storage. If this new project is successful, plant-based mRNA vaccines — which can be eaten — could overcome this challenge with the ability to be stored at room temperature. Full Story
How a plant virus could protect and save your lungs from metastatic cancerSeptember 14, 2021
Using a virus that grows in black-eyed pea plants, researchers developed a new therapy that could keep metastatic cancers from spreading to the lungs, as well as treat established tumors in the lungs. Full Story
These fridge-free COVID-19 vaccines are grown in plants and bacteriaSeptember 7, 2021
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates that can take the heat. Their key ingredients? Viruses from plants or bacteria. Full Story
UC San Diego nanoengineers receive $2.7M NSF grant to make battery manufacturing waste-freeSeptember 1, 2021
A team led by nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego has been awarded a $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an eco-friendly and low-cost manufacturing process for sodium all-solid-state batteries. The process will be used to create large-scale energy storage systems—for buildings, electric grids, and wind and solar farms—that are more efficient, affordable and safe. Full Story
Imperfections in jewels used as sensors for new quantum materials
June 18, 2021
UC San Diego Department of Physics Assistant Professor Chunhui Rita Du is a condensed matter experimentalist whose research takes advantage of impurities in diamonds. Du’s research group leverages the red, yellow and blue colors that result from diamond defects to develop sensors that can evaluate the properties of specialized materials down to the nanometer level. Full Story
Stabilizing gassy electrolytes could make ultra-low temperature batteries saferJune 7, 2021
A new technology could dramatically improve the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries that operate with gas electrolytes at ultra-low temperatures. By keeping electrolytes from vaporizing, the technology can prevent pressure buildup inside the battery that leads to swelling and explosions. Full Story
Coronavirus-like particles could ensure reliability of simpler, faster COVID-19 testsMarch 2, 2021
Rapid COVID-19 tests are on the rise to deliver results faster to more people, and scientists need an easy, foolproof way to know that these tests work correctly and the results can be trusted. Nanoparticles that pass detection as the novel coronavirus could be just the ticket. Such coronavirus-like nanoparticles, developed by nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego, would serve as something called a positive control for COVID-19 tests. Full Story
Weakness is strength for this low-temperature batteryFebruary 25, 2021
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have discovered new fundamental insights for developing lithium metal batteries that perform well at ultra-low temperatures; mainly, that the weaker the electrolyte holds on to lithium ions, the better. By using such a weakly binding electrolyte, the researchers developed a lithium metal battery that can be repeatedly recharged at temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius—a first in the field. Full Story
IMDD Seminar: The Innovation Ecosystem at UC San Diego
January 25, 2021
Paul Roben, Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Commercialization at UC San Diego, will provide information on how the Office for Innovation and Commercialization can help you translate your reserach from the lab to the marketplace on Friday, February 5. Full Story
IMDD Seminar: Introduction and Materials for Quantum Communication
January 19, 2021
Dr. Bhagawan Sahu from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UC San Diego will give an IMDD Seminar presentation titled 'Introduction and Materials for Quantum Communication on January 28 at 10 am. Full Story
New Method Makes Better Predictions of Material Properties Using Low Quality DataJanuary 14, 2021
By combining large amounts of low-fidelity data with smaller quantities of high-fidelity data, nanoengineers at UC San Diego have developed a machine learning method to more accurately predict the properties of new materials including, for the first time, disordered materials. Full Story
10 Jacobs School Faculty Named in 2020 List of Highly Cited ResearchersDecember 8, 2020
Ten professors at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are among the world’s most influential researchers in their fields, according to a new research citation report from the Web of Science Group. The professors, Ludmil Alexandrov, Trey Ideker, Rob Knight, Nathan E. Lewis, Prashant Mali, Ying Shirley Meng, Bernhard O. Palsson, Joseph Wang, Kun Zhang and Liangfang Zhang, are amone 52 professors and researchers at UC San Diego named in the prestigious list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2020. Full Story
UC San Diego and LINK-J Seminar Series
December 2, 2020
UC San Diego professor Nicole Steinmetz and Kyoto University professor Yasuhiko Tabata will discuss the latest trends in nanoengineering and drug delivery technologies at this joint webinar on December 18, 2020 between UC San Diego and LINK-J. Full Story
Quantum sensing in stone
December 2, 2020
UC San Diego Physics professor Chunhui Du receives the US Air Force Young Investor Research Program for her efforts to set quantum sensing in stone. Full Story
Joint webinar with Kyushu University
December 1, 2020
IMDD Director Shirley Meng and Jacobs School Dean Albert P. Pisano are speaking at a joint webinar with Kyushu University focused on sustainable development goals on December 9 California time (December 10 Japan time). The theme is "Vision and Clean Energy." Full Story
Virus-like probes could help make rapid COVID-19 testing more accurate, reliableNovember 30, 2020
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed new and improved probes, known as positive controls, that could make it easier to validate rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests for COVID-19 across the globe. The advance could help expand testing to low-resource, underserved areas. Full Story
Energizing Plastics Renewability, Recycling EffortsOctober 30, 2020
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Jon Pokorski $2 million in funding to develop a new kind of biodegradable plastic—one filled with bacterial spores that will aid in breaking down the material at the end of its life-cycle. Co-leading the project will be UC San Diego bioengineer Adam Feist. Full Story
UC San Diego Launches Institute for Materials Discovery and DesignOctober 9, 2020
Climate change, public health and equal access to food and water are some of the biggest challenges facing humanity--and materials science can help provide solutions for them all. That was the message researchers shared during the launch of the Institute for Materials Discovery and Design (IMDD) at the University of California San Diego, held virtually Sept. 29. Full Story
Toward all-solid-state lithium metal batteriesSeptember 17, 2020
New work published in September 2020 in the journal Joule, led by researchers in the lab of UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Shirley Meng, will help explain this stability. In particular, the work unravels some of the mystery of the interface between lithium metal and LiPON. Full Story
Diamonds, Pencils Inspire Scientists to Create Multipurpose Protein Tool
August 18, 2020
Researchers created protein crystals that generate surprising electrical charge that could be useful for various new materials applications. Full Story
Nanoengineering and chemical engineering at UC San Diego in the spotlightAugust 10, 2020
A creative group of faculty, students and staff within the University of California San Diego are taking innovative approaches to develop breakthroughs in nanomedicine, flexible electronics, and energy storage. Together, this group makes up the Department of NanoEngineering and the Chemical Engineering Program at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. A virtual issue of the journal ACS Nano highlights the wide ranging research, educational and workforce-development contributions of this extraordinary group. Full Story
Engineer Earns Presidential Award for Improving Underrepresented Student Access to STEM ExperiencesAugust 7, 2020
Olivia Graeve, a UC San Diego professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from the White House. The award was created in 1995 to honor extraordinary individuals whose efforts have helped provide underrepresented groups with access to opportunities in STEM. Full Story
$18M Boost to Materials Science Research at UC San DiegoJuly 9, 2020
The National Science Foundation has awarded University of California San Diego researchers a six-year $18 million grant to fund a new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). These research centers are transformative for the schools that earn them, putting their materials science research efforts into the global spotlight. In addition to research and facilities funding, MRSEC centers provide sustained research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students, and resources to focus on diversifying the pool of students studying materials science. The UC San Diego labs funded by this new MRSEC will focus on two important, emerging approaches to build new materials aimed at improving human lives. Full Story
UC San Diego NanoEngineers to lead MRSEC research thrust on Predictive Assembly July 8, 2020
In some ways, the field of materials science is where the pharmaceutical sciences were twenty years ago. A team of University of California San Diego researchers is working to change that. The team makes up the "predictive assembly" research thrust of the new $18M Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Today, computational and predictive tools are used in the pharmaceutical industry in order to design "small molecule" drugs with particular properties and behaviors. The challenge is that the design-before-you-synthesize approach hasn't worked for the larger-scale materials that are critical for many applications beyond small-molecule drugs. That's the work that will be done by the team led by nanoengineering professors Andrea Tao and Tod Pascal from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. Full Story
UC San Diego NanoEngineers to lead MRSEC research thrust on Living Materials July 8, 2020
University of California San Diego researchers are using the tools of the biotechnology revolution—in particular, genetic engineering and synthetic biology—to build new classes of materials with novel kinds of abilities. Materials that can repair themselves are just one example of the applications of the "living materials" research thrust that is a key component of the new $18M Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The team's big idea is to incorporate living organisms, either from plants or microbes, into their new materials. Living organisms have evolved over billions of years to perform complex functions and to sense the environment around them. Synthetic materials still lag far behind what biological systems can accomplish. The UC San Diego researchers are asking: why not use biology to program materials? Full Story
Marrying molecular farming and advanced manufacturing to develop a COVID-19 vaccineApril 20, 2020
UC San Diego nanoengineers received a Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grant from the National Science Foundation to develop—using a plant virus—a stable, easy to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine patch that can be shipped around the world and painlessly self-administered by patients. Full Story
3D printed corals provide more fertile ground for algae growthApril 9, 2020
Researchers have 3D printed coral-inspired structures that are capable of growing dense populations of microscopic algae. The work could lead to the development of compact, more efficient bioreactors for producing algae-based biofuels, as well as new techniques to repair and restore coral reefs. Full Story
UC San Diego battery pioneer Shirley Meng earns Faraday Medal from Royal Society of Chemistry April 6, 2020
Congratulations to UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Shirley Meng, who has earned the 2020 Faraday Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Meng is a leader in materials characterization and synthesis, including development of novel battery technologies that are driving a low-carbon, more sustainable future. Full Story
Pathways toward realizing the promise of all-solid-state batteriesMarch 13, 2020
UC San Diego nanoengineers offer a research roadmap describing four challenges that need to be addressed in order to advance a promising class of batteries, all-solid-state batteries, to commercialization. The researchers describe their work to tackle these challenges over the past three years. Full Story
'Spillway' for electrons could keep lithium metal batteries from catching fireMarch 12, 2020
UC San Diego nanoengineers developed a safety feature that prevents lithium metal batteries from rapidly overheating and catching fire in case of an internal short circuit. The clever tweak does not prevent battery failure, but rather provides advance warning of failure and makes it much safer. Full Story
Light-shrinking device enables detection of ultra-tiny substancesFebruary 25, 2020
Engineers at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley have created light-based technology that can detect biological substances with a molecular mass more than two orders of magnitude smaller than previously possible. The research could lead to the development of ultra-sensitive devices that can quickly detect pathogens in human blood and considerably reduce the time needed for patients to get results from blood tests. Full Story
UC San Diego launches Institute for Materials Discovery and DesignDecember 13, 2019
We are pleased to announce the formation of the San Diego Institute for Materials Discovery and Design, a joint initiative of the Jacobs School of Engineering and Division of Physical Sciences at the University of California San Diego. Our goal is to position UC San Diego as the recognized global academic leader in nanoscale and quantum materials design and discovery. The Institute’s unique approach will be to apply data analytics and machine learning together with rapid materials synthesis and multi-scale characterization in order to accelerate the discovery, design, synthesis and evaluation of novel functional materials. Full Story
Discovering the Magic Number of Earth Ice Molecules
November 18, 2019
An international team of researchers, including scientists from UC San Diego, identified the number of molecules it takes to turn water into ice, solving a decades-old chemistry mystery. Full Story
Waking Up to Why Sleep Health Matters
October 31, 2019
UC San Diego students, scientists drive new initiative aimed at helping the public "see the light" on circadian rhythms and sleep health. Full Story
Piranha-proof fish scales offer inspiration for better armorOctober 16, 2019
Material scientists have discovered what makes the scales of the massive Amazonian freshwater fish, Arapaima gigas, resistant to breaking when a piranha bites. The answer could serve as inspiration for stronger, lightweight and flexible synthetic armors. Full Story
Research Reveals Self-sharpening Mechanism in Sea Urchin TeethSeptember 19, 2019
Even millions of chewing cycles and regular contact with rocks and hard shells can’t dull sea urchins’ teeth. New research from Northwestern Engineering researchers, in collaboration with the University of California San Diego, reveals that the chemical composition and microstructure of sea urchin teeth are optimized for sharpness preservation – findings with the potential to influence the design of tools for mining, boring, and machining operations. Full Story