collegeofengineering •...

4
POP QUIZ COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY engineeringNews Jun Tucay CEE sophomore “That we’re all squares and we study all the time.” Vincent Lee EECS sophomore “We always have a calcu- lator. I don’t have one on me!” Wendy Kobayashi ME junior “That it’s all about math. Everyone says you must be good at math, but there are a lot of con- cepts behind it.” Josh Silver Undeclared freshman “That we can sometimes function in society.” A silent epidemic It affects one out of 10 Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs), and most of them don't even know they have it. It is chronic hepatitis B, which causes 80 percent of liver cancer and is a leading cause of premature death from liver failure. And because the illness is asymptomatic, most carriers remain unaware and pass it along through generations. As he graduates, Denis Lam (B.S.’07 BioE) leaves behind him one of the first chapters of the Asian Liver Center at any college in America. Lam, 22, has pioneered hep-B awareness, particu- larly how it affects the API population, in Berkeley. Lam had just received his college acceptance PASSIONATE: Denis Lam made Berkeley pay attention to a public health crisis. What is the biggest myth about engineers? Continued on page 2 FEBRUARY 1, 2008 VOL. 78 , NO. 2S PHOTO COURTESY OF DENIS LAM CELESTE ALTUS PHOTO WORKING THE ROOM: Engineering students flocked to the 2008 EECS Internship Open House held last week in the Hearst Memorial Mining Building. They schmoozed with recruiters from dozens of high-profile companies like Pixar, Google, Lockheed Martin and Charles Schwab. If you missed the event, there is still a chance to meet recruiters from top companies at upcoming infosessions. See page 3. BACK IN FULL SWING BioE alum inspires hep-B awareness

Upload: others

Post on 15-Jul-2020

2 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: COLLEGEOFENGINEERING • …engineering.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/docs/Engineering… · nuclear fuel company. Before com-ing here, I didn't know anything about a Pebble

engineeringNews

<of note>

4 engineeringNews

POPQUIZ

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

engineeringNews

10394.qxd:Layout 1 8/7/07 6:07 PM Page 1

BioEAssistantProfessorIrina M.Conboyhas re-ceived a$2.25milliongrantfromthe Cal-ifornia

Institute forRegenerative Medicine for

stem cell research. Conboy, who joined the Berk-eley faculty in 2004, is researching whetherembryonic stem cells can rejuvenate aging mus-cles. Conboy was one of 22 researchers chosen bythe Independent Citizens Oversight Committee,the governing board of the institute, to share $54million in funding for stem cell scientists.

Published biweekly on Fridays during the academic year by theEngineering Marketing and Communications Office, College ofEngineering, University of California, Berkeley.

Copy deadline is 4:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding publication.

Celeste Altusacting managing editor and writer

Patti Meaghercopy editor

S. Shankar Sastrydean

Teresa Mooreexecutive director, office of marketing and communications

Berkeley has formed analliance with the University ofTokyo to start a cross-cultural grad-uate nuclear engineering programto foster collaboration between thetwo nations.

U.S. nuclear engineers can learn agreat deal from Japan's highlydeveloped use of nuclear power,says Eugenio Urquiza, an NE Ph.D.student.

“Nuclear is one of the few energysources that can replace coal, andJapan is a great example of a coun-try developing technology thatuses mostly nuclear energy for elec-tricity.”

The cross-continental programwas born when Tokyo professorHiroyuki Takahashi visited UCBerkeley NE professor JoonhongAhn 18 months ago. They receiveda grant to develop a program thatwill address global problems likeprotecting the environment, sup-plying safe and stable nuclear ener-gy and applying radiation forhealthy lives.

During the semester break, theTokyo contingent spent three daysin January visiting Berkeley, pre-senting papers and discussingresearch. At a concluding sympo-sium at Berkeley’s Faculty Club, stu-dents and professors from bothcountries said the meetings were avaluable first step in training futureengineers and exchanging interna-tional expertise.

Max Fratoni, a fourth-year NEPh.D. student, noted Japan’sresourcefulness in investing in edu-cation to ensure opportunity forfuture students to study nuclearenergy. “A lot of the workshop isabout educating the next genera-tion of engineers,” he says. “Thereis a lack of students in this field.”

Ahn, a Tokyo native who joinedthe Berkeley faculty in 1995, saysthat, while Japan is more advancedin some areas of nuclear strategy,the U.S. is far ahead in regulations.

“The rest of the world is carefullywatching and following what theUnited States is doing in this area,”he says.

Now under way is a distancelearning project, with the broad-casting of Berkeley nuclear engi-neering colloquia to Tokyo.

Tatsushiko Ogawa, a master’s stu-dent from Tokyo, says many of thepresentations were of interest tohim because they were far removedfrom his specialty.

“Most were for reactors,” he says,“and I am going to work for anuclear fuel company. Before com-ing here, I didn't know anythingabout a Pebble Bed advanced hightemperature reactor! It’s not studiedin Japan.”

Investing in the future

University of CaliforniaEngineering News312 McLaughlin HallBerkeley, California 94720-1704Phone: 510 642.5857Fax: 510 643.8882

[email protected]

www.coe.berkeley.edu/engnews/index.html

FEBRUARY 1, 2008

www.nuc.berkeley.edu

NE hosts international visitors for symposium

NEXT GENERATION: Graduate students in nuclear engineering from Berkeley and theUniversity of Tokyo mix it up during a January symposium on campus.

PEGSKORPIN

SKIPHOTO

PEGSKORPIN

SKI PHOTO

Jun TucayCEE sophomore

“That we’re all squaresand we study all

the time.”

Vincent LeeEECS sophomore

“We always have a calcu-lator. I don’t have

one on me!”

Wendy KobayashiME junior

“That it’s all about math.Everyone says you must

be good at math, butthere are a lot of con-

cepts behind it.”

Josh SilverUndeclared freshman

“That we can sometimesfunction in society.”

A silent epidemic

It affects oneout of 10 Asiansand PacificIslanders(APIs), andmost of themdon't evenknow theyhave it.It is chronichepatitis B,which causes80 percent of

liver cancer and is a leading cause of prematuredeath from liver failure.

And because the illness is asymptomatic, mostcarriers remain unaware and pass it alongthrough generations.

As he graduates, Denis Lam (B.S.’07 BioE)leaves behind him one of the first chapters of theAsian Liver Center at any college in America.Lam, 22, has pioneered hep-B awareness, particu-larly how it affects the API population, inBerkeley.

Lam had just received his college acceptance

PASSIONATE: Denis Lam made Berkeleypay attention to a public health crisis.

What

is the biggest

myth about

engineers?

Continued on page 2

FEBRUARY 1, 2008 VOL. 78 , NO. 2S

PHOTOCOURTESY

OFDEN

ISLAM

CELESTEALTUS

PHOTO

WORKING THE ROOM: Engineering students flocked

to the 2008 EECS Internship Open House held last

week in the Hearst Memorial Mining Building. They

schmoozed with recruiters from dozens of high-profile

companies like Pixar, Google, Lockheed Martin and

Charles Schwab. If you missed the event, there is still a

chance to meet recruiters from top companies at

upcoming infosessions. See page 3.

BACK IN FULL SWING

BioE alum inspires hep-B awareness

Page 2: COLLEGEOFENGINEERING • …engineering.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/docs/Engineering… · nuclear fuel company. Before com-ing here, I didn't know anything about a Pebble

3engineeringNews

Get the complete College calendar atwww.coe.berkeley.edu/events.

2 engineeringNews

<announcements>10394.qxd:Layout 1 8/7/07 6:07 PM Page 3

Now is the time to make anenduring contribution to theCollege of Engineering.

The Senior Gift Campaign aimsto raise crucial income for theCollege’s Annual Fund, whichdirectly supports student programsand resources such as the Centerfor Entrepreneurship & Technol-ogy, the Society of WomenEngineers, the Concrete CanoeTeam, CalSol, student scholarshipsand state-of-the-art teaching facili-ties and labs.

The Engineering Senior GiftCommittee will host its annualkick-off party from 4:30 to 6:30p.m. Thursday, February 14, at theBechtel Engineering Center, Rooms120 A, B, & C.

Seniors who donate to the SeniorGift Campaign before February 14will be entered in a raffle to win a$150 gift certificate to Best Buy.Stop by to meet the participants,eat free pizza, get your complimen-tary gift, enter the raffle and findout if you’ve won the grand prize!

One of the campaign’s primarygoals is to inspire the class of 2008to participate. Last year, 36 percentof graduating seniors contributed,while the 2008 committee’s goal isto achieve a record-breaking 50 per-cent participation rate.

The 2008 Senior Gift committe

members include ME freshman SivaBharadvaj, seniors Wayne Feng(IEOR and Economics), DwightAsuncion (IEOR), Winnie Kuo(BioE) and Carol Huang (CEE).

“By donating to the gift cam-paign, we take part in making surethat Berkeley Engineering remainsthe number one engineeringschool,” says Kuo.“Senior gifts helpdevelop future generations of engi-neers, since our contribution goesback to funding Engineers' JointCouncil, faculty recruitment andstudent outreach.”

For more information [email protected].

letter in 2002 when he attended a healthconference at the Asian Liver Center atStanford. What he learned about the highrisk of APIs for contracting hep-B so shockedhim that he took it on as a personal cause.But he never saw himself as a crusader.

“I wouldn't ever have imagined this wouldhappen! People gave me insight and ideas.Basically it’s education that is needed totackle this problem,” he says. “The disease iscompletely preventable.”

Peter Swing of the AsianWeek Foundation,which supports the San Francisco Hep-B Freecampaign, has followed Lam’s work atBerkeley.

“For someone of such a young age, he’s aremarkable person,” Swing says. “The hep-Bcause inspired him and provided a synthesisbetween his major, BioE, and his work.”

After entering Berkeley in 2003, Lamwanted to spread the word about hep-B. Heand his fellow students created a DeCal class,classes initiated, designed and taught byBerkeley students.

They then formed a student organizationat Berkeley called Team HBV. The team aimsto advance the goals of the Asian LiverCenter at college campuses across the UnitedStates to help fight hepatitis B and liver can-cer worldwide.

Last semester Team HBV championed a billthat passed the student senate, confirmingUC Berkeley’s support of the group and itsawareness mission.

Lam was also the public relations directorfor ASUC while at Berkeley and interned atCalifornia Pacific Medical Center LiverTransplant Clinic to perform hepatitis-related research.

Lam graduated in December and is nowworking with the SF Hep B Free initiative.He’s considering medical school but hasother projects in the works, such as work-ing with Batiq.org, a Web 2.0 companythat matches teens with mentors in education and business.

Given his varied interests, Lam keeps hisoptions open. He gives this advice to hisbrother Patrick, a Berkeley sophomore, andother young people who feel familial orsocial pressure to keep rigid career timelines.

“Don’t sacrifice one passion for another,”he says. “Combine them. Build your ownportfolio.”

EpidemicContinued from page 1

FEBRUARY 1, 2008

www.coe.berkeley.edu/seniorgift

Calling the Class of 2008

http://jrc.berkeley.edu

Senior Gift Campaign kicks off February 14

SUDOKU

Enter digits from 1 to 9 into theblank spaces. Every row must con-

tain one of each digit. So mustevery column, as must every 3x3square.The answer will appear in

the next issue. Below is the answer to last issue’s puzzle.

CELESTE ALTUS PHOTO

TEAM 2008: L-R: Bharadvaj, Feng,Asuncion, Kuo. Huang not pictured.

Preventing diabetic blindnessCITRIS presents a lecture by Jorge Cuadros, assistant clinicalprofessor of optometry on EyePACS, a web-based communica-tion system that screens for diabetic retinopathy, the leadingcause of diabetic blindness among working-age adults. Thetalk, which begins at noon Wednesday, February 6, in 290Hearst Memorial Mining Building, is free, open to the publicand broadcast live at mms://media.citris.berkeley.edu/webcast.

E-Week getting closerMany groups have volunteered to host events for EngineersWeek, set for February 19 through 22. This year, students canlook forward to daily barbecues, tabling, info sessions, andnight activities such as receptions. Anyone wanting to helpout should contact Q.J. Flores at [email protected].

Tell us a little bit about your jobs sincegraduating from Berkeley.My career path has been unusual. I took fiveyears off during my senior year because theME program left me burned out. Duringthose years, I realized that I was interested inmedicine. I found a research job in bonemechanics at UCSF and the S.F. VeteransAdministration Hospital. I continued withthat job as I completed my bachelor’s in MEpart-time. After earning my Ph.D., I wasrecruited to UC Irvine.

CE career fair next Wednesday Society of Civil Engineers and Chi Epsilon presents a CivilEngineering Career Fair, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, February13, at the MLK Student Union, Pauley Ballroom, 3rd floor.Open to all majors. For an optional dinner with employers(cost $10), advance reservations are required. For more info,contact [email protected].

Update that resumeHewlett Packard will hold a recruitment infosession from 6 to8 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, in Wozniak Lounge, 4th Floor ofSoda Hall. Other upcoming sessions include VMWare at 5p.m. February 13, Amazon.com at 5 p.m. February 20,Lockheed Martin at 6 p.m. February 21, and Pixar at 5 p.m.February 27. All will be held in Wozniak. For a complete sched-ule go to www.eecs.berkeley.edu/IPRO/infosessions.shtml.

WITH ME/BIOE ALUM JOYCE KEYAK

After graduating from Berkeley, Joyce Keyak (B.S.’89 ME, Ph.D.’96 BioE) joined the faculty atUC Irvine, where she is associate professor in residence in orthopaedic surgery. She special-izes in osteoporosis and the biomechanics of bone and and has pioneered noninvasive meth-ods for creating subject-specific finite element models to evaluate bone strength.Thesemethods have been used to compute the hip strength of astronauts before and afterextended missions on the International Space Station.

What do you like about your job?I love the intellectual challenge of doing inno-vative research. I am constantly learningabout new and exciting things. I can followmy interests as long as I can get funding tosupport the research, in contrast with re-searchers in industry. Unfortunately, securinggrant funding can be very stressful, especiallyat times like this when so few NationalInstitutes of Health grant proposals are get-ting funded. That is the down side to being inacademia.

How did you find your passion?I listed my interests and skills, both personaland professional. My interest in health care,desire to handle unusual challenges, and back-ground in engineering led me to research inbioengineering.

What do you recommend students doduring school to prepare for a career?Work in your field at least a little beforegraduating. Even a little experience will helpyou get a job.

What are some things to think aboutwhile considering a potential job?What career path can you expect from thejob? Will you be able to grow professionally?Will you be happy with the demands of the job? What is the reward for success in that job, and does that match your goals and values?

Have additional questions? [email protected].

FRANCISCO

CHANES

PHOTO

FEBRUARY 1, 2008

<career corner>

Page 3: COLLEGEOFENGINEERING • …engineering.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/docs/Engineering… · nuclear fuel company. Before com-ing here, I didn't know anything about a Pebble

3engineeringNews

Get the complete College calendar atwww.coe.berkeley.edu/events.

2 engineeringNews

<announcements>10394.qxd:Layout 1 8/7/07 6:07 PM Page 3

Now is the time to make anenduring contribution to theCollege of Engineering.

The Senior Gift Campaign aimsto raise crucial income for theCollege’s Annual Fund, whichdirectly supports student programsand resources such as the Centerfor Entrepreneurship & Technol-ogy, the Society of WomenEngineers, the Concrete CanoeTeam, CalSol, student scholarshipsand state-of-the-art teaching facili-ties and labs.

The Engineering Senior GiftCommittee will host its annualkick-off party from 4:30 to 6:30p.m. Thursday, February 14, at theBechtel Engineering Center, Rooms120 A, B, & C.

Seniors who donate to the SeniorGift Campaign before February 14will be entered in a raffle to win a$150 gift certificate to Best Buy.Stop by to meet the participants,eat free pizza, get your complimen-tary gift, enter the raffle and findout if you’ve won the grand prize!

One of the campaign’s primarygoals is to inspire the class of 2008to participate. Last year, 36 percentof graduating seniors contributed,while the 2008 committee’s goal isto achieve a record-breaking 50 per-cent participation rate.

The 2008 Senior Gift committe

members include ME freshman SivaBharadvaj, seniors Wayne Feng(IEOR and Economics), DwightAsuncion (IEOR), Winnie Kuo(BioE) and Carol Huang (CEE).

“By donating to the gift cam-paign, we take part in making surethat Berkeley Engineering remainsthe number one engineeringschool,” says Kuo.“Senior gifts helpdevelop future generations of engi-neers, since our contribution goesback to funding Engineers' JointCouncil, faculty recruitment andstudent outreach.”

For more information [email protected].

letter in 2002 when he attended a healthconference at the Asian Liver Center atStanford. What he learned about the highrisk of APIs for contracting hep-B so shockedhim that he took it on as a personal cause.But he never saw himself as a crusader.

“I wouldn't ever have imagined this wouldhappen! People gave me insight and ideas.Basically it’s education that is needed totackle this problem,” he says. “The disease iscompletely preventable.”

Peter Swing of the AsianWeek Foundation,which supports the San Francisco Hep-B Freecampaign, has followed Lam’s work atBerkeley.

“For someone of such a young age, he’s aremarkable person,” Swing says. “The hep-Bcause inspired him and provided a synthesisbetween his major, BioE, and his work.”

After entering Berkeley in 2003, Lamwanted to spread the word about hep-B. Heand his fellow students created a DeCal class,classes initiated, designed and taught byBerkeley students.

They then formed a student organizationat Berkeley called Team HBV. The team aimsto advance the goals of the Asian LiverCenter at college campuses across the UnitedStates to help fight hepatitis B and liver can-cer worldwide.

Last semester Team HBV championed a billthat passed the student senate, confirmingUC Berkeley’s support of the group and itsawareness mission.

Lam was also the public relations directorfor ASUC while at Berkeley and interned atCalifornia Pacific Medical Center LiverTransplant Clinic to perform hepatitis-related research.

Lam graduated in December and is nowworking with the SF Hep B Free initiative.He’s considering medical school but hasother projects in the works, such as work-ing with Batiq.org, a Web 2.0 companythat matches teens with mentors in education and business.

Given his varied interests, Lam keeps hisoptions open. He gives this advice to hisbrother Patrick, a Berkeley sophomore, andother young people who feel familial orsocial pressure to keep rigid career timelines.

“Don’t sacrifice one passion for another,”he says. “Combine them. Build your ownportfolio.”

EpidemicContinued from page 1

FEBRUARY 1, 2008

www.coe.berkeley.edu/seniorgift

Calling the Class of 2008

http://jrc.berkeley.edu

Senior Gift Campaign kicks off February 14

SUDOKU

Enter digits from 1 to 9 into theblank spaces. Every row must con-

tain one of each digit. So mustevery column, as must every 3x3square.The answer will appear in

the next issue. Below is the answer to last issue’s puzzle.

CELESTE ALTUS PHOTO

TEAM 2008: L-R: Bharadvaj, Feng,Asuncion, Kuo. Huang not pictured.

Preventing diabetic blindnessCITRIS presents a lecture by Jorge Cuadros, assistant clinicalprofessor of optometry on EyePACS, a web-based communica-tion system that screens for diabetic retinopathy, the leadingcause of diabetic blindness among working-age adults. Thetalk, which begins at noon Wednesday, February 6, in 290Hearst Memorial Mining Building, is free, open to the publicand broadcast live at mms://media.citris.berkeley.edu/webcast.

E-Week getting closerMany groups have volunteered to host events for EngineersWeek, set for February 19 through 22. This year, students canlook forward to daily barbecues, tabling, info sessions, andnight activities such as receptions. Anyone wanting to helpout should contact Q.J. Flores at [email protected].

Tell us a little bit about your jobs sincegraduating from Berkeley.My career path has been unusual. I took fiveyears off during my senior year because theME program left me burned out. Duringthose years, I realized that I was interested inmedicine. I found a research job in bonemechanics at UCSF and the S.F. VeteransAdministration Hospital. I continued withthat job as I completed my bachelor’s in MEpart-time. After earning my Ph.D., I wasrecruited to UC Irvine.

CE career fair next Wednesday Society of Civil Engineers and Chi Epsilon presents a CivilEngineering Career Fair, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, February13, at the MLK Student Union, Pauley Ballroom, 3rd floor.Open to all majors. For an optional dinner with employers(cost $10), advance reservations are required. For more info,contact [email protected].

Update that resumeHewlett Packard will hold a recruitment infosession from 6 to8 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, in Wozniak Lounge, 4th Floor ofSoda Hall. Other upcoming sessions include VMWare at 5p.m. February 13, Amazon.com at 5 p.m. February 20,Lockheed Martin at 6 p.m. February 21, and Pixar at 5 p.m.February 27. All will be held in Wozniak. For a complete sched-ule go to www.eecs.berkeley.edu/IPRO/infosessions.shtml.

WITH ME/BIOE ALUM JOYCE KEYAK

After graduating from Berkeley, Joyce Keyak (B.S.’89 ME, Ph.D.’96 BioE) joined the faculty atUC Irvine, where she is associate professor in residence in orthopaedic surgery. She special-izes in osteoporosis and the biomechanics of bone and and has pioneered noninvasive meth-ods for creating subject-specific finite element models to evaluate bone strength.Thesemethods have been used to compute the hip strength of astronauts before and afterextended missions on the International Space Station.

What do you like about your job?I love the intellectual challenge of doing inno-vative research. I am constantly learningabout new and exciting things. I can followmy interests as long as I can get funding tosupport the research, in contrast with re-searchers in industry. Unfortunately, securinggrant funding can be very stressful, especiallyat times like this when so few NationalInstitutes of Health grant proposals are get-ting funded. That is the down side to being inacademia.

How did you find your passion?I listed my interests and skills, both personaland professional. My interest in health care,desire to handle unusual challenges, and back-ground in engineering led me to research inbioengineering.

What do you recommend students doduring school to prepare for a career?Work in your field at least a little beforegraduating. Even a little experience will helpyou get a job.

What are some things to think aboutwhile considering a potential job?What career path can you expect from thejob? Will you be able to grow professionally?Will you be happy with the demands of the job? What is the reward for success in that job, and does that match your goals and values?

Have additional questions? [email protected].

FRANCISCO

CHANES

PHOTO

FEBRUARY 1, 2008

<career corner>

Page 4: COLLEGEOFENGINEERING • …engineering.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/docs/Engineering… · nuclear fuel company. Before com-ing here, I didn't know anything about a Pebble

engineeringNews

<of note>

4 engineeringNews

POPQUIZ

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

engineeringNews

10394.qxd:Layout 1 8/7/07 6:07 PM Page 1

BioEAssistantProfessorIrina M.Conboyhas re-ceived a$2.25milliongrantfromthe Cal-ifornia

Institute forRegenerative Medicine for

stem cell research. Conboy, who joined the Berk-eley faculty in 2004, is researching whetherembryonic stem cells can rejuvenate aging mus-cles. Conboy was one of 22 researchers chosen bythe Independent Citizens Oversight Committee,the governing board of the institute, to share $54million in funding for stem cell scientists.

Published biweekly on Fridays during the academic year by theEngineering Marketing and Communications Office, College ofEngineering, University of California, Berkeley.

Copy deadline is 4:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding publication.

Celeste Altusacting managing editor and writer

Patti Meaghercopy editor

S. Shankar Sastrydean

Teresa Mooreexecutive director, office of marketing and communications

Berkeley has formed analliance with the University ofTokyo to start a cross-cultural grad-uate nuclear engineering programto foster collaboration between thetwo nations.

U.S. nuclear engineers can learn agreat deal from Japan's highlydeveloped use of nuclear power,says Eugenio Urquiza, an NE Ph.D.student.

“Nuclear is one of the few energysources that can replace coal, andJapan is a great example of a coun-try developing technology thatuses mostly nuclear energy for elec-tricity.”

The cross-continental programwas born when Tokyo professorHiroyuki Takahashi visited UCBerkeley NE professor JoonhongAhn 18 months ago. They receiveda grant to develop a program thatwill address global problems likeprotecting the environment, sup-plying safe and stable nuclear ener-gy and applying radiation forhealthy lives.

During the semester break, theTokyo contingent spent three daysin January visiting Berkeley, pre-senting papers and discussingresearch. At a concluding sympo-sium at Berkeley’s Faculty Club, stu-dents and professors from bothcountries said the meetings were avaluable first step in training futureengineers and exchanging interna-tional expertise.

Max Fratoni, a fourth-year NEPh.D. student, noted Japan’sresourcefulness in investing in edu-cation to ensure opportunity forfuture students to study nuclearenergy. “A lot of the workshop isabout educating the next genera-tion of engineers,” he says. “Thereis a lack of students in this field.”

Ahn, a Tokyo native who joinedthe Berkeley faculty in 1995, saysthat, while Japan is more advancedin some areas of nuclear strategy,the U.S. is far ahead in regulations.

“The rest of the world is carefullywatching and following what theUnited States is doing in this area,”he says.

Now under way is a distancelearning project, with the broad-casting of Berkeley nuclear engi-neering colloquia to Tokyo.

Tatsushiko Ogawa, a master’s stu-dent from Tokyo, says many of thepresentations were of interest tohim because they were far removedfrom his specialty.

“Most were for reactors,” he says,“and I am going to work for anuclear fuel company. Before com-ing here, I didn't know anythingabout a Pebble Bed advanced hightemperature reactor! It’s not studiedin Japan.”

Investing in the future

University of CaliforniaEngineering News312 McLaughlin HallBerkeley, California 94720-1704Phone: 510 642.5857Fax: 510 643.8882

[email protected]

www.coe.berkeley.edu/engnews/index.html

FEBRUARY 1, 2008

www.nuc.berkeley.edu

NE hosts international visitors for symposium

NEXT GENERATION: Graduate students in nuclear engineering from Berkeley and theUniversity of Tokyo mix it up during a January symposium on campus.

PEGSKORPIN

SKIPHOTO

PEGSKORPIN

SKI PHOTO

Jun TucayCEE sophomore

“That we’re all squaresand we study all

the time.”

Vincent LeeEECS sophomore

“We always have a calcu-lator. I don’t have

one on me!”

Wendy KobayashiME junior

“That it’s all about math.Everyone says you must

be good at math, butthere are a lot of con-

cepts behind it.”

Josh SilverUndeclared freshman

“That we can sometimesfunction in society.”

A silent epidemic

It affects oneout of 10 Asiansand PacificIslanders(APIs), andmost of themdon't evenknow theyhave it.It is chronichepatitis B,which causes80 percent of

liver cancer and is a leading cause of prematuredeath from liver failure.

And because the illness is asymptomatic, mostcarriers remain unaware and pass it alongthrough generations.

As he graduates, Denis Lam (B.S.’07 BioE)leaves behind him one of the first chapters of theAsian Liver Center at any college in America.Lam, 22, has pioneered hep-B awareness, particu-larly how it affects the API population, inBerkeley.

Lam had just received his college acceptance

PASSIONATE: Denis Lam made Berkeleypay attention to a public health crisis.

What

is the biggest

myth about

engineers?

Continued on page 2

FEBRUARY 1, 2008 VOL. 78 , NO. 2S

PHOTOCOURTESY

OFDEN

ISLAM

CELESTEALTUS

PHOTO

WORKING THE ROOM: Engineering students flocked

to the 2008 EECS Internship Open House held last

week in the Hearst Memorial Mining Building. They

schmoozed with recruiters from dozens of high-profile

companies like Pixar, Google, Lockheed Martin and

Charles Schwab. If you missed the event, there is still a

chance to meet recruiters from top companies at

upcoming infosessions. See page 3.

BACK IN FULL SWING

BioE alum inspires hep-B awareness