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ForefrontUniversity of CaliforniaCollege of Engineering Office of Marketing & CommunicationsBerkeley, CA 94720-1704

From Greenhouse to Lab:Artemisia’s Promise for Malaria

■ Stadium is cornerstone of campusbuilding plans

■ Students take a shot at Bay Bridgeredesign

■ Astronaut Chiao phones home fromInternational Space Station

ForefrontC O L L E G E O F E N G I N E E R I N G U N IVE RS IT Y OF C A LI FO R N IA, B E RKE LEY spring 2005

When you support Berkeley Engineering

through the Annual Fund, you help:

• Bring new faculty to the College to

ensure students learn from the best.

• Support student leadership projects

like the solar car, the concrete canoe,

and more than 20 engineering societies.

• Enhance critical resources like our

library and computer systems.

• Provide undergraduate students with

real-world research opportunities.

Please make your gift by June 30, 2005,

to help us reach our goal of $2.25 million.

Go to www.coe.berkeley.edu/giving.

Make a difference today!

c o n t e n t s

ForefrontC O L L E G E O F E N G I N E E R I N G U N IVE RS IT Y OF C A LI FO R N IA, B E RKE LEY spring 2005

dean’s message:Truth in the Age of the Internet

recently heard about a couple shopping through consumer magazines for aclothes washer.They selected a top-rated national brand but changed their minds afterfinding Internet pages full of complaints about a mildew problem with the door seal.While at the store to make their purchase, they ran into a salesman representing themaligned brand and asked about the problem.“You know,” he said,“we had a problemwith that model a few years ago. But we recalled all the units, fixed it, and haven’t hadone complaint since.We just can’t get those pages off the Web!”

The Internet has given new meaning to the words caveat emptor.

By a wide range of estimates, the one billion pages brought to you by the World WideWeb increase by one new page every four seconds. Recent studies show that only 40percent of those pages are updated weekly, with 23 percent in the dotcom domainupdated daily.

We love the Internet. It increases productivity and improves communications.About66 percent of American adults use it for everything from paying bills to purchasinggoods in a single click. Exciting developments happen daily in wildly creative blogsand peer-to-peer networks. How did we ever live without it?

The Web was built by data-sharing scientists on the venerable principle of openaccess. But the sheer volume of conflicting information, further degraded by valuelessand outdated data, now threatens to become just so much white noise. People havealready begun to tune out.

Even worse, the Web has engendered a new breezy attitude about manipulating datathat’s spilling over into every medium.We casually turn Gene Kelly into a hip-hopdancer, smear presidential candidates of both parties, and propagate “facts” that evenlead nations to war.

Cybersaturation is blurring the lines between data and information, between knowledgeand truth.The Web is also vulnerable to single powerful forces that could commandeerit for their own economic or political purposes.We are losing our framework of trust.

We can’t solve this problem, but we can raise a question:Are there tools and servicesthat we could create to help users gauge the reliability of data found on the Web? Filtersthat could detect derivative information, even when the author tries to camouflagethe source? Algorithms that could synthesize “objective” searches on a given subject?

Of course, the first step for careful consumers and caring citizens is judicious use.Vint Cerf says,“There are no electronic filters that separate truth from fiction.” But,as a responsible engineer, I’d like to see us try. I welcome your thoughts at dean.forefront@coe.berkeley.edu.

— A. RICHARD NEWTONDean, College of EngineeringRoy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering

12 MIRACLES HAPPENSynthetic biologists tap into ancient herbal pharmacy to cure malaria and AIDSBy David Pescovitz

17 ALGORITHMS THAT SERVE UP REALLY GOOD GOOP

O’Brien models the brittle, the viscous, and the volatile worldBy David Pescovitz

20 EASY WATER

Transforming wastewater’s murky image into goldBy Gordy Slack

2 NEWS FROM THE NORTHSIDEStadium to serve as cornerstone of campus building plansTsunami dramatizes value of simple IT solutionsBerkeley selected to host hydrology research centerSastry named new director of Berkeley-based CITRISStudents take a shot at Bay Bridge redesign challengeFaculty-industry ties connect Berkeley Engineering to the “real” world

24 THE GIFT OF GIVINGGordon and Betty Moore:A better world through philanthropyH.T. and Jessie Chua cap longtime support with new professorship

25 ALUMNI UPDATEClass notesReal World Engineering attendance best everAstronaut Leroy Chiao phones home from space stationCrunching data to make weak bones strongFood for scientific thoughtSpeeding is her way of lifeIn memoriam

Forefront takes you into the labs, class-rooms, and lives of professors, students, and alumni for an intimate look at the innovativeresearch, teaching, and campus life that define the College of Engineering at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley.

Published by College of EngineeringOffice of Marketing & Communications1925 Walnut St. #1704University of CaliforniaBerkeley, CA 94720-1704Phone: 510.643.6898, 510.643.6857Fax: 510.643.8882www.coe.berkeley.edu/forefront

A. Richard Newtondean

Melissa Nideverassistant dean, college relations

Gina Riegerdirector, alumni relations

Teresa Mooredirector, marketing & communicationsmanaging editor, forefront

Nancy Bronsteinfeatures editor

Patti Meagherdepartments editor

Rachel Jackson, Engineering News EditorSarah Yang, UC Berkeley Public Affairscontributors

Alissar Rayesdesign

Dome Printingprinting

send comments and letters to: forefront@coe.berkeley.edu

submit your class note at: www.coe.berkeley.edu/classnotes

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send engineering gifts to:Berkeley Engineering Fund208 McLaughlin Hall #1722Berkeley, CA 94720-1722Phone: 510.642.2487Fax: 510.643.7054

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© 2005 Regents of the University of California

Not printed at state expense.

On the coverRead the story on page 12.Since A.D. 150, Chinese herbalists havetreated fevers with an extract from Artemisiaannua, the sweet wormwood plant. Since theearly 1990s, when world health authoritiesembraced it as the first-line defense againstmalaria, speculators have hoarded the herb,driving up prices. But synthetic biologist JayKeasling and his Berkeley team are close tosynthesizing the drug, which would increasesupply, decrease cost, and save lives.

cover photo by Bart Nagelback cover photo by Peg Skorpinski

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In December, as massive tsunamisinflicted unprecedented devas-tation on Southeast Asia andbeyond, Berkeley EECS profes-sor Eric Brewer and a team ofeight graduate students andresearchers from Intel weresearching for new ideas onhow their research could helpthe troubled region.

“Life in these regions is fragileon a good day, so when some-thing goes catastrophicallywrong, it’s far worse than thesame thing would be here,” saysBrewer.“Technology can help.”

In fact, there’s evidence thatit already has.A former residentwas able to call one of the fewphones in his Indian fishingvillage of Nallavadu, located insoutheast India’s Pondicherryregion, to warn residents of thetsunami.The warning wasbroadcast over a public addresssystem in time for residents toevacuate.Although 46 fishermenand others perished in neigh-boring beachside villages, every-one in Nallavadu survived.

“That’s proof that even avery simple information systemcan save lives and, in fact, didsave lives in this village,” saysBrewer. Nallavadu’s publicaddress system predated hispresence in the region, but it isprecisely the type of solutionBrewer is looking for: low-cost,low-power systems, usable bypeople with little or no techni-cal expertise and, therefore,viable in developing nations.

Brewer is principal investigatorfor Berkeley’s five-year programknown as Information andCommunication Technologyfor Billions, or ICT4B, whichis working with local residents,non-governmental organiza-tions, and industry partners inIndia and Sri Lanka to investi-gate, create, and test technologysystems designed specifically forthe four billion people world-wide who live on less than$2000 per year. [See fall 2004Forefront.]

The researchers are workingin Nallavadu and similar villages

Tsunami dramatizes value of simple IT solutions

News from the NorthsideWhat’s New at Berkeley Engineering

During a July 2004 field trip to the Indian fishing village of Veerampattinam, a local fisherman (far left) explainsto Berkeley’s Eric Brewer (third from right) and team how each day’s forecast is downloaded via the Internetand broadcast by bullhorns along the coast to warn of dangerous storms. When the first tsunami hit this beachon December 26, the system was used to clear the beach; only three people were lost.

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to erect WiFi (wireless network-ing) antennas that reach dis-tances of up to 30 kilometersto provide affordable and easyaccess to weather conditionsfor fishermen, crop prices forfarmers, health news, and whenpossible, warnings of imminentdisaster.

Affiliated with the multi–UCcampus Center for InformationTechnology Research in theInterest of Society (CITRIS),the program is supported by a$3-million grant from theNational Science Foundationand generous support frompartners Intel, Microsoft, andothers. Brewer points out thatworking with CITRIS hasimproved the project’s effec-tiveness.

“CITRIS is valuable in thiscontext because it’s multidisci-plinary,” Brewer says.“CITRISfacilitates mixing social scienceand technology in a way thattraditionally is hard to do.” ■

by jenn shreve

JOHN M. PRAUSNITZ, pro-fessor of chemical engineeringand faculty senior scientist atLawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory, was one of eightrecipients of the National Medalof Science, the nation’s highestscientific honor. President Bushpresented the award at a WhiteHouse ceremony March 14.

A native of Berlin, Prausnitzbecame an American citizen in1944 and joined the Berkeleyfaculty in 1955. He is an appliedphysical chemist whose workfocuses on molecular thermody-namics for designing separationoperations in large chemicalplants to increase efficiency andenvironmental safety and reduceenergy consumption. His con-cepts and computer programshave been key to the design oflarge-scale chemical plants,including petroleum refineriesand facilities for manufacturingpolymers, plastics, and pharma-ceuticals.

The National Medal ofScience, administered by theNational Science Foundation,recognizes pioneering scientificresearch and innovations thatgive the U.S. its global economicedge.Three of the eight medalsawarded this year went to UCfaculty, including Prausnitz;J. Michael Bishop, professor andchancellor at UCSF; and R.Duncan Luce, DistinguishedResearch Professor of CognitiveScience and Research Professorof Economics at UC Irvine.

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Berkeley’s 82-year-old Memorial Stadium will get a facelift and seismicupgrade as part of an ambitious development plan for the campusdesigned to better integrate the stadium and athletic activities with thesurrounding campus and academic life.

The stadium will retain its existing footprint, but space below seatingon the east and west rims will be rebuilt with new amenities for sportsfans and state-of-the-art training and coaching facilities for footballand 12 other men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams. Constructionwill be phased to ensure that the football team is displaced for onlyone season.

“Anyone who’s ever gone to a ballgame would like to see the sta-dium upgraded,” says CEE professor Nicholas Sitar, former chair ofBerkeley’s Seismic Review Committee.“It’s beautiful and historic butlong overdue for fixing.”

The stadium was built in 1922-23, before official recognition of theHayward fault, which runs under the arena. Capable of producing amagnitude 7.2 quake, according to seismic experts, the fault poses arisk not only to fans but also to staff working under the west con-course and athletes during training.

“We have the talent, experience, and know-how to create a designthat will provide adequate life safety,” Sitar says, adding that a previ-ously vulnerable press box perched on the west rim was upgraded in2002.The campus expects to select an architect this spring and havedetailed schematic drawings and reliable cost estimates by fall. Fundingwill come from private sources, using a seat licensing campaign andother giving opportunities.

Also planned are a new academic commons building across thestreet from the stadium to serve Boalt Hall, Haas School of Business,and Intercollegiate Athletics, as well as a reconfiguration of PiedmontAvenue/Gayley Road with landscaping and pedestrian plazas that will enhance the everyday campus environment and the game dayexperience.

The stadium upgrade is just one element of Berkeley’s long-rangedevelopment strategy for the next 15 years, which outlines plans for2.2 million square feet of building space, 2,600 new student beds, and1,800 new parking spaces to accommodate a projected 18 percentenrollment increase. ■

Stadium to serve as cornerstone of campus building plans

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1989, Rubin is the center’s des-ignated director. NCHS direc-tor of operations will be SusanHubbard, staff scientist andhead of LBNL’s EnvironmentalRemediation Program.

The center will provide a“think tank” atmosphere forinternational multidisciplinaryresearch in hydrology, definedas the science of the Earth’swaters, their occurrence, distri-bution, properties, and environ-mental relations. Research willbe global in scope and performedby working groups, postdoctoralfellows, and sabbatical visitors

How does global warmingaffect water supply in semi-aridregions? Can scientists developa theory to help predict theonset and duration of droughts?What is the effect of a carbonemissions–constrained worldon the hydrologic cycle?

These are some of the ques-tions that scientists will beinvestigating at a new researchcenter now taking shape on theBerkeley campus that will forgean updated vision for hydrologicscience and water resourcemanagement.

Berkeley was chosen from 14competing proposals to host thecenter, known as the NationalCenter for Hydrology Synthesis(NCHS).An October 2005start date is planned, pendingselection of a state-of-the-artsite near campus and securingfunding from the NationalScience Foundation (NSF).Together with NCHS partnersupport, funding is expected tototal nearly $25 million overthe next five years.

Strongly supporting the effortwere Beth Burnside, vice chan-cellor for research, faculty anddeans from engineering, natural

resources, and physical sciences,and researchers from LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory(LBNL), a range of participantsthat reflects the center’s multi-disciplinary appeal.

“It is clearly documented thatthe 20th century hydrologyparadigm is inadequate in theface of the increased number,severity, complexity, and scale ofwater-related science questionsfacing the world,” said CEE pro-fessor Yoram Rubin in describ-ing the need for the center.Anexpert in hydrogeology whojoined the Berkeley faculty in

CEE professor Yoram Rubin isdesignated director of the newNational Center for HydrologySynthesis (NCHS), a researchcenter in development atBerkeley that will redefinehydrologic science and waterresource management.

in mathematics, engineering,and the physical, life, informa-tion, and social sciences.

Key elements will includebroad involvement of academia,policy makers, industry, andgovernment, as well as publicoutreach to ensure that NCHSresearch meets the needs of thehydrology community.

The center is one of four pillarsof HydroView, a project master-minded by the Consortium ofUniversities for the Advancementof Hydrologic Science, Inc.(CUAHSI), formed in 2001 toadvance hydrology science. ■

Berkeley selected to host hydrologyresearch center

EECS professor Carlo Séquin was part of the five-manteam that built this unique snow sculpture, entitled“Knot Divided,” for the 15th International Snow SculptureChampionships in Breckenridge, Colorado, last January.The team spent five days building the structure, whichbegins with a trefoil knot formed by a band that alsoundergoes three half-twists when viewed from the top.Séquin designed the sculpture with custom softwarethat his students built over the last five years, then pre-pared scale models on one of Berkeley’s rapid prototyp-ing machines to guide construction.

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Five Berkeley Engineering faculty members were elected in February to the NationalAcademy of Engineering(NAE), the highest professionalhonor for an American engi-neer.They are:

ChemE professor HARVEY

BLANCH for advances inenzyme engineering, biosepara-tions, and biothermodynamics;

Five Berkeley engineers elected to National Academy of EngineeringCS professor DAVID CULLER,for contributions to scalableparallel processing systemsincluding architectures, operat-ing systems, and programmingenvironments;

EECS/ME professor ROGER

HOWE , for contributions to thedevelopment of microelectro-mechanical systems in processes,devices, and systems; and

Blanch Culler Howe Kahan Majumdar

ME professor ARUNAVA

MAJUMDAR , for contributionsto nanoscale thermal engineeringand molecular nanomechanics.

In addition, WILLIAM KAHAN,professor of CS and mathematics,was one of 10 foreign associatesnamed for development oftechniques for reliable floatingpoint computation, especially theIEEE Floating Point Standards.Kahan is a native of Canada.

The five are among 74 newmembers nationwide elected tothe academy this year.Theybring to 87 the total number ofBerkeley faculty in the NAE, 75of whom are engineering faculty.Among academic institutions,Berkeley has one of the highestrepresentations in the NAE.

New academy members will beformally inducted at a ceremonythis fall in Washington, D.C.

“CITRIS has already done afantastic job addressing a widenumber of societal-scale chal-lenges and systems,” Sastry said,“and I’d like to expand uponthose successes.As CITRISenters its fourth year, I plan tooffer a new palette of challengesfor us to take on.”

His focus for the next threeyears, he says, will be on infor-mation technology applicationsto improve health care delivery

S. Shankar Sastry has beennamed the new director ofCITRIS, the Center forInformation TechnologyResearch in the Interest ofSociety. He succeeds foundingdirector and EECS professorRuzena Bajcsy.

A professor of EECS andbioengineering, Sastry (M.S.’79,Ph.D.’81 EECS) has been on thefaculty since 1983. His areas of

research include embedded andautonomous software, computervision, robotic telesurgery, cyber-security and network infra-structure, sensor networks, andhybrid and embedded systems.

He has served as director ofDARPA’s Information Tech-nology Office, director ofBerkeley’s Electronic ResearchLaboratory and, most recently,chairman of the very departmentwhere he earned his Ph.D.

at a lower price, advancing multi-media search technology, andimproving security and trustwor-thiness of societal-scale systems.

CITRIS is one of fourCalifornia Institutes for Scienceand Innovation established in2001 to keep the state on thecutting edge of new technolo-gies.The center currently unitesmore than 200 researchers fromfour UC campuses—Berkeley,Davis, Merced, and Santa Cruz—on more than 150 projects inareas such as disaster preparedness,environmental monitoring, energymanagement, and health care.

Sastry steps into the job as thecenter’s new headquarters areunder construction on the northside of campus. Building planshave been altered since excava-tion began last November toadjust for dramatic price increasesin concrete and steel during thepast two years.The new designwill go out for bids this fall, withconstruction scheduled to con-tinue through 2008.

See a live view of the CITRISbuilding site at http://observe.berkeley.edu. ■

Sastry named new director ofBerkeley-based CITRIS

S. Shankar Sastry (right) takes over directorship of the Berkeley-based CITRIS as the center’s new headquarters beginto take shape on the old Davis Hall North site, seen here from atop Cory Hall.

Team members included (from left) Dan Schwalbe ofMinneapolis; Professor Stan Wagon of MacalesterCollege in St. Paul (team captain); Séquin; RichardSeeley of Silverthorne, Colorado; and Professor JohnSullivan of Berlin’s Technical University.

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Innovations features brief updates on the pioneering research done by BerkeleyEngineering faculty and students. See more at www.coe.berkeley.edu/newsroom.

i n n o v a t i o n sCutting-edge research from Berkeley Engineering

butyl ether), and in other simi-lar applications.

Back at Berkeley, Sedlak hashad time to reflect on the dif-ferent ways Australians andCalifornians are dealing with a threatened shortage of life’smost precious fluid.

“In California, we prefer tosolve our water problems withbig approaches, like dams, high-

tech treatment plants, and newwater recycling facilities,” Sedlaksays.“In Australia, the publicthinks more locally, down tocollecting roof runoff to watertheir gardens. In the near term,I hope we’ll also start thinkingmore about local solutions toour water shortage.”■

by david pescovitz

It’s a do or dry situation forAustralia’s national water short-age.According to the AustralianWater Services Association, thecountry is facing a 275-gigalitershortage of drinking water inthe next 10 years unless drasticconservation measures and newtreatment methods are promptlyput into place.

To CEE professor DavidSedlak, the situation is similarto California’s own water prob-lems, only much worse. Duringa Fulbright fellowship last yearat the University of New SouthWales in Sydney, Sedlak workedon a novel treatment techniquethat could help in the purifica-tion of contaminated water andincrease drinkable resourcesdown under.

“There are a number of waysto treat groundwater or soil that’scontaminated with organic pol-lutants like pesticides,” Sedlaksays.“The problem is that manyof these methods are too expen-sive and relatively inefficient.”

When Sedlak arrived inAustralia, he was introduced toa recent discovery by graduatestudent Sung Hee Joo that hadthe potential to dramatically

improve a time-tested techniqueof water treatment. Joo hadobserved that nanoscale parti-cles of iron, when exposed tooxygen in contaminated water,become a powerful oxidizingagent that completely degradesthe pesticides.

Sprinkling contaminatedwater or soil with iron filingsscavenged from industrial trashis nothing new, Sedlak says.Thefilings act as a reductant, trans-ferring electrons to the pollu-tant and thereby reducing thetoxicity of the contaminant.Theprocess is commonly used toclean up groundwater taintedby dry cleaning chemicals. InAustralia, the researchers foundthat the iron particles transferelectrons to the oxygen, pro-ducing a reactant that, in turn,oxidizes the contaminants andpurifies the water much moreeffectively.

Now, Sedlak, Joo, and theircollaborators are taking a deeperlook at the reaction to under-stand the chemical mechanismsinvolved in hopes of using thetechnique with contaminantssuch as benzene, the gasolineadditive MTBE (methyl tertiary-

A fresh look at water treatment

“California and Australia are pretty similar in terms of geographyand climate,” says CEE professor David Sedlak, who won aFulbright fellowship to spend a year in Australia investigatinginexpensive, low-tech methods for reusing wastewater. In hisspare time, he learned how to surf.

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Demonstrating a prototype bridge modelare E36 students (from left) economics jun-ior David Wood, ME junior Jimmy Quintana,CEE sophomore Kelsey Bulkin, and CEEjunior Kyle Delwiche. Wood’s team won thecompetition and a $500 prize.

Students take a shot at Bay Bridge Redesign For his new class in engineering mechanics last fall, CEE professor Robert Bea challenged 115undergraduates to do something that has deadlocked Bay Area city planners and politicians for thebetter part of last year: Design a replacement for the seismically challenged eastern span of theOakland–San Francisco Bay Bridge.

The class was such a resounding success that not one, but two prize-winning teams emerged, andthose who participated say the experience profoundly deepened their understanding of engineering.

“We take a lot of classes that are theoretical,” said CEE junior Kyle Delwiche,“but in this one wegot to apply the theory. I have a better idea of what engineering is really about.”

Designed to provide a mastery of engineering mechanics core concepts, the class was centered ona project that would present practical obstacles and inspire creativity.Working in 21 teams, the stu-dents designed and built models of their bridges within the real-world constraints of aesthetics, load,safety, and budget, then presented their designs in class.The course culminated with a competitionin Sibley Auditorium, where four top teams presented and tested their designs for a live audience,who then selected winners by ballot,“American Idol”-style.

Assisting Bea in designing and teaching the class were graduate student instructors Kofi Inkabi(M.S.’00 CEE), Jenet Alviso (M.S.’02 CEE), and Rune Storesund (B.S.’00, M.S.’02 CEE). ■

Seizure model revealsnew understandingof epilepsyUC researchers have created a mathemat-ical model that simulates the electricalwaves characteristic of a brain seizure, amodel that may ultimately help neurolo-gists better understand and treat epilepsy.

During a seizure, a strong pattern oftraveling electrical waves suddenly emergesabove the random fluctuations of normalbrain activity. Using stochastic partial dif-ferential equations—the same type ofequation used to spot stock market trendsor predict complex weather events—theresearchers simulated hyperexcitation ofneurons in a portion of the brain andwere able to duplicate the organized wavepattern associated with seizure.

“If we understand why and how thesestrong coherent waves progress over thesurface of the brain, we have a hope ofdisrupting the signal,” said principalinvestigator Andrew Szeri, professor ofME and applied science and technology(AST).Also working on the project wereMark Kramer, a Ph.D. student in the ASTprogram, and Heidi Kirsch, UCSF pro-fessor of neurology. ■

Unmanned aerialvehicles makingstridesResearchers with the Berkeley AerialRobot (BEAR) program have successfullycompleted drills with 130-pound heli-copters that not only fly autonomously—without human control—but also react to avoid obstacles in their path.

“Autonomous helicopters would beideal in many situations too dangerousfor humans to go,” says Shankar Sastry,EECS professor and lead BEAR facultymember.The technology has potential in applications ranging from combat tocivilian and agricultural settings likesearch and rescue, inspecting power lines, and fighting wildfires.

Reliable systems are still several yearsaway, researchers say, but the computa-tional foundations for such vehicles arein place. In developing computers tocontrol the vehicles, researchers areincorporating the latest technologicaladvances in inertial navigation and globalpositioning systems (for stabilization),wireless modems and Ethernet (for com-munication), computer vision (for flightand landing), and battery and solar tech-nology (for power). ■

Smart parking mayencourage publictransit useDrivers on Highway 24 can now getroadside updates on parking availabilityat Oakland’s Rockridge BART station,part of a new “smart parking” field testinitiated in December by Berkeley trans-portation researchers in conjunction withCaltrans and the BART district.

Two electronic road signs alongHighway 24’s westbound lanes near theCaldecott Tunnel alert drivers stuck intraffic of parking availability at the station,where 50 spots are earmarked for theproject. Riders can alternatively reservespaces ahead by phone or Internet.

“We’d like to know whether puttingreal-time information about the availabilityof BART parking along a congested free-way will help move people off the roadsand into public transit,” says SusanShaheen, program leader for policy andbehavioral research at Partners forAdvanced Transit and Highways (PATH),a unit of Berkeley’s Institute of Transporta-tion Studies.“Many drivers do not driveto a BART station because they assumethe parking lot is full. Our research ques-tion is whether individuals will now usetransit if they know they will find anopen spot at the station.” ■

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Skull radiograph shows an epilepsy patient’s brainthat has been implanted with electrodes to mapelectrical activity during seizures.

BEAR researcher David Shim inspects an autonomoushelicopter during field tests.

in the news

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Pister (M.S.’89, Ph.D.’92EECS), who joined the Berkeleyfaculty in 1996, took a two-yearleave in 2003 to launch his start-up in a converted warehouse inwest Berkeley. Based on his“smart dust” technology, DustNetworks is on the cuttingedge of a fledgling industry inubiquitous wireless sensor net-works that analysts predict willbe a billion-dollar businesswithin 10 years.“We have thebest product out there,” Pistersays excitedly.

Wireless sensor networks, heexplains, will be used initially inautomated monitoring systemsfor security, fire alarms, andheating, ventilation, and airconditioning in large industrialbuildings.The sensors are cheap,he says, and eliminate the signif-icant expense required for wiringsuch systems.

“There’s a certain adrenalinerush associated with making lifeor death decisions on a regularbasis for your company,” Pistersays.“But 2003 was a difficultyear. In a down economy it wasvery stressful to have a lot ofemployees.They would keeppictures of their kids on theirdesks to make sure I met payroll.”

But meet payroll he did.Withabout 50 employees and ven-ture financing secured, DustNetworks began shipping itsproduct to customers last fall. Italso received a U.S. Departmentof Energy grant to create a sen-sor-based monitoring systemthat adjusts lighting accordingto building occupancy.Although

he originally planned a one-yearleave, it took Pister two to getthe technology and infrastructurein good enough shape to hire aCEO so that he could return tohis Berkeley faculty position.

“The university environmentis magical. Students and facultyare both here to make thingsbetter, and I find that energizingand intoxicating,” Pister says.“That’s why, of all the peoplewho have gone on short-termleave to industry, we’ve lostvery few.”

Many EECS faculty membershave taken time off to pursueoutside research interests, developentrepreneurial ventures, orestablish consulting relationshipswith larger commercial firms.But few are lured away perma-nently. In fact, says engineeringdean Richard Newton, theability to pursue such relation-ships is more often an incentiveto stay at Berkeley, since theyprovide an efficient outlet forfaculty to transfer their work toan industrial setting and see ithave real impact. Relationshipswith industry are also essentialto keep faculty at the leadingedge and thus prevent “ivorytower” syndrome.

“After all, engineering is aprofession of practice,” saysNewton, who throughout hisown career has, at one time oranother, consulted for nearlyevery major U.S. chip companyand helped found several designtechnology companies.“Ourstudents must learn about thestate of the art, and things are

moving very quickly today.Having an effective workingrelationship with the very bestindustries is essential to main-taining our effectiveness as aworld leader in teaching andresearch.These relationships area lifeline between our faculty—and by extension our studentsand the entire College—andthe industry.”

Hu explains that support forsuch associations has grownappreciably since mid-1980s,and he credits the rich interac-tion between academic researchand business applications withthoroughly preparing him forhis three years in industry.Therobust trend may signal Berkeley’sgrowing comfort with closeindustrial collaborations, despiteconcerns about possible conflictof interest and the lure of bigmoney.

“Now, over almost half a cen-tury of affiliations with indus-try, the College of Engineeringhas developed an effective wayof maximizing the benefit forthe University, the faculty, ourstudents and, ultimately, for thecompanies involved,” says Hu.“It’s a balancing act that mustbe managed carefully.The mostimportant thing is to have theright checks and balances inplace, and I think we havelearned how to do that.”

Pister agrees that such alliancesare overwhelmingly positive,both for him professionally andfor the University as a whole.

“We gain a huge amount ofreal-world exposure, so the fac-ulty can understand what theissues are out there,” Pister says.“And, from a purely practicalstandpoint, the ability to getsupport and raise funds for ourresearch and the departments isdramatically improved throughthe practical impact of ourresearch. It’s mutually beneficialacross the board.” ■

On the surface, they don’t appearto have much in common. One,an internationally renownedmicroelectronics expert, can beseen dressed impeccably in suitand tie walking purposefullytoward his orderly office in CoryHall.The other, a young facultymember on the cutting edge ofa new industry who customarilywears shorts and a T-shirt towork, gravitates curiouslytoward the window of his fifth-floor office in Cory to watch thebustling construction activityoutside.

“For some people it’s terrible,”says Pister.“But for me, withfour small children, noise is justnormal. Plus, I’m an engineer,so it’s good noise:There arepeople working hard out there.”

In addition to both beingBerkeley alumni and EECS fac-ulty members, Chenming Huand Kris Pister both recentlyreturned from industrial leave,working on projects close totheir hearts. Now, both aredelighted to be back on campus.

Hu (M.S.’70, Ph.D.’73 EECS)left Berkeley in May 2001 forTaiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Company (TSMC),the world’s largest dedicatedsemiconductor foundry, with $8 billion in annual sales. Hu’s32-year career has taken himfrom Taiwan to two top U.S.engineering schools and backagain.A Berkeley faculty membersince 1976, Hu is well knownfor his research in semiconduc-tor device technology and relia-

bility. He also led the develop-ment of the BSIM transistormodel, which has become anindustry standard and is used inintegrated circuit design through-out the world.

“My research has always tendedto be on the applied side,” Husays,“and I wanted to do some-thing for Taiwan because that’swhere I got my pre-graduateeducation.” So, when the secondof his two sons left home forcollege in 2001, he arranged tospend three years with TSMC aschief technology officer.Whenhe left to return to Berkeley lastfall, he was lauded for making“a deep impact through thestrategic planning and execu-tion of TSMC’s most advancedtechnologies and management.”

In return, Hu says, the expe-rience he gained in corporatedecision making in technology,finance, intellectual property,and global dealings was invalu-able and of great benefit to hisstudents.When he returned tocampus, he picked up where heleft off, teaching IntegratedCircuit Devices and advancedstudy seminars and supervisingthree Ph.D. students.

“I was very happy to get backto classroom teaching and inter-action with the students,” saysHu,“but I’d forgotten how hardit is to be a new professor!” Hisenthusiasm for teaching wasrecognized in 1997 with theDistinguished Teaching Award,Berkeley’s highest honor foreducators.

Faculty-industry ties keep Berkeley Engineeringconnected to the “real” world

“The university environment is magical. The

students and faculty are both here to make

things better, and I find that energizing and

intoxicating.”

Monismith andHochbaum honored

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CEE professor Carl Monismithand IEOR professor DoritHochbaum were recently rec-ognized with honorary degreesfrom universities outside the U.S.

Monismith (B.S.’50, M.S.’54CE), the Robert HoronjeffProfessor of Civil Engineering(Emeritus) and director of thePavement Research Center,received the degree of Doctorof Engineering, honoris causa,from Carleton University inOttawa. He was recognized forhis contribution as a researcherand educator in civil engineer-ing, particularly in pavementtechnology.A Berkeley facultymember for more than 50 years,Monismith has received theCollege’s Distinguished Engineer-ing Alumni Award and theBerkeley Citation.

Hochbaum received a doctorscientiarum honoris causa (honor-ary doctorate in natural sciences)from the University of Copen-hagen in recognition of hergroundbreaking achievementsand leadership in optimizationin general and in the field ofapproximation algorithms forintractable problems specifically.The degree was conferred in aceremony last November in thepresence of Queen Margrethe IIof Denmark. Hochbaum joinedthe Berkeley faculty in 1981.

MonismithHochbaum

Chenming Hu and Kris Pister in Cory Hall

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In the recent acclaimed Brazilian film City of God, a boy namedRocket comes of age in Rio de Janeiro’s notorious urban slum, orfavela, the Cidade de Deus housing project. Poverty, violence, anddrug trafficking paralyze any sense of normal life, but Rocket escapesby learning photography and taking pictures for a local newspaper.

Some real-life Brazilians may be finding their own ticket out ofpoverty through computers. For the last 10 years, Brazil’s Committeefor Democratizing Information Technology (CDI) has been operatingcomputing centers where neighborhood residents can learn basiccomputer skills.The goal is to inspire children to stay in school andhelp adults get jobs.

Is the CDI program working? Rodrigo Fonseca, a CS graduatestudent and Brazilian native, wanted to find out. For three weekslast summer he traveled to Brazil’s inner cities with three otherBerkeley graduate students: Joyojeet Pal from City & RegionalPlanning and Manisha Shah and Claudio Ferraz from Agricultural& Resource Economics.They observed and interviewed users ofthe centers to evaluate their effectiveness and determine whichskills are most easily learned and applied in the everyday lives oflow-literacy adults and children.

“There was criticism in Brazil that these organizations should bespending money on food for the poor, not computers,” says Fonseca.“So we wanted to see if there was any measurable outcome.”

The team presented its findings at last month’s second annualBridging the Divide conference, the research initiative jointly spon-sored by the Management of Technology Program at Berkeley andthe United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).Held on campus in April, the conference serves as a springboard forinterdisciplinary teams that travel to developing countries to studyapplication of information technology in solving large-scale prob-lems like poverty and poor education.

When Fonseca’s team got to Brazil, he says, the researchers quicklydiscovered they had to assimilate and work within local customs.

“We couldn’t e-mail people and ask a couple of questions.Youhave to be there, have a sip of coffee, and have dinner with thembefore you start to get information.”

After collecting and analyzing their data, they found that knowl-edge of some computer programs does help people search for jobs,interact with the community, and do schoolwork.Although unable

to quantify the CDI program’s effect on these outcomes, the teamdid find success stories like Leandro Farias, a poor child who tookclasses at a CDI center and learned enough to work there. He stayedin school and was accepted into the university, where he’s nowstudying sociology and running a computing co-op that providesnetworking and computer services for poorer neighborhoods.

Fonseca plans to continue the research and keeps a hopeful finalimpression of his recent visit.“My favorite memory,” he says,“wasseeing those kids using computers and talking about a future.”

Go to http://bridge.berkeley.edu for more details about theBerkeley–UNIDO project. ■

by rachel jackson

in the news in the news

Berkeley-UNIDO fellow studies roleof computers in Brazil’s favelas

A young visitor works on his computerskills at one of Brazil’s shared accesscenters in Rio de Janeiro, an ongoingproject studied by Berkeley graduatestudent and Brazilian native RodrigoFonseca (far right) during his UNIDOfellowship last year.

EECS senior Patrick Shyu was recently chosen as the inaugural recipient ofthe Gene Kan Memorial Scholarship for his website, Final Distance, createdin 2002 and now used by thousands of Berkeley students to construct con-flict-free class schedules. The award, established in memory of alumnusGene Kan (B.S.’97 EECS), carries a $1,000 cash prize for an undergraduatewho has developed a simple, useful technology in keeping with the lateKan’s innovative spirit. Shyu is honored by the recognition, he says, andhopes it will inspire others to develop their own projects. “Students can’tjust rely on coursework to get them by,” he says. “They must develop zealthrough independent work.”

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In October 2006, a group offive small satellites will ride aspacecraft “bus” into orbit togather data about Earth’s magne-tosphere.The satellites’ eight-foot long articulated limbs—outfitted with magnetometers,electrostatic analyzers, solid-statetelescopes, and other instru-ments—will provide an unprece-dented “bird’s-eye view” of themagnetic substorms behind suchspectacular phenomena as theNorthern Lights.

ME professor Hari Dharanand graduate students Tien Tan,Tyler Williams, and ArezkiRahman are fabricating essentialcomponents for the mission, a$173 million NASA programknown as THEMIS, or TimeHistory of Events and MacroscaleInteractions. Led by Berkeley’sSpace Sciences Lab, the project’sgoal is to determine how energyfrom solar wind is transportedand explosively released, visibleto us in the form of the AuroraBorealis and the Aurora Australis.

As director of the BerkeleyComposites Laboratory, Dharanand his colleagues design, test,and fabricate new compositematerials with high-performanceproperties, such as fiberglass, foruse in structures from buildingsto airplanes and space vehicles.

Dharan’s specialty is carbonfiber composites, which com-bine incredible strength withvery low weight and are idealfor space, where the approximatecost of launching somethinginto orbit is roughly $15,000per kilogram.

“In addition to being verystiff and strong, the carbon fiberstructures we build have one-fifth the density of steel,”Dharan says. In his RichmondField Station lab, the researchersare constructing prototypebooms out of the new carbonfiber composite through anelaborate fabrication process thatinvolves wrapping the carbonfiber “fabric” around a form,oven-curing it into the desired

A boom in satellite engineering shape, machining, and assem-bling it.Then the booms aretested under conditions thatsimulate the zero gravity envi-ronment of space.

“The main challenge here isdimensional stability and stiff-ness,” Dharan explains.“Ourcarbon composites are designedto have a thermal expansion ofless than 1/100th that of alu-minum. Once you deploy aneight-foot long boom, you don’twant it wobbling back and forthwith the large temperaturechanges that exist in space.”

In addition to the sensorbooms, Dharan’s group is building part of the main bodystructure for each spacecraft.Once the booms, structures,and mechanisms are complete,they’ll be integrated into therest of the space vehicle at theSpace Sciences Lab.Then, nextfall, if all goes as planned,Dharan will watch as hisresearch truly takes off. ■

by david pescovitz

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ME professor Hari Dharan, hold-ing one of the prototype booms,stands next to the machine usedto fabricate the rolled carbonfiber tube. For three decades,Dharan has championed the useof carbon fiber composites inspace vehicles. As an engineer atFord Aerospace in the 1970s, hehelped construct the 12-footdiameter carbon fiber dish anten-na for NASA’s Voyager 1 spaceprobe, now the most distanthuman-made object in space.

Letters to theEditor

When called to a challenge, ourloyal alumni don’t flinch. Sohere’s the challenge: Write andtell us which stories you’veenjoyed, which have put you tosleep, and why; what you’d like tosee more of, less of, none of, andwhy. We value your input. Write tous at forefront@coe.berkeley.edu.

CS professor DAVID

PATTERSON , the PardeeChair of Computer Science,was inducted into the SiliconValley Engineering Hall ofFame in February in recogni-tion of his professional achieve-ments and contributions to thecommunity. Patterson led thedesign and implementation ofRISC I, likely the first VLSIReduced Instruction SetComputer, research thatbecame the foundation of theSPARC architecture used bySun Microsystems and others.

Patterson, who joined thefaculty in 1977, is only the sec-ond Berkeley faculty memberto be named to the Hall ofFame, following Chang-LinTien’s selection posthumouslylast year. Sponsored by theSilicon Valley EngineeringCouncil, the Hall of Fame wasestablished in 1990 to recognizelocal engineers.

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Already, synthetic biology projects are under way at Berkeleyto convert bacteria into chemical factories that produce anti-malaria treatments for pennies instead of dollars. Similar micro-bial factories could crank out the costly anti-cancer drug Taxol,synthesized from the Pacific yew tree, or produce a promisinganti-AIDS drug derived from the Samoan mamala tree.

“The idea of synthetic biology is to do for biology whatelectrical engineers have done for circuit design and chemistshave done for the synthesis of chemicals,” says Jay Keasling, pro-fessor in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Bio-engineering.“We’re turning biology into an engineering field.”

Keasling is the hub of UC Berkeley’s pioneering syntheticbiology breakthroughs. In December, the Institute for OneWorld Health—the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company inthe United States—received a windfall $42.6 million grant fromthe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support Keasling’sdevelopment of a microbial factory to cure malaria—one ofthe world’s deadliest diseases.

A parasitic blood disease, malaria claims more than one millionlives each year in developing nations. Most are children underfive and pregnant women in rural Asia or Africa, where peoplelive without access to insecticides, protective netting, or glasswindows to keep mosquitoes at bay. Synthetic quinine, once

hailed as malaria’s cure-all, is now considered largely ineffectivebecause the disease quickly mutates into drug-resistant strains.

Ironically, the solution has been available for millennia. SinceA.D. 150, Chinese herbalists have used an extract from Artemisiaannua, the sweet wormwood plant, to treat fevers. Chineseresearchers isolated the drug artemisinin 40 years ago to treatVietnamese troops. Used in the early 1990s during a malariaepidemic, it cut the death rate by 97 percent.As other anti-malarials rapidly began to fail, world health authorities embracedartemisinin as the best first-line defense against the disease.Theproblem is there’s just not enough of it.

Currently, the drug is extracted from wormwood cultivatedin China and Vietnam.The plant takes eight months to mature,and drug companies have heard of Asian speculators hoardingwhat little remains of the herb. Last fall, the shortage causedartemisinin’s price to quadruple.

Even if farmers dramatically stepped up production, harvestingthe plant and extracting the chemical component that residesin its leaves is difficult, labor intensive, and costly.As a result,the price of the drug is $2.40 per treatment course, far tooexpensive for patients in developing nations. Keasling’s tech-nology would reduce the cost tenfold to as little as 25 cents atreatment course.

cover story

BY DAVID PESCOVITZ | PHOTOS BY BART NAGEL

Miracles Happen

For 3.6 billion years, evolution has governed the biology of this planet. Molecular biologists cannow shift bits of DNA from one organism to another, but the parts they play with are limitedto what nature provides. Recently, Mother Nature teamed up with a handful of researcherswhose aim is nothing short of reengineering life. UC Berkeley is a core center of this new discipline, called synthetic biology, where genes, proteins, and cells are snapped together likeTinkertoys to build living systems.

Synthetic biologists tap into ancient herbal pharmacy to cure malaria and AIDS

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that Berkeley’s participation will serve as a model for otheracademic institutions to apply their scientific knowledge andresources to critical global health problems.”

While Keasling has focused his research on the “grand chal-lenges” of global disease, synthetic biology spans many applica-tion areas. Currently, Keasling heads the Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory’s Synthetic Biology Department, the firstof its kind in the country.The multidisciplinary department hasprototyped a bacteria that eats toxic waste, such as heavy metals,and hopes to design an organism that can ferment cellulose intohydrogen as a source of renewable energy. Keasling is also lead-ing the charge to engineer a single-cell soil microorganism,Pseudomonas putida, that would swim into a pool of pesticidesor nerve agents and degrade the chemicals.

This spring, the Berkeley Center for Synthetic Biologyopened its doors just a few miles west of campus.The Center,Keasling says, will draw researchers from the entire University.In one multidisciplinary project, Keasling is collaborating withEECS/ME professor Roger Howe to build nanoscale structuresmodeled after the ornately complex shells of brown algae.Thebiomimetic diatoms could be employed as filtration systems orself-contained catalysts in future nanodevices. Meanwhile, bio-engineer Adam Arkin is writing software for the design of livingsystems from a library of validated interoperable genetic “parts”with specific functions, such as Keasling’s metabolic pathways.Indeed, one of the long-term goals of synthetic biology is tocreate a library of interoperable genetic circuits that can beassembled into myriad devices.

“When Jay first started his research, he didn’t have the math-ematical models to guide him,”Arkin says.“Our aim is to makethe process orders of magnitude more efficient. So we’re tryingto develop a principled approach to creating a store of partsthat we can then use much like the electronics industry usestransistors and capacitors.”

Continuing the metaphor,Arkin is pushing ahead on thedevelopment of Berkeley BioSPICE, software that represents

and simulates cellular processes such as gene expression andcell division.Think of it as CAD (computer-aided design) forgenetic circuits. A project of the California Institute forQuantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), Berkeley BioSPICEis analogous to SPICE (Simulation Program Integration CircuitryEvaluation), the industry-standard tool invented at Berkeley forintegrated circuit design.The BioSPICE project’s motto,“opensource biology,” refers to the fact that the fruits of the researchare freely available for anyone to use and improve. It’s a conceptthat comes from open source software, a paradigm pioneered atBerkeley that makes the source code, the raw programmingbehind the software, accessible for anyone to build upon andchange for free.

Some day,“open source” biology could result in a new busi-ness model for the biopharma industry. One reason many thera-peutics are so expensive today, Keasling explains, is that drugcompanies spend huge sums researching patentable parts, bal-looning the overall price of drug development. Open sourcebiology would change that.

“I’d like to see the parts become inexpensively available foranyone to pull together and use,” he says.“If biopharma com-panies could draw from open source parts to begin with, theycould then patent their process to make the drugs.We’re certainlynot trying to put them out of business.We just want to providea cheap way for them to make the active pharmaceutical ingre-dients they need.”

tree to artemisinin,” he says.“We could just as easily have takenthe branch that leads to the anti-cancer drug Taxol, or theanti-HIV compound prostratin, even carotenoids or naturalrubber—all isoprenoids, and only available in small quantitiesfrom natural sources.”

Over the last few years, Keasling’s team has stepped up pro-duction inside the microbial factory a millionfold.They are inthe process of identifying a few more genes in wormwood that,if transplanted into E. coli, could enable the bacterium to go a few extra steps in the chemical process and actually produceartemisinic acid.“We’ve added a ninth enzyme that directed usdown the path toward artemisinin, and we now expect that threemore enzymes will be needed,” says Pitera.“Once we have allthe artemisinic acid we need, we’ll be ready for industrial pro-duction of the drug.”

UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP ACCELERATES PRODUCTION

As part of the Gates Foundation grant, startup Amyris Bio-technologies in Albany, founded by several of Keasling’s formerpostdocs, will scale up the process and produce artemisinin atcost. OneWorld Health, headquartered in San Francisco, willthen spearhead the regulatory work necessary to bring thedrug to market.

“This is an extraordinary partnership between public andprivate institutions,” says Regina Rabinovich, director of infec-tious diseases at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.“I hope

“We need a sea change in the way drugs are produced,”Keasling says.“The cost of biopharmaceutical research, develop-ment, and production is pricing us out of medicine in thiscountry. Now think about the developing nations where theyspend less than $4 per person on health care annually. How canwe ever make enough affordable drugs for the diseases that arereally killing most of the people on the planet?”

The synthetic biology approach is to build more factories,albeit unusual ones—chemical factories inside bacteria. Forseveral years, Keasling and his colleagues, including postdoctoralmicrobiology fellows Vincent Martin and Jack Newman andchemical engineering graduate students Doug Pitera and SydnorWithers, labored in the wet lab to build a working microbialfactory from just 12 genes borrowed from three organisms:bacteria, yeast, and wormwood.The human gut bacterium E. coliwas the laboratory host of choice because it grows so quickly.

“We can engineer the bacteria we’re working with to produceartemisinin,” says Dae-Kyun Ro, a research scientist in Keasling’slab.“E. coli takes just 20 minutes to double in size under labo-ratory growth conditions.”

It’s also a very well-studied organism, Pitera adds.“Think ofthe system we’re building as if it were a tree,” he says.“Weconstructed the trunk of this tree, an eight-enzyme process,taking us from the base metabolites, or chemicals, in E. coli tothe precursors we needed to create an isoprenoid, the largefamily of natural products of which artemisinin is one. Now,we’re moving from those precursors down one branch of the

above: Trichomes like this magnified cluster of oil-producing cells containthe artemisinin made by the plant. Trichomes are purified in Keasling’s labto obtain the genes that encode artemisinin’s biosynthetic pathway.karyn lynn newman photo

left: Doug Pitera monitors a shake flask containing an amorphadiene-producing E. coli culture. The shake flask is loaded into a temperature-controlled incubator and set into rhythmic motion for 18–48 hours, mixingE. coli cells and growth media together.

Fifth-year chemical engineering doctoral students Doug Pitera (right) and Sydnor Withers (left) are key members of the20-person artemisinin project in Keasling’s synthetic biology lab. Keasling (center) drew his team from a wide range ofdisciplines, including botany, chemical engineering, bioengineering, microbiology, and biophysics.

O’Brien, a professor in the Department of ElectricalEngineering and Computer Sciences, models complex physicalsystems from snow and blood to explosions and shattering glassfor computer animations.Already his algorithms have made theirway into the arsenal of digital effects tools at Sony, makers ofthe PlayStation 2 video game system, and Pixar, the animationpowerhouse behind The Incredibles. In the future, O’Brien’stechniques could enhance training simulations for surgeons,soldiers, and firefighters. No matter the application, the goal isthe same: Make the unreal seem as real as possible.

“If a special effect is done well, you shouldn’t even notice it,”he says.

While his research is meant to be invisible, O’Brien himselfis definitely being noticed. In January he was profiled in Timeas one of the world’s top experts in his field. Last October, hewas named to Technology Review magazine’s 2004 TR100, aprestigious list of the world’s top young innovators under age35.According to O’Brien though, recognition by his peers isthe greater honor.

Last year, he and his students presented four new modelingtechniques at the Association for Computing Machinery SIGGRAPH conference.A short film demonstrating one threadof his research wowed audiences of the popular ElectronicTheater program.The brief animation showed off the researchers’

Algorithms thatserve up really

good goopO’Brien models the brittle, the viscous,and the volatile world

arly one morning last winter, a graduate student walked into the BerkeleyComputing Animation & Modeling Laboratory hoping to catch up on some work while mostof her lab mates were still home asleep. Expecting a few hours without distraction, she wasinstead greeted by the cacophony of genetically enhanced super soldiers wielding plasma riflesand massive insect-shaped tanks galumphing across a bombed-out battleground. Someone wasplaying a round of Halo 2, a new video game for Microsoft’s Xbox video game platform.Wielding the joystick was laboratory director James O’Brien.And he had been playing all nightlong.This was research.

e BY DAVID PESCOVITZ

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to begin producing the treatment pharmaceutical.“In a coupleyears, we’ll be producing the end product in E. coli’s growthmedium,” he says.Add in about two years of clinical trials, andthis takes production to 2009–2010.Then the bacteria-pro-duced artemisinin drug must still await approval from the Foodand Drug Administration. It won’t be a vaccine, but rather adrug akin to an antibiotic taken for infections, to kill themalarial parasite once the disease has been contracted.

“It’s a very long haul,” says Keasling.“Still, it’s getting easier toengineer life, and synthetic biology will make it simpler still. Ifthe public doesn’t realize you can use it to make new drugs orrenewable energy, it will look like we’re tinkering with biology.As scientists, it’s our responsibility to prove that synthetic biol-ogy has tremendous potential to save lives.” ■

David Pescovitz writes Lab Notes, the College’s award-winning online researchdigest, and is co-editor of the popular blog BoingBoing.net. Pescovitz’s writing onscience and technology has been featured in Wired, Scientific American, IEEESpectrum, and the New York Times.

SAMOA’S MAMALA TREE COULD LEAD TO AIDS CURE

Last fall, Keasling visited Samoa, home of the mamala tree that harborsa gene for a promising anti-AIDS drug. Samoan healers use the barkof the tree to treat hepatitis, but scientists discovered that the com-pound derived from the tree, prostratin, also activates dormant HIVcells in patients so that the cells can be targeted by current anti-AIDSdrugs. Clinical trials are encouraging, but the drug supply is limited tothe small amount that can be extracted from the tree. If it works aswell as researchers hope, there will be an immediate shortage.

That’s where Keasling can help. Last September, UC Berkeley signeda landmark agreement with the Samoan government and village eldersto return to them half the profits from production of an anti-AIDSdrug Keasling hopes to produce.

The first step, he explains, is to identify the enzymes that build theprostratin molecule. Then, the aim is to clone the appropriate genesand slip them into the E. coli-based microbial factory where biologywill bulk manufacture the valuable substance. A similar technique, saysKeasling, could also supply Taxol, an expensive yet effective chemo-therapy used to treat breast, ovarian, and lung cancers.

“Taxol is produced in minute quantities in the bark of the Pacificyew tree to kill beetles and fungi that attack the tree,” he says. “Thatmeans, if you want to use it as a therapeutic, you have to cut down alot of trees or collect a ton of pine needles. Or you could engineer abacterium to produce it.”

Eventually, Keasling adds, synthetic biologists might even synthesizea biological drug delivery system for Taxol. A bacterium designed todetect tumors could produce Taxol when triggered to do so and releaseit into the body. Once it reaches the tumor, the bacteria would go intokamikaze mode, secreting the toxin to kill itself and the cancer cells.

To that end, Berkeley hopes to bring together the academicleaders in synthetic biology from Harvard, MIT, and UCSF ina consortium that would ensure that the component parts eachgroup develops are standardized and meet an agreed-upon setof specifications.

While progress is rapidly accelerating, synthetic biology is stillin its infancy. In many ways, it’s where genetic engineering wasbefore the launch of the Human Genome Project.And thepublic fear surrounding genetic engineering is not lost onKeasling. Ideally, synthetic biology will be self-regulated, he says,without the need for government intervention. But before sci-entists can convince the public that the field is safe, they them-selves have to be sure that it is safe.As a step in that direction,Keasling and his colleagues have initiated discussions withMichael Nacht, dean of Berkeley’s School of Public Policy, toconsider the bioethics of their breakthroughs.

Keasling needs two more years before his lab and Amyris Bio-technologies can synthesize the drug at the high levels necessary

Last August, Keasling presented his research to an audience of Samoans.One month later, he signed a landmark agreement between UC Berkeleyand the Samoan government offering village elders half the profits fromproduction of the anti-AIDS drug prostratin, which he hopes to synthe-size from Samoa’s Homalanthus nutans, or mamala tree. Samoans callthe tree their “gift to the world.”

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night to render on a computer. Now, the video game companythat is in the process of licensing the algorithm can run thesimulations on an Apple laptop at two frames per second.

“It’s still not fast enough for a game,” O’Brien says,“but atleast it’s in the ballpark.”And while he’s admittedly excited thathis research might ratchet up the realism in tomorrow’s videogames, he sees more serious applications of his algorithms onthe horizon.“Video games are just another name for ‘trainingsimulation,’” he says.

Recently, O’Brien, EECS/IEOR professor Ken Goldberg, andgraduate student Ron Alterovitz launched a loose collaborationto explore “virtual surgery.”The idea is that physicians wouldrehearse on the screen before ever putting scalpel to flesh.

“One of the places you’ll see a ton of fluids with all sorts ofvery interesting and different properties is inside the humanbody,” O’Brien says.“If you’re able to model the human body

spoon bent. Deform it further and the metal will actually tear.O’Brien’s success several years ago animating this type of duc-tile fracture led directly to the viscoelastic fluid modeling.

“The physical reason that a material tears instead of shattersis actually similar to the reason that goop behaves like goop andnot like water,” he says.

O’Brien’s quest to model the brittle, viscous, and volatileworld began while he was a graduate student in the late 1990sat Georgia Institute of Technology.At the time, his researchfocused on processing X-ray images of the heart for coronaryangiograms.Then one evening over a beer, a few fellow com-puter graphics students planning to enter their work in a filmfestival told him that they wanted to animate a man divinginto a pool.

“They were convinced that the splash would be impossible to model,” O’Brien says.“I thought that all you needed was agood algorithm.”

He was right.After immersing himself in the water-modelingproject, O’Brien’s next challenge presented itself while he was on a mountain vacation.As his snowmobile raced over thepeaks, valleys, and gentle curves of the terrain, he consideredthe mathematics of modeling snow accumulation.That workcontinues today in his lab, where graduate students are model-ing snowdrifts.The aim is not to compute the position of everyflake, but rather to provide just enough realism to trick the eyeand mind.

“In a film, the criteria for a simulation is that it look realenough that the audience doesn’t realize it’s not,” he says.“In avideo game, it’s about using limited processing power to makesomething look more real than the competition.”

Indeed, while the immediate impact of O’Brien’s work is onthe big screen, video games have recently grabbed his attention.Chalk it up to faster processors, he explains. In 1999, he devel-oped fracture simulations for his thesis, which would take all

James O’Brien

Professor James O’Brien with students from theBerkeley Computer Animation & Modeling Group

(from the bottom up)—Tolga Goktekin, Adam Kirk,Adam Bargteil, Bryan Feldman, Hayley Iben, and Chen Shen.

Computer-animated smoke. Far left is ahollow glass object; progressing right,smoke is injected into its center as theobject slowly fills.

“It’s nice to do something that involves very complicated math but is still artistic.”with a high degree of accuracy, a surgeon can train on a medicalsimulator like a pilot trains on a flight simulator.”

Along with surgeons, O’Brien believes that firefighters couldbenefit from porting video game technology over to profes-sional training simulators.Two years ago, he and graduate studentBryan Feldman devised an efficient way to model incrediblylarge explosions and approximate the spray of burning liquids.The method is now employed by the special effects wizards atDigital Domain, a production house founded by James Cameron,director of the Terminator films and Titanic. Someday though, farfrom Hollywood, a synthetic burning building complete withdigital blasts could help prepare a firefighter for the worst.

“In 10 years, you’ll expect the same quality in training simu-lations and games as you demand from movies,” O’Brien says.“That’s the road ahead for me.” ■

method for animating viscoelastic fluids—fluids that are neither perfectly liquid norperfectly solid. Appropriately enough, thefilm was entitled Gratuitous Goop.

“Viscoelastic fluids behave like solids up to a cer-tain threshold,” he says.“But when the strain is too largeand goes beyond the threshold, the material starts to flow.”

Paint is viscoelastic. So is mud. It’s solid until you squeeze it.If a special effects artist wants to add a spray of mud to a sceneof a spacecraft crashing into a forest, O’Brien says,“treating thecomputer-generated mud like viscous water just won’t look real.”The key difference between basic fluids and solids, he explains,is the presence or absence of elastic forces.“If you squirt a littleketchup on a plate, it doesn’t flow into a puddle, but rather sitsthere as a glob,” he says.“That’s because there’s a very smallamount of elastic force.”

The algorithm O’Brien developed with graduate students TolgaGoktekin and Adam Bargteil takes existing fluid simulationsand adds the ingredient that gives materials like toothpaste, lard,and mucus the specific characteristics of both liquids and solids.

The team’s algorithms are rooted in computational fluiddynamics methods that compute how fluid materials dynamicallymove in response to environmental forces like stormy winds,rain, and earthquakes. Before they began programming though,the researchers took a trip to the toy store.There they found a wide variety of goops, slimes, and gross-out toys.After makinga mess, it was time to do the math.

As O’Brien explains the mathematics, he tugs on a glob ofSilly Putty.The rubbery material will flow if you tug on it, hepoints out, but it also behaves elastically. Just throw it on thefloor and it’ll bounce, a fundamentally elastic behavior.A mate-rial like saliva has a very low threshold before it flows. Blood issomewhere in the middle. Setting the correct thresholds andmodeling the flow accurately results in an animated slime thatlooks appropriately, well, slimy.

“It’s nice to do something that involves very complicated mathbut is still artistic,” says Bargteil, whose favorite goop toys remainon his desk as inspiration.

According to O’Brien, modeling viscoelastic fluids is not sodifferent from animating ductile materials—those that deforma great deal before they finally fracture. For example, if yougently try to bend a spoon just a little bit, elastic forces cause itto spring back to its original shape. But apply enough pressureand the molecules flow into a new configuration, leaving the

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animation by bryan feldman and bryan klingner

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Despite efforts to conserve and redistribute water, our thirst isoutpacing our ability to secure more sources. By the year 2020,says the State Department of Water Resources, California willface a shortage of between two and nine million acre-feet ofwater per year.A million acre-feet is water enough to keep somefive million Californians hydrated each year.

“The struggle to secure safe water affects just about every-thing that’s important to us: environment, industry, public health,economy, agriculture, and simply having enough safe drinkingwater,” says Kara Nelson, Berkeley professor of civil and envi-ronmental engineering and an expert on wastewater reuse.

While some engineers ponder how to conserve water or getmore of it delivered where it’s needed, Nelson and her colleaguesare taking a different tack.They hope to increase the safety andefficiency of reusing water that would otherwise be disposed of.“As water becomes more scarce, we are more reluctant to throwit away once it’s been used,” says Nelson.“I view wastewater asa valuable resource. By irrigating with wastewater, we can returnthe organic matter and nutrients it contains back to the soil,mimicking the same cycles that occur in nature. But we must beextremely careful to protect public health by removing pathogensfrom the water first.”

Nelson is currently focusing her efforts on Monterey County’sSalinas Valley, where she hopes to help boost the amount of waterthe regional recycling plant can process and deliver to farmerseach year.

For decades now, as both local agricultural and municipalwater demands grow in the Salinas Valley, and groundwater isextracted faster than it can be replenished, salt water from thePacific is seeping further and further into the aquifer.Watermust now be drawn from very deep down, and once pumpedup, it may be too salty even to use on crops.

Seven years ago, the Monterey Regional Water PollutionControl Agency (MRWPCA)—the regional water recyclingbody—began taking urban wastewater from nearby municipal-ities (Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Sand City, Del Rey Oaks,Marina, Salinas, Castroville, and Moss Landing) and running itthrough an extra filtration process, making it pure enough touse again for crop irrigation. By sating much of farmers’ irriga-tion needs with recycled water, they have been able to reducethe amount pumped from underlying aquifers by 20,000 acre-feet per year. If farmers use less groundwater, that leaves morefor residential customers without overtaxing the aquifers.Theeffort has already paid off, says Nelson—2004 was the first yearin decades that saw a rise in the aquifer’s water level.

Although only seven years old, the MRWPCA’s tertiary treat-ment plant already has a bottleneck.The need for irrigationwater is greatest during the peak summer tourist season whenfull hotels and restaurants at the seaward end of this populararea are creating more municipal wastewater than the plant canpass through its filters. More accurately, the plant receives morethan is legally permitted by Title 22 (the state law regulating

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hen writer Wallace Stegner was asked by a California

newcomer what he should know about the state, Stegner

answered,“Water. It’s about water.”

Californians are notoriously desperate for water and will do

just about anything to get it. Some of our most remarkable

engineering accomplishments are monuments to both our

water needs and our determination to slake them. California’s

bitterest environmental battles are fought over water: Owens

Valley, Mono Lake, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and the Peripheral

Canal.And some of the state’s most outlandish ideas have

been water related, too. Remember the proposals to tow ice-

bergs from the polar regions, or notions to create a floating

offshore water pipeline to transport water to California from

Washington state?

Transforming waste water’s murky image into goldEasy Water:

wBY GORDY SLACK | PHOTOS BY PEG SKORPINSKI

Kara Nelson

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About 150,000 data points are recorded in the computers perday, says Williams, who worked with specialists to develop thedata analysis programs.The roughly five million data pointsaccumulating over 40 filter runs will be analyzed to comparethe effectiveness of the filters at different loading rates.

From the research, Nelson and her colleagues hope to learnmore about the fundamental mechanisms by which wastewaterparticles and pathogens are removed by filtration. On the prac-tical side, they are working closely with the State Departmentof Health Services to develop four criteria to assess performanceof the pilot plant’s filters to see if higher loading rates are safe.

First, the team monitors removal of total coliform bacteria,which indicates removal of any pathogenic bacteria from thewastewater. Second, at regular intervals they add MS2 coliphage,a specific virus that can only infect bacteria, and monitor itsremoval.Third, they monitor particle removal in the 2–15micrometer range—the size of the ubiquitous water-bornepathogens Cryptosporidium and Giardia—using an instrumentthat continuously shoots a laser across a vial of filtered water tocount the suspended particles.The final indicator, turbidity orcloudiness, is a measure of the concentration of particles and acrucial indicator of the overall filter performance.

“Our preliminary studies suggest that a rate of 7.5 may besafe,” says Nelson.“The highest flow rate we’ve explored wastwelve and one-half, and it was definitely too high.At that ratethe filters clogged too quickly and treatment was poor. But thedifference in performance between the 5 and 7.5 rates has beenrather insignificant,” she says.

“The treatment process we are studying is not so terriblyinnovative,” says Nelson.“What’s innovative is that we’re tryingto come up with an upper limit for safe filtration loading rates,and in the process, we are beginning to understand the effectof loading rate on fundamental treatment mechanisms.This is

the first study looking in depth at these higher loading rates.”The final results for FLEWR’s first phase will be completed

this summer. If they are as promising as the preliminary resultssuggest, Nelson and her colleagues will petition the state toallow the actual Monterey tertiary plant, as well as four othertreatment plants in the state, to operate their full-scale filters athigher flow rates.“We’ll analyze that data over about a year,”she says,“and if we get good results, we’ll ask the state to adopta new state standard, changing the law so that all facilities canoperate at this higher loading rate.”

Right now, wastewater recycling produces 500,000 acre-feetof usable water per year in California. If we could increasethat by 50 percent, says Nelson, we’d have an extra 250,000acre-feet of water annually.That would surely be one of thelargest recent contributions toward mitigating the intensifyingwater crunch in the Salinas Valley, California, and beyond. Itsure beats towing icebergs. ■

Gordy Slack is an Oakland-based science writer specializing in evolution and theenvironment. He is a frequent contributor to Forefront. His work appears inCalifornia Wild, Wired, Mother Jones, Bay Nature, and Sierra.

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water quality standards).That, as it turns out, is a key distinction,one that may point the way toward significant relief for theSalinas Valley’s—and California’s—water woes, says Nelson.

When Title 22 was adopted by the state legislature in the1970s, it set the rate at which water could be loaded into terti-ary filtration plants at five gallons of water per square foot offiltration media per minute (5 gal/ft2 – min).Along with muchof Title 22, that loading, or flow, rate has become the worldwide“gold standard” for tertiary filtration plants, says Nelson.Andbecause it was known to be a product of the widely respected1977 Pomona Virus Study, the figure was never critically assessed.

“They just picked 5 gal/ft2 – min as the highest rate theywere going to study and never looked any higher or exploredthe possibility that higher rates might also be safe,” says Nelson.

But four years ago a group of water reuse specialists lookedcritically at the flow rate limit and realized that it was more ofa cultural artifact than a scientifically established limit. Whenthe 1977 study was conducted, 5 gal/ft2 – min was the highestloading rate tested.

“When it comes to finding new water sources, we thought allthe low-hanging fruit had already been picked,” says BahmanSheikh, a co-PI with Nelson and three other scientists on theMonterey project, known as Filter Loading Evaluation forWater Reuse, or FLEWR. In this case, however, some choice low-hanging fruit was hiding right behind some mistaken assump-tions, says Sheikh, who was among the scientists who first thoughtof re-testing the loading rate for tertiary filtration plants.

“This was an area where a huge amount of good water mightbe safely recycled without a lot of new infrastructure or expense,”adds Nelson.“The state is in desperate need of recycled water.If we can safely raise the loading rate to 7.5, we could increasethe capacity of such plants by 50 percent, which is just incredible.It means more water. It’s as simple as that.”

To test the hypothesis, Sheikh and the team at MRWPCArecruited Nelson to design a study establishing the actual topend of safe filter loading rates for tertiary plants like Monterey’s.The challenge appealed to Nelson in part because of its potentialinternational ramifications. She did her doctoral work on waterrecycling near Mexico City and has always been interested infinding affordable ways for developing nations to recycle waste-water for agriculture.

If the rate could be safely increased at the Monterey plant, itmight be safe to raise it in nearly 100 other California tertiarytreatment plants as well.“Beyond that,” says Nelson,“there arethousands of tertiary treatment plants around the world that takethe Title 22 loading rates for granted. If many of them couldsafely increase their filtration rates too, the worldwide impactcould be…well, very significant.”

To find the safe upper limit for plants like Monterey’s, Nelsonand graduate student Gordon Williams set about designingwhat they call “the Mercedes Benz” of pilot-scale plants. It isan impressive $300,000-dollar apparatus, designed to mimic asclosely as possible the workings of the tertiary wastewater treat-ment plant nearby.

The pilot plant is just 18 feet tall, a model built at a scale ofroughly 1/1000th of the actual plant. Its five test filters—madeof clear PVC pipe so everything is easily observed inside—are,however, the same height as those in the full-scale plant.“Inthe vertical direction, everything has to be exactly the same,”says Nelson.The water that enters the filters is the same waterthat passes through the main plant, and in both plants, thewater is filtered through four feet of anthracite coal and onefoot of sand before being disinfected with chlorine to kill anyremaining pathogens.

Each of the five experimental filters is fitted with an array ofcomputerized systems to control flow and monitor water quality.

If farmers use less groundwater, that leaves more for residential customers without overtaxing the aquifers.

page 21: The Monterey Regional Plant (seen in the aerial photo used courtesyof MRWPCA) irrigates 12,000 acres of farmland in Monterey County, supplyingup to 21 million gallons of processed wastewater to nearby farms each day.

pages 22–23: Far left: Kara Nelson is dwarfed by the filtration plant’s vastsystem of underground pumps and pipes. Center left: CEE doctoral studentGordon Williams in the pilot plant he helped design. Far right: Tom Kouretas,an engineering technician at the treatment plant, adds then swirls aluminumchlorohydrate and cationic polymer in water samples in order to calculate thedaily chemical coagulant dose at the pilot plant.

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PETER CHIEN (B.S.’04 EECS) ofSunnyvale works as application engineerfor Cypress Semiconductor of San Jose, aleading supplier of SRAM, clocks, physicallayer devices, and communication systemapplications. pete_c@cal.berkeley.edu

RISHI CHOPRA (B.S.’03 EECS) ofBurlingame is currently working at IBMon the WebSphere Product Center. He isconsidering pursuing an M.S. in electricalengineering at Texas A&M this fall.rchopra@alum.berkeley.edu

CHRISTINA HWANG (B.S.’00 BioE)

writes,“I’ve been working in Tokyo forthe past few years, but now I’m back inSan Francisco. I’ve digressed from engi-neering and currently work for a hedgefund [a type of mutual fund investmentpartnership].”

STANLEY KAO (B.S.’02 EECS) ofAtherton writes,“Hey Jan:Working inSan Francisco now; e-mail me if you seethis message.” aircow33@hotmail.com

T. JOHN KOO (Ph.D.’00 EECS) ofNashville, assistant professor of computer

engineering in theDepartment of EECS atVanderbilt University,received the NationalScience Foundation (NSF)Faculty Early CareerDevelopment (CAREER)

award for his work on “ComputationPlatform for the Design of HybridSystems.” He has been an associated fac-ulty member of the NSF InformationTechnology Research Center for Hybridand Embedded Software Systems since2004 and was a visiting professor in

Berkeley’s EECS department in 2002.john.koo@vanderbilt.edu

ANITA VILLANUEVA (B.S.’00 EECS,

MSE) of Cambridge, Massachusetts,writes,“I’m currently having a great timein grad school at MIT!”anita@coe.berkeley.edu

ROBERT BERTINI (Ph.D.’99 CE) ofPortland, Oregon, was promoted andawarded tenure in 2004 and is now associ-ate professor of civil and environmentalengineering and urban studies and planningat Portland State University. He is a recip-ient of the National Science Foundation’s

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focus their attention on philan-thropic efforts aimed at pre-serving that world for genera-tions to come.

In 2000, they founded theGordon and Betty MooreFoundation to support a widerange of projects to which theyare dedicated, primarily envi-

ronmental science and highereducation efforts.

Through the foundation lastfall, the Moores made a five-year,$5.6 million grant to Berkeley’sBiology Scholars Program (BSP),designed specifically to helpunderserved and underrepre-sented students prepare forcareers in medicine and scienceand, ultimately, help diversifythe health care workforce inthe U.S.

Currently, underrepresentedminorities—including AfricanAmericans, Hispanics, andAmerican Indians—representonly 9 percent of nurses, 6 per-cent of doctors, and 5 percentof dentists nationwide. Since itwas established in 1992, the BSPhas supported more than 800students, and current enrollmentis 450.

“I got a very good educationhere,” Gordon says.“But institu-tions like Berkeley can’t expectto get all their funding from thegovernment.They have to lookto alumni and others to supportsome of their more ambitiousprojects.”

In 1998, the Moores made agenerous contribution to the

the gift of giving

Gordon and Betty Moore: A betterworld through philanthropy

H.T. and Jessie Chua cap longtime support with new professorship

2000s

class notesKeep in touch by mailing your news and photos to us at Class Notes, Collegeof Engineering Office of Marketing andCommunications, 1925 Walnut St. #1704,Berkeley, CA 94720-1704. Or go towww.coe.berkeley.edu/classnotes andclick on Submit Your Class Note.

Through their foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore support a wide rangeof conservation and educational projects. “Berkeley is clearly the premierstate university,” Gordon says. “Nothing else comes close.”

Celebrating the inauguration of the H.T. and Jessie Chua DistinguishedProfessorship in Engineering are (from left) H.T. Chua; Jessie (Tsao) Chua;Professor Robert Ritchie, holder of the new Chua distinguished professorship;and EECS professor Ming Wu.

Gordon Moore (B.S.’50Chemistry), co-founder andchairman emeritus of Intel, hasdevoted nearly half a century tocreating and advancing techno-logies that make our world abetter place to live. Retiredfrom Intel since 1997, he andhis wife of 54 years, Betty, now

Go to www.coe.berkeley.edu/alumni for the latest news and eventsof interest to Berkeley Engineering Alumni.Hearst Memorial Mining

Building renovation and retro-fit.They are also active in theenvironmental organizationConservation International, forwhich Gordon serves as boardmember and executive com-mittee chair.The organization is dedicated to preserving theEarth’s “hot spots” of biodiver-sity, which comprise a mere 1.4percent of the planet’s surfacebut are believed to contain 60percent of all terrestrial plantand animal species.

“Gordon and I have beenvery close to conservation issuesall of our lives,” says Betty.“Wewere both raised in rural areasand have always been aware ofwhat the soil could do for us.To see the devastation of thesewild places is heartbreaking.”

The Moores have traveled tomany of these remote areas towitness what is happening.“Unfortunately, these regions arebeing opened up and developedor wiped out,” adds Gordon.“Ifthese hot spots can’t be saved,we may be looking at the lastgeneration who will have wildplaces on Earth.” ■

by carol menaker

Hua-Thye Chua (M.S.’61 EE) and his wife Jessie (M.A.’61 Statistics)of Los Altos Hills returned to campus in January to meet MSE pro-fessor Robert Ritchie, the inaugural holder of the H.T. and JessieChua Distinguished Professorship in Engineering.

Born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, H.T. had a 25-yearcareer in Silicon Valley that included positions at Fairchild Semi-conductor, Intel, and Monolithic Memories before he co-foundedQuickLogic in 1988.

“We received excellent educations at Berkeley,” says Chua,“andthis is one way we can continue to give in return.” The Chuas,who met on campus as graduate students, are longtime supportersof Berkeley Engineering.Their many gifts to the College are com-memorated in the Soda Hall atrium, which is named for them.

Ritchie, who joined the Berkeley faculty in 1981, has held positionsat Lawrence Berkeley Lab as deputy director of materials sciencesand director of the Center for Advanced Materials. He is known forhis work in fracture mechanics and fatigue-crack propagation. ■

1990s

Real World Engineering attendance best ever

More than 350 undergraduate engineeringstudents packed the house at February’s RealWorld Engineering 2005, a forum and network-ing event held annually to introduce studentsto alumni who are living their professionallives to the fullest following their BerkeleyEngineering degrees.

It was the largest attendance since theevent was initiated five years ago to help stu-dents chart academic and career paths duringand after their undergraduate years. Nearly60 alumni returned to campus to participatein 12 separate panel discussions on a rangeof engineering fields, network at a sushireception following the formal program, andanswer students’ questions about how to findthe right major or job, whether or not to go to

graduate school, and how to translate theirengineering degrees into successful and ful-filling careers.

Associate Dean Dave Auslander set the tonewith his opening remarks. “Think of yourselvesnot as students but pre-alumni,” he told theaudience in Sibley Auditorium. “It’s easy toget into class and forget everything else. Butyour education here is just as much aboutlearning what you want to do as it is aboutlearning the class material.”

Real World Engineering is held everyFebruary. If you are an alum and would liketo participate in the 2006 event, please let us know by filling out and submitting theform at www.coe.berkeley.edu/alumni/volunteer. ■

These Berkeley Engineering women were just three of the more than 350 undergraduates who attendedReal World Engineering, an annual networking event where alumni participants help young engineersplan their futures.

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alumni update

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alumni update

CAREER award and director ofPortland’s Center for TransportationStudies.

BRIAN BOARDMAN (B.S.’90 CE)

of Oakland is a senior project engineer in the geotechnical department atKleinfelder, Inc. His specialties includeliquefaction and seismic hazard analysis.tboardman@kleinfelder.com

R. GLENN BOOKER (M.S.’90 ME) ofCherry Hill, New Jersey, was appointedauxiliary assistant professor at DrexelUniversity. gbooker@drexel.edu

ROBERT CEDENO (M.S.’94 CE) ofWeston, Florida, graduated from lawschool and is practicing construction and real estate law in south Florida.rac@raclawoffice.com

CHARLES FIELDS (M.S.’95, Ph.D.’97

EECS) of Calabasas, California, writes,“Hello friends: Hope you’re all well. I’mstill working at HRL Laboratories inMalibu and enjoying life in sunnySouthern California. Life is good.”

TINA HERRERA (B.S.’91 ME;

M.B.A.’04 Bus.Ad.) of Montara, California,writes,“I recently returned to Cal as apart-time evening student while continuingto work full-time at Cisco. I completedmy M.B.A. in May 2004 and was honoredto be our class speaker at graduation.”

KAMALA KRISHNA (Ph.D.’92 ChemE)

of Danville joined ChevronTexaco in1992, working at the company’s ElSegundo, California, refinery for fiveyears. He is now involved in catalyticprocess development at the Richmondrefinery.

SUNIL KULKARNI (B.S.’93 ME) ofMenlo Park writes,“After Cal, I went tolaw school and have been with the PaloAlto office of Morrison & Foerster LLPfor the last seven years. I handle patentlitigation, which is a great reason to keepmy engineering textbooks around. I wasmarried this past July to Dr. Sujata Patel,who sadly is an unrepentant Stanfurd alum.(I love her anyway.)”

LISA (LEHMAN) LYONS (M.S.’94 CE)

of North Andover, Massachusetts, writes,“I’m enjoying life as an environmentalproject manager and the mother ofJimmy, age three. My husband Jim and Irecently celebrated our seventh weddinganniversary.”

JEFFREY NEAL (M.S.’98 CEE) ofVienna,Virginia, writes,“I’m in the NavyCivil Engineer Corps, currently withAmphibious Construction Battalion Two.We’re preparing to deploy personnel tothe Indian Ocean to provide tsunamirelief.While stationed in Norfolk, I lookforward to alumni events in the area.”

JEFFREY SHNEIDMAN (B.S.’99 EECS)

of Lake Forest Park,Washington, receiveda master’s degree in computer sciencefrom Harvard in 2003.

KEN SUSILO (B.S.’90, M.S.’91 CE) ofCulver City recently joined GeoSyntecConsultants and opened their west LosAngeles branch office.ken_susilo@cal.berkeley.edu

YASMIN (KAHN) BYRON (M.S.’83

CE) of Brookline, Massachusetts, writes,“After practicing engineering for over 10years, I began work on a book about myfather. Engineering Architecture:The Vision ofFazlur R. Zhan was published in 2004.”

JIAN CHEN (M.S.’88, Ph.D.’92 EECS) ofSan Jose is happily making flash memo-ries at SanDisk Corporation.

BRIAN DEMCZYK (M.S.’85 MSE)

received a Ph.D. in materials science atSUNY Stony Brook in 1999 and did aone-year postdoctoral fellowship atLawrence Berkeley Lab in the MaterialsScience Directorate. He has been employedas a staff process engineer with MaxtorCorporation in San Jose since 2001.

MELISSA FARRELL (M.S.’86 ME) hasbeen appointed president and CEO ofStellar Solutions Aerospace Limited, aU.K.-based company providing engineer-ing services globally for aerospace pro-grams. She will manage operations sup-porting the company’s European clients.

SHAFRIRA GOLDWASSER (M.S.’81,

Ph.D.’84 CS) has been named to theNational Academy of Engineering. RSAProfessor of Computer Science andEngineering at MIT and professor ofmathematical sciences at the WeizmannInstitute of Science in Israel, Goldwasserwas recognized by the Academy for hercontributions to cryptography, numbertheory, and complexity theory and theirapplications to privacy and security.

MIKE RAVICZ (B.S.’82 ME) ofSomerville, Massachusetts, works in hear-ing research at the Eaton-Peabody Labora-tory of the Massachusetts Eye and EarInfirmary in Boston. He is team leader forthe City Year’s Annual Serve-a-thon and aninstructor for the Appalachian MountainClub’s Backcountry Ski Workshop.

STEVEN SHAFFER (B.S.’81, M.S.’86,

Ph.D.’90 MSE) of Columbus, Ohio, writes,“Still employed! Fourteen years at BattelleMemorial Institute applying materials science and mechanical engineering tosolving tribology (the study of friction,wear, and lubrication) problems world-wide.”

SUNIL GUPTA (M.S.’76, Ph.D.’80 CE)

writes,“I am president and CEO of OLMMConsulting Engineers,a structural engineering firm with offices in SanFrancisco and Oakland.We have been responsible

for the structural design of some of themost notable projects in the Bay Area,including the base-isolated San FranciscoMain Library, designed by I.M. Pei. I livein Walnut Creek with my wife Seemaand two children, Utsav and Preetika.”sunil@olmm.com

TOM HORIYE (B.S.’78 EECS) of SanJose is director of product and test engi-neering at Sipex Corporation. He hasbeen married 21 years. His wife Terriworks and volunteers at the schools ofboth their boys,Anthony, 17, and Ryan, 12.

JOHN ONETO (M.S.’70 EECS) ofCampbell, California, is a retired computerengineer from Amdahl Corporation/Fujitsu.

RUSSELL TRAHAN (Ph.D.’77 EECS) ofNew Orleans was appointed dean ofengineering at the University of NewOrleans (UNO). He received his B.S. andM.S. degrees from then Louisiana StateUniversity (now UNO) before attendingCal. After receiving his Ph.D., he returnedto UNO and served on the faculty for 27years and as chair of electrical engineer-ing before being appointed dean.rtrahan@uno.edu

1980s1970s

living in zero gravity (themselves), all whileorbiting the Earth at a speed of about fivemiles per second.

“This mission and becoming commander ofthe station is the culmination of my career,”Chiao says. “It’s my chance to bring togetherall the experiences and skills I’ve learned inmy 15 years as an astronaut.”

Now a veteran of four shuttle missions andsix spacewalks, Chiao is considered an expertin extravehicular activity (EVA), the art of dex-terously performing manual operations in aspacesuit loaded with 500 pounds of gear.

“Anyone can be a gymnast in zero gravity,”Chiao says. “But the challenge is working in a spacesuit. It’s like being inside a balloon.You’re weightless but you still have momen-tum, so every time you touch a handrail youstart spinning off in the other direction.”

The hardest part, he says, is staying focusedand dealing intelligently with the inevitableglitches, especially when the view is so “exhil-arating.” His Berkeley education served himwell in that regard, Chiao says, making himself-sufficient and focused on his goals.

“Cal had a tremendous effect on me,maybe the biggest in my life,” he says. “Igraduated near the top of my high schoolclass, but so did everyone else. There was nohandholding; we had to learn to rely on our-selves to get things done.” Between hisBerkeley years and joining NASA in 1990, he

Astronaut Leroy Chiao phones home from space station

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Leroy Chiao (B.S.’83 ChemE) likes to keep in touch. From his temporary home on theInternational Space Station, he regularly e-mailed his parents and—whenever satelliteconditions allowed—made weekly calls totheir Fairfield home. A proud fan of Bearsfootball, he phoned members of the teamfrom the station to wish them luck in January’sHoliday Bowl. He even voted last November,becoming the first American to vote in spacefor president.

From 260 miles above the border betweenChile and Argentina, Chiao checked in withForefront one day to talk about his space station experience. After six months in orbit,what did he miss most?

“I miss my family and friends most of all,”Chiao says. “Besides that, I miss nature, thesmell of the fields after a rain, feeling theheat of the sun or a cool wind. And, of course,the food!”

From last October 13 to April 25, 2005,Chiao served as commander of the two-mancrew on the International Space Station, thejoint program of the U.S., Russia, Canada,Japan, and Europe to operate a permanentstation in space. The tenth crew to continu-ously staff the complex since November 2000,Chiao and Russian crewmate Salizhan Sharipovspent 193 days managing daily operations,taking spacewalks to service external systems,and conducting scientific research on humans

completed his M.S. and Ph.D. in chemicalengineering at UC Santa Barbara, then workedbriefly at Hexcel in Dublin and LawrenceLivermore Laboratory, where his father was achemical engineer.

“Since the moment he watched the moonlanding on TV [at age eight], he got very excit-ed,” says Chiao’s mother Cherry (Ph.D.’76MSE). “When he built a space vessel in thegarage, I thought he was just playing. Butthen in graduate school he started talkingabout becoming an astronaut; that’s when weknew he was serious.”

Chiao tells anyone with similar aspirationsto choose a field that will qualify them for thejob, but more importantly, one they are deeplyinterested and involved in, since NASA selectsastronauts from many fields.

“Becoming an astronaut was a dream forme,” Chiao says. “You’ve got to have a dream.The worst thing that can happen is that youcome to the end of your life and you realizeyou didn’t work hard to try to achieve it.”

But what about that freeze-dried, thermo-stabilized, irradiated food?

“Once we get to space, we get used to it,”says Chiao. “It becomes really delicious,especially after a few days. I believe that,with a reset of expectations, humans areremarkably adaptable.” ■

NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao (B.S.’83 ChemE) performs a test in the RussianSoyuz spacecraft, which carries the crew to and from the space station. Thesuit Chiao is wearing is pressurized for protection in case they lose pressureinside the spacecraft during the trip. At right, Chiao’s view of the moon fromthe space station.

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Award for his pioneering work leading tomotion picture digital sound.flemming@earthlink.net

RALPH GERCHBERG (M.S.’60 EE) ofArdsley, New York, received the NASANew Technology Award for inventing thehigh-efficiency Positive Taper TravelingWave Tube (1967). He was a special fel-low of the National Institutes of Healthat the Cavendish Laboratory at CambridgeUniversity in England (1967–1970) andat MIT (1975–1976). He co-discoveredthe Gerchberg Saxton algorithm to solvethe Fourier inverse (phase retrieval) prob-lem (1972). He also discovered theGerchberg algorithm to extrapolatebandwidth in N dimensions (1974) oneyear before Papoulis discovered the samealgorithm and published an almost exactreplica of his paper.

WILLIAM BRAD HARDIN (B.S.’62,

M.S.’65 ME) of Venice, Florida, recentlyretired from the U.S. Nuclear RegulatoryCommission after 29 years. He previouslyworked at Lawrence Livermore NationalLab. deebradhardin@netzero.net

TONY JOHNSON (B.S.’60 IE) ofCarmel writes,“I retired from the U.S.Army and currently am teaching parttime for Chapman University inMonterey and Hartnell College inSalinas. Go Bears!”

THOMAS LAYCOOK (B.S.’63 EE) ofLos Angeles is still active as a senior sys-tems engineer for global air traffic con-trol landing systems. He is also activelyinvolved in racing and is looking forwardto retirement. tom@ltracing.net

DON NURISSO (B.S.’65, M.S.’67 ME) ofPacifica is engineering manager for KeenEngineering, a leader in sustainable designof facilities. nurisso@mindspring.com

KENNETH (RON) OBERT (B.S.’65

EE) of Torrance writes,“I continue totake astronomy classes at UCLA. Lastsummer included week-long hiking tripsin the Sierra and Washington state.Thefall found me in Memorial Stadium forall five home games.”

MARSHALL SILVER (M.S.’67, Ph.D.’69

CE) is chief technical advisor for disasterrisk reduction for the United NationsDevelopment Program in Vietnam. Helives in Hanoi.

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biology at Loyola High School in LosAngeles, where he’s also head water polocoach for the Cubs.

JOHN DRACUP (Ph.D.’66 CE) of SanFrancisco retired from Berkeley last Juneafter 40 years of teaching and research incivil and environmental engineering. Hecontinues doing research with his gradu-ate students in water resource systemsand hydrology. He and his wife, Kathleen,who is dean of nursing at UCSF, havefive children and nine grandchildren.John swims competitively with U.S.Masters Swimming and does competitiveskiing with the Far West Masters Racing.dracup@ce.berkeley.edu

HOWARD FLEMMING (B.S.’66 EE) ofValencia, California, received the SamuelL.Warner (SMPTE) Memorial MedalAward in fall 2003 and a 1996 Academy

PEDRO WOO (B.S.’70 EE) writes,“I amrunning a consumer electronics manufac-turing company in Hong Kong thatdesigns and develops innovative high-tech consumer products.The SharperImage is one of our customers.”

JESSE ANTE (B.S.’68, M.S.’70 ME) ofFremont writes,“I retired from PG&Epracticing ‘Let there be light!’ I wasemployed by the California PublicUtilities Commission practicing ‘Powerto the people.’ I was named CaliforniaAlumni Association’s DistinguishedMentor of the Year on March 5, 2004, atthe Charter Day Banquet.”

BALDWIN CHAN (B.S.’66, M.S.’67 ME;

M.S.’78 Bus.Ad.) writes,“After working

almost 20 years at PG&E and about 13years before that at Bechtel, I decided totake an early retirement in the early partof 2005. My wife and I will continue tostay at our home in El Cerrito and shallattend some of Cal’s activities from timeto time.”

PETER CROSBY (B.S.’67 IEOR) ofPacific Palisades is a consultant at CGRManagement Consultants in Los Angeles,where he specializes in the food industry,working on strategy, cost reduction, andsupply chain information systems proj-ects. His daughter Kelly graduated magnacum laude with a doctorate in pharmacyfrom the University of Texas at Austinand is a pharmacist at Walgreens. His sonMichael graduated academic all-American(water polo) with a B.A. in biology fromHarvard. He now teaches chemistry and

alumni update

1960s

Crunching data to make weak bones strong

Joyce Keyak’s (B.S.’89 ME, Ph.D.’96 BioE)devotion to her work is balanced by a num-ber of outside interests, including the care of Roika, her spirited Hungarian pointer, andseven curious tortoises who enjoy nibblingon the hibiscus that flourishes in her yard.

On this new cooking website you’ll find theusual gourmet fare: mouth-watering recipes andgadget reviews of spice grinders and kitchenscales. But you’ll also find tidbits like this:

U.S. cups are not quite the same size asBritish Imperial cups. Both are eight fluidounces, but the U.S. fluid ounce and theBritish fluid ounce differ slightly. A U.S.cup (236.6 mL) is about 4 percent larger involume than the British cup (227.3 mL).

The site is www.cookingforengineers.com,and the mastermind behind it is Berkeleyalumnus Michael Chu (B.S.’99 EECS). It featuresnot only recipes Chu has tested in a preciselydiagrammed format, but also an illustratedingredient dictionary, a substitution list, a mea-surement conversion tool, and a chart on thesmoke point of oils. Premiering last June, thesite has received as many as 250,000 visits inone month, was featured on Slashdot, and inMarch won a 2005 Bloggie Award for bestfood website. For the success, Chu credits hissite’s distinctive focus.

“It’s written and presented in what I hope isan analytical viewpoint,” he says, “with inter-esting tidbits of info that most cooks don’tbother to find out but that engineers and sci-ence-minded folks like to know.”

Chu’s article about the brining process, forexample, provides detail that challenges tra-ditional explanations:

The salt solution on the outside of the meatand the less salty solution inside the meat

set the stage for the flow of solvent andsolute. The salt (solute) diffuses into themeat when some water (solvent) diffusesout. Then (this is the key), the extra saltthat enters the meat begins to denaturethe proteins in the meat, producing bothadditional solutes and additional ‘holes’for water to fill up. The osmotic pressureinverts and water begins to flow into themeat at this point, producing juicier meat.

Chu peppers his recipes with editorial com-ments, such as:

Traditionally served over linguine, shrimpscampi makes a quick and easy dinnerthat works equally well eaten in front ofthe computer or as the main dish of aromantic candlelight dinner.

A technical computer failure inspired theproject. When a server at work deleted all hisrecipes but tuna noodle casserole, Chu decidedto find a better way to store and share them.The site premiered with Chu’s variation onCook’s Illustrated recipe for salsa cruda.

The Silicon Valley hardware applicationengineer didn’t cook at all as an engineeringstudent. It was only after he started workingsix years ago that he began focusing his ana-lytical skills in the kitchen. The process iscathartic after a hard day’s work, he says.

“I’m just someone who likes to cook whodecided to sit down and write about it.” ■

by rachel jackson

Food for scientific thought

EECS alum Michael Chu(B.S.’99 EECS) tests recipesand shares tidbits aimed at thescience crowd on his cookingwebsite. Go to www.cookingforengineers.com.

It’s the future of medicine. Imagine a surgeonviewing a three-dimensional computer modelof a bone weakened by cancer or osteoporo-sis and treating the condition with minimallyinvasive surgery in an outpatient center. IfJoyce Keyak (B.S.’89 ME, Ph.D.’96 BioE) hasher way, the procedure will be headed forclinical trials on cancer patients in as little asone year, and her innovative research couldimprove the quality of life for hundreds ofthousands suffering from bone-weakeningconditions.

Keyak is associate professor of orthopedicsurgery, biomedical engineering, and mechan-ical and aerospace engineering at UC Irvine.With her colleague and mentor Harry Skinner,professor and surgeon at UC Irvine MedicalCenter, Keyak has developed a technique thatuses computed tomography (CT) scans andstructural analysis to calculate how muchforce a bone can withstand. With such exact-ing measurements, physicians can pinpointmore precise diagnoses and treatments thanever before.

“Until now, the tools for evaluating hipstrength in women at risk for osteoporosisprovided only a two-dimensional view of bonedensity,” Keyak says. But low bone density,she adds, is only one risk factor.

“The current measurements don’t take intoaccount other factors, such as the bone’s

shape and size or the forces on the bone,”she explains. “With three-dimensional analy-sis, we can do a much better job of determin-ing risk and identifying patients who needtreatment.”

Keyak’s research on metastatic bonetumors is equally promising. The tools usedto model bone strength and fracture risk canalso be used to simulate surgery and calcu-late the resulting increase in bone strength.The surgery—a minimally invasive outpatientprocedure—involves making a small incision,drilling a hole, removing the tumor, and inject-ing a specially designed medical cement toreinforce the bone. Recovery time and surgicalrisk are significantly reduced compared withcurrent surgical methods.

The analyses, which require meticulousattention to detail, also have potential appli-cations for improvements in prostheticimplant design and bone remodeling and maylead to new methods for preventing bonefracture. Keyak says the work is painstakingbut rewarding.

“For every hour of lab experiments, therecould be as many as 500 hours of analysis,”she says. “But my whole purpose is to get myresearch into the clinical arena so patientscan actually benefit from it.” ■

by carol menaker

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THOMAS N. MCKAY (B.S.’55 CE) ofAtherton writes,“I’m retired and havebeen living on the San Francisco penin-sula for the past 30 years. Still rooting forthose Golden Bears and next year’s visitto the Rose Bowl.”

S. JAMES MORIZUMI (B.S.’55 ME) ofRancho Palos Verdes, California, writes,“I am 81 years old and in a rehabilitationprogram (post-hospital care) followingmy stroke. I was born in San Francisco in1923 and spent four years in Berkeley,then got a Ph.D. in math from UCLA. Iam proud of the great 2004 football teamat Berkeley. Congratulations!”

LOWELL PATT (B.S.’56 CE) of Murrieta,California, had a very satisfying career inmunicipal energy, housing development,and redevelopment. He is now retiredand working on his golf handicap (13).

GORDON RALLS (B.S.’54, M.S.’55 ME)

of Pleasant Hill is starting his 18th year ofretirement after spending 34 years inconstruction and manufacturing manage-ment for Shell Chemical and Shell OilCompanies. He was a licensed mechani-cal engineer in California, Ohio, andWest Virginia. During his Shell career heworked in California, Ohio, Oregon, andNew York City. For several years prior toretirement, he taught evenings in theSchool of Management at Diablo ValleyCollege in Pleasant Hill.

JACK REETZ (B.S.’56 ME; M.B.A.’59

Bus.Ad.) is retired with his wife Joyce insouthern Maine, 10 minutes from theirgrandchildren in Kennebunk. He spent27 years with Honeywell as a softwaredevelopment manager and program man-ager. j.reetz@worldnet.att.net

CHARLES SCHEFFEY (M.S.’51 CE) ofArlington,Virginia, writes,“I have nowretired (for the third time) and live inSunrise Senior Living. My wife Ella passedaway in August 2004. I keep busy withthe analemma [the figure-eight patterntraced out by the Sun’s movement overthe course of the year], activities of theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers, andhere at Sunrise.” chuckschef@aol.com

PHILIP WARRINER (B.S.’56, M.S.’61

CE) of Sacramento writes,“I’m totallyretired and enjoying it.Among otherthings, I have recently traveled to Franceand Egypt.”p.warriner@worldnet.att.net

DONALD ALDEN (B.S.’47 CE) ofCarmichael, California, learned to row atCal under Ky Ebright and has lots of oldfriends that also row. He is still rowingcompetitively at age 83.

HOWARD ANDERSON (B.S.’49 CE) ofCarson City, Nevada, is still involved inhighway safety and design and works inmany states. He also enjoys traveling hereand abroad.

CHARLES AVERY (B.S.’47 Metallurgy) ofSparks, Nevada, writes,“I left smoggy,noisy, frenetic L.A. in 1999 for quiet, bigsky, scenic, clean air, rural WashoeCounty, Nevada, near Reno. Keepinghealthy and busy with old accounts,home improvement, gardening, fitness,photography, nature, friends, dancing,community events, and studying in andorganizing my extensive book library ofengineering, health, nature, photography,humanities, gardening, and miscellaneousother titles. I still have active registrationin the state of California as a metallurgi-cal, corrosion, and safety engineer.”

ALVIN DAVIDSON (B.S.’48 ME) ofStockton retired in October 2003 fromAcme Trucks, Inc., where he was chair-man of the board. He worked for AcmeTruck Parts and Equipment, Inc.;Specialty Truck Parts, Inc.; and Acme Lift Trucks, Inc.

RICHARD FOY (B.S.’42 EE) ofRedondo Beach, California, has beentaking yoga classes since 1995. It has beena great help in keeping in shape. He hasbeen participating in Omnilore, a seniorstudy discussion organization, for abouteight years. It has been a great help inkeeping his mind in shape. He has beentraveling internationally since 1974 withhis first trip, not counting those south ofthe border, to Hong Kong, which hashelped to keep his interests broad andjoyful. rhfoy@earthlink.net

CARLETON HARDY JR. (B.S.’49 ME)

of Fremont retired from Ford Motor Co.in 1994 at age 70, then spent 10 years asa volunteer with the Cystic FibrosisFoundation. He writes,“We have fivemarried kids, 17 grandchildren, and twogreat-grandchildren. Our eldest grandsonis a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne inIraq.”

JOHN (JACK) KNIVETON (B.S.’48

Petroleum Engineering) of Napa writes,“Itraveled on many Bear Treks, rangingfrom Antarctica to the Baltic. Everyalumnus should continue to support theCollege of Engineering as well as thenew athletics program.”

FLOYD LOOSCHEN (B.S.’44 EE) ofFlorence, Oregon, writes,“I’m a retiredelectrical/electronic engineer after beingpart of the blossoming electrical, elec-tronic and digital age.And a wonderfuljourney it was.Thanks to UC for theeducation that made it possible.”

JAMES NEIGHBOURS (B.S.’40 ME) ofWest Caldwell, New Jersey, is a full-timecaregiver for his wife with Alzheimer’s.After graduate work at MIT, he spent 21years in active duty as a naval aviator,then 10 years as plant manager forGrumman, then 10 years as a manager forEastern Airlines.

GEORGE QUINN (B.S.’47 ME) writes,“I’m enjoying retired life in my PortolaValley home with my wife Mary. Keepingbusy with family, travel, and homeimprovement projects.”

FRANK LORD (B.S.’30 EE) of Reddingwrites,“As a 96-year-old retiree, I’mcoasting along.”

LEE MOHLER (B.S.’38 ME) of CostaMesa, California, writes,“I’m 90 yearsold. My formula for a happy long life:Marry a lover. Stay mentally, physically,and spiritually active. Engage in life.Participate.”

PAUL SHERIDAN (B.S.’30 CE) ofSacramento writes,“I’m very busy withsenior activities: I bowl, direct duplicatebridge games, participate in caregiversupport groups, etc., etc.”

JOHN HOMSY (B.S.’28 Mechanics) ofSutter Creek, California, has been enjoy-ing retirement since 1962.

alumni updateb

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LOWELL ALLEN (B.S.’51 CE) of Eurekaretired from Caltrans Structures in 1991and now serves on dispute review boardsfor Caltrans contracts.lcaeng@sbcglobal.net

J. KIRK ASHFORD (B.S.’58 ME) ofAnaheim writes,“From 1993 until recently,I was based in Kensington, London, work-ing with Western U.S. Properties (invest-ment properties) for the vast OPECresources, as macro-managed by NationalWestminster Bank.When OPEC changedtheir investment policies after George W.Bush sanctioned the U.S. invasion of Iraq,I retired to the West Coast of the U.S.”

WILLIAM BLYTHE (M.S.’57 CE) ofPalo Alto retired after 42 years on thefaculty of the civil engineering depart-ment at San Jose State University and isstill active as a consultant.

WILLIAM BRIDGES (B.S.’56, M.S.’57,

Ph.D.’62 EE) retired from the EE andapplied physics departments at Caltech as the Carl F. Braun Professor ofEngineering, Emeritus, in 2003. Hewrites,“My wife, Linda McManus, and Ihave now completed our ‘ultimate retire-ment home’ in Nevada City, California,where we have six acres of forest on ahilltop.We split our time about two-thirdsthere and one-third in our old residencein Sierra Madre, California.”w6fa@caltech.edu

BURTON CORSEN (B.S.’50 ME) of SanJose retired from IBM.

ROBERT GORDON (M.S.’57, Ph.D.’62

NE) of Los Altos writes,“I have finallypublished my book, Ethics Based on theScience of Evolution: Nature and Nurture.”

ALAN LEVY (B.S.’50, M.S.’52 Metallurgy)

retired from Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory and is living in Sacramento.

CHARLES MATHEWS (B.S.’50 CE)

writes,“Thanks to the G.I. Bill, I was able to goto college. I chose Calbecause my mother gradu-ated from there in 1917. Iwas a mediocre student(graduating with one

grade point), but my education served mewell in a career that spanned 40 years inboth the private and public sectors with21 years on overseas assignments inMorocco, Spain, Bolivia,Turkey, Chile,and Jamaica. I retired in 1990 and havesettled back in Penn Valley, California.”

alumni update

Speeding is her way of life

Kate Maher (M.S.’01 CEE) races her bike atone speed: faster. Her favorite type of cyclingrace, the criterium, consists of many lapsaround a short course. In these races sheexceeds 30 mph, flashing by onlookers, brushinghandlebars with competitors, and leaning intothe never-ending corners that make up theracecourse loop.

Usually, there are crashes. Last summer shebroke two ribs but still seems unfazed by thedangers inherent in her sport.

“I like the aggressiveness and risk taking,”she says. “As soon as the gun goes off, yougo as fast as you can.”

Maher’s racing provides a dramatic counter-balance to the slow, careful rhythm of science,which has been her life for the last severalyears at Berkeley. She first worked on envi-ronmental fluid mechanics for her environ-mental engineering master’s and now studiesreactive transport modeling of uranium andstrontium in groundwater for a doctorate inearth and planetary science.

Maher was an alpine ski racer when she wasyounger and began cycling at age 12, when hermom took her mountain biking in the hillsbehind their Ashland, Oregon, home. By thetime she entered Dartmouth College as anundergraduate, she was competing in 20-mile

cross-country mountain bike races. She turnedprofessional in her junior year, only to lose hersponsorship in 1998 due to budget cuts.

The experience put graduate school intofocus, and she came to Berkeley in 1999, shesays, primarily because of its outstandingteachers and focus on applications. She con-centrated on her research for the first year anda half until, in 2001, some friends convinced herto join the Cal women’s cycling team. She madethe switch to road racing and managed to findtime between classes and research to earn fiveindividual national championships in a rangeof events (including criterium and road race),boosting the Cal team to first place finishes inthe Road Nationals in both 2002 and 2003.

“I like to win, but I’m not obsessive or mali-cious about it,” she says. “It’s for fun.” Manyengineers are involved in cycling, Maher adds,possibly because of their fascination with themechanics of a bike.

These days, Maher has scaled back hercycling, but she still manages the occasional7 a.m. ride with girlfriends. And she hasn’trelaxed the urge to win. After she completesher Ph.D., she may start training for theOlympics. “I’m getting stronger every year.” ■

by rachel jackson

CEE alumna Kate Maher (M.S.’01 CEE), front, haswon five individual national championships inwomen’s collegiate cycling. She wants to train forthe Olympics after she finishes her doctorate inearth and planetary science.

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EVAN AURAND (B.S.’75 EECS), a SanJose engineer who worked at Memorex,Fairchild,Adobe, and Excite beforedevoting himself to music and musicalequipment, died recently of a heart ail-ment at the age of 52. He played guitarfor Little George blues band and jammedregularly at the Road House in Sunnyvaleand JJ’s in San Jose. He was a vintageamplifier expert and engineered soundsystems for Eddie Money and the Sons of Champlin, among others.

DON CUNNINGHAM (B.S.’43, M.S.’44

ME) died last December in Penn Valley,Nevada, at age 85. On Berkeley’smechanical engineering faculty for morethan 40 years, he made significant contri-butions in medical applications, especiallyin ballistocardiography and automotive/wheelchair designs to facilitate drivingfor the handicapped.

BRADLEY GARRETSON (B.S.’41 CE),a registered architectand licensed civil,structural, andmechanical engi-neer, died in April2004. He was co-founder in 1956 ofGarretson andElmendorfConsultingEngineers of San

Francisco, which was responsible forbuildings at Lawrence Berkeley, LawrenceLivermore, and Sandia Labs. He served inthe U.S.Army during World War II andwas later promoted to captain in thearmy reserves. He served as president ofthe UC Berkeley Engineering AlumniSociety in 1982–83.

JASON LIAO (B.S.’97 EECS) died in a car accident last December at age 25.He was living in Salinas after acceptingan engineering position with CTB/McGraw-Hill.

JAMES MCCARTY JR. (B.S.’47 CE),a longtime engineer for Oakland, died in January. He served on the 269thEngineers Combat Battalion duringWorld War II, then returned to school

in memoriam

and began working for the city in 1947.He engineered an extensive flood controlproject and many bridges, roads, andbuildings that helped define the city ofOakland. In 1961, he became director ofpublic works, where he presided overseveral large freeway projects and BART’sOakland portion.

ROBERT NANNIZZI (B.S.’63 EE) diedlast May in Alameda.An electrical engi-neer with Bechtel Corporation for 30years, he specialized in the design of largefacility power systems and power plants,including the Jim Bridger Power Plant inRock Springs,Wyoming.

FRANK POULSEN (B.S.’40 CE) died in2002 in Brentwood,Tennessee. He hadretired in 1989 after a successful 35-yearcareer in utilities in Santa Rosa.

JOHN “JACK” RHETT JR. (M.S.’52

CE) of Arlington,Virginia, died in Januaryat age 79. He served in both Korea andVietnam in the Army Corps of Engineersand earned three Legions of Merit beforeretiring from active duty in 1972. He thenjoined the newly established EnvironmentalProtection Agency and in 1979 wasappointed federal inspector by PresidentJimmy Carter of the Alaska Natural GasTransportation System, overseeing con-struction of portions of the pipeline nowused to transport natural gas from Canadato the U.S.

LAWRENCE TALBOT , Berkeley emeritus professor ofmechanical engineer-ing known for hiswork in fluid mechan-ics, died last March atage 79.When hejoined the faculty in1951, his work inhigh-altitude and

high-speed aerodynamics was used largelyin satellite design. In the late 1960s, heturned his attention to bioengineering inthe early days of that field, working onbiofluid dynamics. He also did research inshock structure, combustion and flames,and real gas effects, continuing this workbeyond his retirement in 1991.

For details and updates visit www.coe.berkeley.edu/alumni or call 510.643.7100

Stay connected to Berkeley—Connections bring you home to Northside.

June 16 6:00 p.m. Southern California EAS Annual MeetingCybersecurity expert Shankar Sastry speaks at Caltech’s Athenaeum.

September 24 6:00 p.m. Distinguished Engineering Alumni Awards DinnerCelebrate with this year’s award winners at Hearst Memorial Mining Building.

October 1 8:30 a.m. – noon. Homecoming 2005Join us at Sibley for a continental breakfast and faculty presentation,followed by a tour of Hearst Memorial Mining Building.

Berkeley Engineering. It’s your College.

You’re invited!

GAY WEBER (B.S.’47 EECS) of FortWayne, Indiana, died last October at age82. He designed jet engines for GeneralElectric for 40 years in Pennsylvania andOhio.While at Cal, he was on the gym-nastics and diving teams and was presi-dent of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

DONALD PEDERSON , professoremeritus of EECS at Berkeley, died lastDecember at age 79. Best known in thefield of electronic design automation forspearheading the development of SPICE(Simulation Program with IntegratedCircuit Emphasis), his vision laid thegroundwork for advances in the design ofthe complex integrated circuits that drivemodern electronic devices. He served inGermany as a private in the U.S.Armyduring World War II from 1943–46,worked at Bell Telephone Laboratoriesfrom 1953–55, and joined the Berkeleyfaculty in 1955.“Almost everythingPederson did was the first in the world,”said Richard Newton, Berkeley EECSprofessor and engineering dean, recruitedhere from Australia by Pederson nearly30 years ago. In 2001, Berkeley dedicatedthe Donald O. Pederson Center forElectronic Systems Design in honor ofhis contributions to computer-aideddesign of microelectronic systems.