Science & Technology Content

΢��Ƶ Photonics Technology Helps Shrink Telescopes

Andy Fell — January 21, 2016 - 1:17pm

For hundreds of years, the general design of an optical telescope has remained pretty much the same. Even if you’re looking at the stars with the naked eye, the image-forming process works in a similar way. Both methods collect light from an object and refract that light to form an image.

Now researchers at the University of California, Davis, are working with Lockheed Martin to develop a radically new kind of telescope that will be much lighter and smaller, both of which are important considerations especially for instruments to be launched into space.

΢��Ƶ Grad Wins New Scholarship for Study in China

IET WebDev — January 11, 2016 - 12:00am

If you've already earned a pilot's license, a black belt in kung fu, an undergraduate degree from ΢��Ƶ and a great spot in the tech industry, what's next?

James Rizzo, 22, has answered by winning a prestigious new scholarship for a year's graduate study in Beijing at one of China's leading universities.

Rizzo, who grew up in Burbank, California, and now lives in San Francisco, is one of the 111 members of the inaugural class of Schwarzman Scholars selected from more than 3,000 applicants worldwide.

Smarter lighting and better energy use at ΢��Ƶ

IET WebDev — December 09, 2015 - 12:00am

The California Lighting Technology Center at ΢��Ƶ is dedicated to accelerating development and commercialization of energy-efficient lighting and daylighting technologies. The center carries out research and development in its laboratories, and provides instruction and training as well as workshops and outreach activities.

Citizen science doesn’t stop cold: Lake Tahoe mobile app helps scientists year-round

IET WebDev — November 19, 2015 - 9:06am

While hitting the slopes at Lake Tahoe this winter, scientists from the ΢��Ƶ Tahoe Environmental Research Center are encouraging people to hit the beach, too — and record what they see there on the “Citizen Science Tahoe” mobile app.

TERC launched the app this past August, encouraging beach goers of all ages to tap in what they see at Lake Tahoe — data shared with scientists to better understand conditions around the lake.

΢��Ƶ releases C-STEM Studio: Robotics and computing tools for teachers

IET WebDev — October 15, 2015 - 1:35pm

Teachers can now download free breakthrough tools for teaching math, coding and robotics with the launch of C-STEM Studio from the Center for Integrated Computing and STEM Education at the University of California, Davis.

C-STEM Studio is a platform for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics through computing and robotics for integrated learning. It includes code, comprehensive documentation, teacher guides and textbooks in one download.

Why zebras have stripes: The debate goes on

IET WebDev — October 02, 2015 - 1:00pm

The question of why zebras have stripes is not, so to speak, black and white.

In the online journal Royal Society Open Science, University of California, Davis, professor Tim Caro and Cal State Long Beach assistant professor Theodore Stankowich find both agreement and disagreement with another zebra study.

“Our short paper brings together different ideas about the reasons that zebras have black and white stripes,” Caro said.

Chancellor receives national award

IET WebDev — October 02, 2015 - 8:20am

University of California, Davis, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi will receive the National Academy of Engineering Simon Ramo Founders Award for her “extraordinary impact on the engineering profession” and “leadership in engineering research and education.” Katehi is the first woman to receive the Founders Award, which will be presented during NAE’s 2015 annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Oct. 4.

Lake Tahoe mobile app lets visitors be citizen scientists

IET WebDev — August 19, 2015 - 9:55am

The ΢��Ƶ Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) has launched a new smartphone app, “Citizen Science Tahoe,” that encourages beach-goers of all ages to tap in what they see at Lake Tahoe—observational data that will be shared with the scientists to better understand conditions around the lake.

The app, available for download at www.CitizenScienceTahoe.org, was programmed by Shahzeb Khan, a ΢��Ƶ freshman studying computer science who won a ΢��Ƶ-wide competition for the best app proposal.

Keep Tahoe blue? Less algae, not clarity, key factor for blueness

IET WebDev — July 23, 2015 - 8:45am

Lake Tahoe’s iconic blueness is most strongly related to algae, not clarity, according to research released today from the ΢��Ƶ Tahoe Environmental Research Center, or TERC. In the “Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2015,” researchers found the lower the algal concentration, the bluer the lake.

The report also includes updates related to clarity, climate change, drought and new research at Lake Tahoe.

Nanomaterials in sunscreens and boats leave marine life vulnerable

IET WebDev — May 12, 2015 - 9:10am

Nanomaterials commonly used in sunscreens and boat-bottom paints are making sea urchin embryos more vulnerable to toxins, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The authors said this could pose a risk to coastal, marine and freshwater environments.