UC Berkeley EECS

A Berkeley-led team found a way to change the electronic properties of a common semiconductor material, potentially laying the foundation for faster, lower-power data storage and processing! The researchers discovered they can transform titanium dioxide (TiO₂) into a ferroelectric material by reducing its thickness to less than 3 nanometers (nm), roughly the diameter of a single strand of human DNA! These findings could open a pathway toward ultra-scaled, energy-efficient electronic devices. This work also reveals a broader scientific insight: “We’ve shown that simply reducing a material’s thickness can fundamentally change its properties as well as unlock functionalities with many exciting, new applications,” said Sayeef Salahuddin, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and of materials science and engineering. Read our story: bit.ly/4nB9Xn1

We’re proud to announce our keynote speakers for this year’s commencement ceremonies! Warren “Woody” Hoburg (M.S.’11, Ph.D.’13 EECS), astronaut at @NASA , will speak at the baccalaureate degree ceremony. Sandra Rivera, chair of the board at VSORA, will speak at the master’s degree ceremony. Reginald DesRoches (B.S.’90 ME, M.S.’92 CE, Ph.D.’97 CEE), president at @RiceUniversity , will speak at the doctoral degree ceremony. Learn more: bit.ly/3KziaDM

Join Gauri Mutha (B.S.’27 EECS, MSE) on a day in her life as an engineering student at UC Berkeley! She adds: “As an international student at UC Berkeley pursuing electrical engineering and computer sciences as well as materials science and engineering, every day here feels like proof of how far I’ve come and how much this place has given me. Berkeley has challenged me in the best ways — through rigorous classes, research opportunities, late nights in labs and conversations with people who constantly inspire me to think bigger. Coming here meant building a life far from home, learning to navigate a new country and finding my place in one of the most intellectually exciting communities in the world. Berkeley has given me more than an education; it has given me courage, independence, friendships, purpose and the confidence to dream beyond what I once thought was possible. I’m grateful for the professors, classmates, mentors and friends who have shaped my journey and made this campus feel like home. Every day here reminds me that growth is not always easy, but it is always worth it. Proud to be a Bear. Go Bears!” Want to share your journey at Berkeley Engineering? Reach us at [email protected]! (Video by Gauri Mutha)

@ucdavis Chancellor Gary S. May M.S. ’88, Ph.D. ’91 is a leader with a passion for helping others succeed. His vision as Davis’s seventh chancellor is to lead the university to new heights in academic excellence, inclusion, public service, and upward mobility for students from all backgrounds. May earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at Berkeley and is trained as an engineer and researcher, though his impact reaches far beyond the lab. He has developed nationally recognized programs in STEM fields that attract, mentor, and retain underrepresented groups, and has been a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion in both higher education and the workplace. More recently, May helped establish a scholarship at Berkeley supporting African American engineering students, an initiative honoring Howard P. Grant, the first Black graduate of Berkeley Engineering. @chancellor.may is one of this year’s recipients of the Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award, which recognizes an alum whose remarkable professional achievements reflect the excellence of a UC Berkeley education. The award will be presented at this year’s Berkeley Charter Gala in May. #UCBerkeley #AchievementAwards Image descriptions: 1. Portrait of UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May in front of a dark brown background. He is wearing a striped suit and gold tie, and holding his left hand under his chin in a thoughtful manner. 2. Chancellor May and Alan Alda sitting in navy blue armchairs on a stage. It was the first Chancellor's Colloquium hosted by Gary May featuring Alan Alda's talk “Getting Beyond a Blind Date with Science.” 3. A young Chancellor May getting hooded at his graduation ceremony. He is looking at the camera. 4. A group photo of UC Davis leaders and Chancellor May in their regalia on the day of May's investiture. They are standing in a grassy field in between two buildings, with trees lining the background behind them. 5. A group photo with Chancellor May and other people. One person holds a phone camera in the foreground and is taking the selfie with everyone.

Professor John DeNero Ph.D. ’10 is the Giancarlo Teaching Fellow in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He joined Berkeley in 2014 to focus on undergrad education in computer science and data science, and currently teaches two of the largest courses on campus, enrolling 2,000 and 3,000 students per year, respectively. As faculty director of the Data Science Undergraduate Studies (DSUS) program, DeNero established Berkeley as the premier space for world-class data science education. His leadership developed the data science major into the largest major on campus, and one that holds the No. 1 ranking in its field nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report. DeNero is also a very visible supporter of DSUS, notably sponsoring a challenge match for the program during last year’s #CalBigGive campaign. DeNero is this year’s recipient of the Fiat Lux Faculty Award, which honors a faculty member whose extraordinary contributions go above and beyond the call of duty to advance the university’s philanthropic mission and transform its research, teaching, and programs. The award will be presented at this year’s Berkeley Charter Gala in May. #AchievementAwards #UCBerkeley Photos by: Keegan Houser (@khdesign01 ), Doug Birnbaum, and Noah Berger; UC Berkeley

Are you an incoming bear interested in CS? Apply to CS Kickstart, a completely-free, one-week summer camp for incoming women and nonbinary freshmen—watch the video to learn more! Meet us on Cal Day! We’ll be on Upper Sproul Plaza and at the Wozniak Lounge in Soda Hall. Applications release early May, so keep an eye out for it at the link in our bio or at cskickstart.com! Go CSK! 💜🧸

Researchers from @ucberkeleyofficial and @UCSF launched Voio, a startup co-founded by Adam Yala, Maggie Chung and Trevor Darrell that aims to build AI models to help radiologists interpret images faster and more accurately. Voio’s tools are being designed to generate draft reports, freeing up radiologists to focus on patients, and to predict patient risk for serious conditions, including cancer, osteoporosis and heart failure years in advance. 🔗 Read more (link in bio): https://bit.ly/4tNEwro 📸: Bryan Walker Ting / Voio [Image description: Adam Yala wearing a t-shirt with the Voio logo.] @ucb_eecs | @ucsf_imaging | @ucjointcph

As a Berkeley doctoral student, Arjun Singh ’10, Ph.D. ’16 worked with Professor Pieter Abbeel and fellow alums Ibrahim Awwal ’12 and Sergey Karayev Ph.D. ’15 to develop Gradescope, an AI-assisted grading platform that speeds grading and provides teachers and students with instant feedback. Initially built to aid Berkeley instructors, the platform is used today by more than 150,000 educators and 4 million students at 2,600 universities worldwide. Gradescope was acquired by Turnitin in 2018; Singh’s involvement on the executive team was instrumental in adapting the platform for remote teaching and assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic. A trusted adviser and co-investor to startups in the portfolio of venture capital firm Reach Capital, he is widely regarded as an expert in applied AI and a generous mentor to emerging founders. Singh is an innovator that stands out as a shining star in Berkeley’s far-reaching constellation of entrepreneurial excellence. He is one of this year’s recipients of the Mark Bingham Award for Excellence in Achievement by Young Alums, which commends a young alum who graduated within the last 10 years and has made a significant contribution to their community, country, or the world at large. The award will be presented at this year’s Berkeley Charter Gala in May. #UCBerkeley #AchievementAwards

In a review article recently published in @sciencemagazine , @ucberkeleyofficial researchers Jennifer Listgarten and Hanlun Jiang examine the opportunities and challenges of using generative protein models and other AI methods to advance protein engineering, with applications spanning health care, sustainability and more. Upon reviewing the current use of AI in their field to improve searching and scoring of proteins, Listgarten and Jiang emphasized that laboratory testing is still needed to confirm that engineered proteins are stable, foldable and functional. They aim to encourage more baselines for the publication of new AI-based methods. 🔗 Learn more (link in bio): https://bit.ly/48NBYRX @UCB_EECS | @sciencemagazine

Congratulations to Matei Zaharia, recipient of the ACM Prize in Computing! Zaharia is associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS) at UC Berkeley and co-founder of Databricks. His development of open-source systems helped enable large-scale machine learning, analytics and AI at a global scale. “Matei Zaharia’s work has had a lasting impact on how data is used at scale,” said ACM President Yannis Ioannidis. “By addressing key limitations in earlier systems, he developed technologies that quickly became standard tools for data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Matei’s open-source philosophy has been essential: he made these tools accessible to all.” 🔗 Read more (link in bio): https://bit.ly/4vbNujK [Image description: Matei Zaharia; UC Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science, and Society logo.] @UCB_EECS | @ucberkeleyofficial | @databricksinc

UC Berkeley graduate programs earned high marks in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Berkeley’s graduate programs were ranked: #1 in computer engineering and electrical engineering #2 in statistics #4 in computer science Go Bears! 🐻 🔗 Read more (link in bio): https://bit.ly/41W4j4F [Image description: Group of smiling students in UC Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science, and Society t-shirts under a dark blue layer with the UC Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science, and Society logo at the bottom. Text reads: "Graduate Program Rankings. #1 computer engineering; #1 electrical engineering; #2 statistics; #4 computer science. 2026 U.S. News and World Report."] @ucb_EECS | @BerkeleyStatistics | @ucberkeleyofficial

We are thrilled to announce the opening of our exclusive Spring Pop-Up Shop featuring brand-new, licensed EECS and CS merchandise. Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for family, friends, or just want to show off your EECS spirit this spring, we have a great selection of EECS apparel ready to go. Order by logging on to EECS 101 on Ed Stem (see link in bio). This is the perfect chance to snag some unique items for commencement! Deadline: The web store closes on April 15, 2026.