The alumni magazine of the Berkeley Fung Institute FOR ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP
Connecting with our Community in the Time of COVID-19
summer 2020
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It's amazing what four months of shelter-in-place both teach and challenge you about resilient leadership, especially during a pandemic. From managing the stress and emotional needs that result from unplanned remote work environments to coping with social injustice and protests in the nation as a Black woman in America, being a leader is about more than just crossing off a list of to-dos and following textbook leadership principles. This time has taught me that the work is important, but the most important part of the job is the people I get to serve every day. Sometimes as a leader the best thing you can do is to remove your hat of a leader and extend a helping hand as a friend. Now while it is pretty safe to say that when I decided to leave Stanford University in January 2020 to pursue the opportunity of being the Executive Director for the Fung Institute of Engineering Leadership, leading a high-performance team through a global pandemic was not on the list of my top five strategic goals and vision. In fact, now five months into the role, I thought I would be settling into my role and executing ideas that I presented during my interview. Isn’t it amazing how we can surely have our plans, but life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect. However, at times it is the very thing you least expect that will add the greatest value to your character, purpose, and passion. The unexpected entrance of COVID-19 taught me that a resilient leader not only handles the pressure of the unexpected, such as personally losing family members who lost the battle in fighting this virus or learning to adapt quickly to uncharted waters, but a resilient leader also makes sure to steer the ship they’ve been charged to direct, holding it to its course without capsizing and losing any person on board. Projecting unrealistic expectations, using poor judgment to meet deadlines, feeding over-nurtured egos, and the inability to relate to those you lead may make you feel important, but it will never bring you respect. What kind of leader have you set sail to be? It is with this question in mind that as the Fung Institute continues to set its mission on creating inclusive leaders who solve the world’s problems through innovation, technology, and collaboration across boundaries, in teaching, research, and service, that we do so in developing leaders that others want to follow. With the next academic year right around the corner, our vision is to deliver the best and most inclusive technical leadership education in and across the world, to Fung Fellows, Master of Engineering students, and doctoral students. We accomplish that by modeling diverse, equitable, and inclusive leadership in our own operational excellence and by working closely with communities, industry, and alumni to create a more equitable and sustainable world. I invite you to join us as an alum of the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership and help us meet our mission and vision during the academic year 2020-21. Perhaps consider being one of our industry partners, sponsor a capstone project, or help shape the undergraduates’ fellowship strategic focus as a Fung Fellowship Partner. Your contributions as proud alums of this institute help us to educate, empower, and engage our students from year to year so that they too might have a chance to accomplish their educational goals. While there is an undeniable impact of COVID-19 in our nation, yet this time of shelter-in-place could be viewed as more of a gift than an inconvenience. History will surely never forget these unprecedented times and never shall I. A time to make me slow down and assess my own leadership style. A time to birth in me the character to thrive in the places where both my purpose and passion will lead. Perhaps this order of shelter-in-place was no disruption at all, and just maybe the unexpected positioned me in place and time of exactly where I needed to be.
Stephany Prince Executive Director, Fung Institute
Fung Institute responds to COVID-19 Fung Institute responds to COVID-19 Page 4-7 Five tips for effective remote teaming Page 8 MEng Graduate department rankings Page 9 Student life snapshots Page 10-11 Alumni action Page 12-13 Capstone and Individual Awards Awards summary Page 14-15 Technical Leadership Capstone Award Page 16 Most Innovative Project Award Page 17 Fung Institute Mission Award Page 18 Individual Contribution Awards Page 19 Watch the showcase! Page 20 Fung Fellowship New Conservation + Tech track Page 22 Watch the showcases! Page 23 Project features Page 24-25 Meet our partners Page 26 Fellows in action Page 26-27 Community Class updates: Alumni notes Page 28-30 Industry partnership program Page 31 Affinity group mentors Page 32 Call for capstone proposals Page 32
From the Executive Director of the Fung Institute
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Highlighting: Jaspal Sandhu, Fung Fellowship Faculty Lead
Fung Institute responds to COVID-19
Highlighting: Jonathan McKinley, E295 Communications for Engineering Leaders Graduate Student Instructor
UVC Blaster Mini
Highlighting: Honors Fung Fellows Shirley Jiang, Yoyo Ko, Romina Mazooji, and Josie Lee Originally, this team of Honors Fellows partnered with Elder Care Alliance (ECA) to ideate adaptive clothing for older adults. However, on March 12, the team’s industry advisor, Rosemary Jordan, Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at ECA reached out with a new call-to-action initiative: “How might we construct enough in-house supply to care for 600 residents across six locations?” To support emergency supply needs for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), they quickly transitioned to develop design documents for various PPE, including masks, shields, and clothing covers. Considering growing resource insecurity from high demands in health equipment, the team compiled a guide with different design methods using more accessible resources. Their mask design utilizes High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters typically found in vacuums, while their shield pattern is available to fabricate on 3D printers. They offer instructional guides to create gown and shoe covers using cotton and polyester fabrics along with supplemental videos on sanitization and proper wear.
Project Adapt
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Shield the Bay
In collaboration with Bay Area designers, additive manufacturers (3D printers), researchers, and health care providers, Jaspal has been fabricating and distributing PPE to partners in health care. Distinct from other PPE efforts, Shield the Bay prioritizes resource distribution to public and under-served institutions. Additionally to focusing on distribution equity, this project has developed face shields with reusable visors and easily replaceable, cost-effective plastic shields, at roughly $2 per unit. Working closely with the heads of infection control, system logistics, and first-line responders at emergency response systems and Bay Area county hospitals such as Alameda Health System, they incorporate feedback from healthcare providers to meet necessary standards. Currently, they have donated to Highland Hospital in Oakland and are moving towards scaling their efforts to other confirmed partners in need.
After being appalled to hear that healthcare workers were taking pay cuts while subjected to historic occupational health hazards, Jonathan McKinley, a third year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Bioengineering and a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for Berkeley MEng at the Fung Institute, pulled together a group of Berkeley students and alumni that are donating design work, engineering, and manufacturing. One of the team’s current offerings is the UVCBlaster designed for N95 mask bioburden reduction, a strategic and cost-effective engineering-driven alternative to create safer working conditions for healthcare workers on the frontline. Learn more about the project.
Color, a Bay Area based company, makes population-scale healthcare programs accessible, convenient, and cost-effective for everyone. Aydin Golabi, MEng ‘20 (BIOE), recently joined the Color team as a Robotics Engineer. His manager, Sophie Xu, is also an MEng graduate from the Class of 2016 (IEOR). Aydin has been designing, and developing software for robotic systems to automate high-throughput COVID-19 testing. Color’s testing infrastructure is being implemented by local governments to help communities safely reopen. Partnerships include CityTestSF in San Francisco, serving essential workers and resident of the city, as well as free testing sites in Alameda County at West Oakland Health Center, and at Native American Health Center, the latter of which has increased access to testing in one of the hardest COVID-19 hit zip codes in the country. Color is also serving universities like Morehouse in Atlanta and various national employers, including a consortium of 11 biotech firms in Cambridge, MA. Color has built a high-throughput COVID-19 testing lab, repurposing lab design, automation, and infrastructure from the company’s scaled clinical testing experience. Color is the only lab in the U.S. with FDA approval for LAMP technology, a COVID-19 testing method that is as accurate as RT-PCR, is about 50% faster and has different supply requirements. For more information, visit https://www.color.com/covid.
Color’s COVID-19 Testing Infrastructure
Highlighting: Wayne Delker, former Fung Institute Executive Director
Wayne is currently working in organizing the efforts of VentilatorSOS, a project dedicated to supporting health care providers with modified consumer sleep apnea machines, reserving the limited count of ventilators to the most serious cases. This would open up the available capacity of hospital’s ventilators by 30–50%, as there are currently about 10 million Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAPs) and Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAPs) machines from consumer homes that can be quickly repurposed. With a projected worldwide shortage of 500,000 to 1 million ventilators, this project would massively reduce human tragedy. The initial idea of VentilatorSOS came from Bryan Martel, a sleep apnea device owner. After watching Governor Cuomo discuss ventilator shortages in New York, he wondered if donated sleep apnea machines could act as ventilators. After contacting Dr. Tsu-Jae King Liu, Dean of the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley, for support, a team was formed to bring Bryan’s idea into fruition. So far, the team has procured over 2,500 donated machines, and with the new design plan from Grace O’Connell’s lab, each unit can be repurposed with under $150, a significant price drop from the $10,000 to $15,000 for a comparable hospital unit. Moreover, the team has partnered with Salesforce and Apogee to bring in more donated machines and to deliver the refurbished units, as far reaching as Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Navajo Nation. “This has been an incredibly rewarding partnership between the University, business, government and non-profit organizations. We are all volunteers, and everyone we talk to wants to help solve this problem. It has been gratifying to see in these tough times people unite around a common objective of saving lives around the world," said Wayne.
VentilatorSOS
Highlighting: MEng and MTM students Nitasha Goyal (MTM ’20) and Marcel Schaack, MEng ’20 (BIOE) Back in March, during the uncertainty of school proceedings, Marcel and Nitasha, along with two other Master’s students, Marie Rajon Bernard and Oluwatoni Adetayo, launched a platform called SF Food Friends. Recognizing a need to support grocery errands for symptomatic or at-risk individuals, the four developed an accessible platform that matches vulnerable people with low-risk individuals to fulfill grocery errands, prescription needs, and meal deliveries. Understanding a need for communal support and compassion, they sought to empower impacted communities while reducing the spread of transmission. Their platform has grown to mobilize different members of the community from volunteers to grocery markets to social good organizations. Since starting their project, they’ve partnered with Grocery Outlet, Oakland at Risk, Berkeley Mutual Aid, and SF Meals on Wheels. More recently, they’ve merged with SF Community Support in an effort to elevate existing support efforts.
Highlighting: Aydin Golabi, MEng ‘20 (BIOE) and Sophie Xu, MEng ‘16 (IEOR)
SF Food Friends
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
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Online meetings can feel awkward, and your team members may feel isolated. To bring awareness to the unusual situation and to help your team members, institute personal check-ins and foster a people-centered approach to work.
Without seeing team members in-person, communication can decrease drastically. Set clear guidelines for how your team should prepare and communicate in this time.
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Five tips for effective remote teaming
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ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
MATERIALS ENGINEERING
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
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NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
2021 GRADUATE PROGRAM RANKINGS Berkeley Engineering is consistently ranked among the top engineering schools by many measures, including U.S. News & World Report, which ranks it as third nationally and seventh globally.
Set guidelines for communication
Keep things personal
Your team members may have relocated or are in new, less-than-ideal workspaces. Some may feel less comfortable holding meetings over video, or be working from different time zones. At the same time, this period may be a good time for individuals to take a step back and reconnect with their personal goals.Take this into account when planning.
BIOENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Take into account the different circumstances and goals of your team members
Understand that you won’t be able to communicate in real-time, and that effective work will require more preparation and communication on your part regarding meetings, deliverables, and schedules. Make sure your entire team is familiar with the tools you will be using during this time, and stick to agendas.
Deal with conflict right away
With remote meetings, typical informal patterns of conflict resolution may disappear. Set guidelines for dealing with conflict quickly as possible, and make sure that decisions are made transparently.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The MEng leadership teaching team came together to discuss how to navigate remote teaming. Featuring Anita Balaraman, Keith Tandowsky, Leah Edwards, and Sonia Travaglini.
COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Step up your preparation for meetings and deliverables
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[1] College of Engineering Dean Tsu Jae King Liu speaks at 2019 MEng orientation. [2] Students congregate around a table on the second day of the Capstone Marketplace. [3] Capstone team Multimodal Mobility Strategies for Smart Cities poses for a photo. [4] An orientation group poses by Sather Gate. [5] Skydeck Networking event. [6] Employer Breakfast. [7] An orientation group works on their project. [8] Coffee Hour with pets. [9] Tiffany Tao (ME '20) poses at the Jordan Jumpman LA store on a trip with team Blue Goji. [10] Chancellor's reception for master's students. [11] Students enjoy dinner together. [12] Students at Coffee Hour. [13] The 2019-2020 cohort hangs out on Memorial Glade. [14] Chinese New Year Coffee Hour. [15] Capstone team Design and Control of Lower Extremity Exoskeletons for Industrial Applications poses for a photo. [16] iHackHealth UnPitch Kickoff event.
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MENG STUDENT LIFE SNAPSHOTS
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Singapore Happy Hour
Paris Happy Hour
Alumni Brunch
ALUMNI ACTION
Individual Awards The Fung Institute award for MEng Capstone Mentorship is awarded to a capstone advisor who excels in fostering intellectual independence, providing project support, and furthering professional development. Finalists are nominated by current MEng students; winners are chosen by Fung Institute staff based on students’ nominations. Intellectual Leadership Contribution Award Intellectual Leadership Contribution Award Winner: Francesco Piccoli [IEOR] Intellectual Technical Contribution Award Winner: Fellipe Marcellino [IEOR]
Fung Institute Mission Award Awarded to the capstone team that best exemplifies the mission of the institute: “Shaping generations of technical leaders to innovate across boundaries.” Finalists are nominated by Fung instructors; winners are chosen by Fung Institute staff based on the project brief.
AWARD SEASON
Winners: Precision Freezing 3D Bioprinter for Large Scale Tissue Engineering Team Members: Alex Wolcott [BIOE], Martin Banet-Rivet [ME], Pablo Amo [ME], Ruobin Liu [ME] Advisor(s): Boris Rubinsky [ME], Gideon Ukpai [ME]
Fung Institute Technical Leadership Award The Fung Institute Technical Leadership Capstone Award is awarded to the capstone team that most effectively demonstrates MEng Leadership principles: (i) identify (or enable others to identify) a problem, opportunity, and/or vision; (ii) generate or elicit a solution to a problem; (iii) include and convince stakeholders of the proposed solution; (iv) manage and include all stakeholders in solving the problem, exploiting the opportunity, accomplishing the vision.
Winners: Developing an Affordable Alternative for Autonomous Vehicle Localization using High-Definition Radar Images Team: David Scanlan [IEOR], Pierre-Louis Blossier [ME], Johan Gerfaux [IEOR], Bowen Wang [ME] Advisor(s): Jimmy Wang [Zendar], Lou Ggraniou [Zendar], Gabriel Gomes [ME]
2020 MEng Awards Site
Capstone Mentorship Awards The Fung Institute award for MEng Capstone Mentorship is awarded to a capstone advisor who excels in fostering intellectual independence, providing project support, and furthering professional development. Finalists are nominated by current MEng students; winners are chosen by Fung Institute staff based on students’ nominations. Faculty Advisor Awards Faculty Winner: J. Christopher Anderson [BIOE] Honorable Mention: Michael Bondin / assisting Prof. Vetter [NE] Honorable Mention: Tarek Zohdi [ME] Industry Advisor Awards Industry Winner: Alex Ackroyd [Lam Research] Honorable Mention: Douglas Hutchings [Squishy Robotics] Honorable Mention: Dominik Ziegler and Hilary Brunner [Scuba Probe Technologies]
Capstone Showcase Site
Winners: Smart Eye-Drop Bottle to Monitor Medication Habits of Glaucoma Patients Team Members: Kian Talaei [IEOR], Ryan Zolyomi [ME], Fang-Jhen Su [BIOE], Tianyi Xing [IEOR] Advisor(s): Scott Lee [UC Berkeley School of Public Health], Taiki Nishihara [Ocuelar], Tarek Zohdi [ME]
Fung Institute Alumni Award Awarded to the capstone team that most effectively demonstrates: the relevance of the problem they are trying to solve, the originality of their proposed solution, and the potential of their project’s impact. Finalists are nominated by Fung Instructors; winners are chosen by MEng Alumni Judging Panel based on the project brief.
Winners: Adapting Humanoid Robots to Aid First Responders Team Members: Jamie Chen [ME], Sonny Li [ME], David Tondreau [ME], Mengyue Wang [ME] Advisor(s): Koushil Sreenath [ME]
Team members: Kian Talaei, Ryan Zolyomi, Fang-Jhen Su, and Tianyi Xing
Q&A with the winners of 2020 Technical Leadership Capstone Award
Best Print Project Brief: Precision Freezing 3D Bioprinter for Large Scale Tissue Engineering Project Overview The organ shortage for transplants is a growing problem all over the world. Bioprinting could be a solution to this. However, current attempts at 3D printing biological materials are encumbered by the slow rate of the process and the “soft” nature of the material. Previous “successes” have only yielded objects no larger than a dime, as both the tendency for these materials to collapse and the need to preserve any cells limit the 3D printing process. The team designed a level-controlled cooling bath to precisely freeze biomaterials as they are printed. This provides the bioink with the structural integrity needed to support larger structures and ensures living cellular material is preserved. This new approach allows for larger printed structures than previously possible. The bath is designed to maintain a constant temperature by flowing cooling liquid within its walls. Ultrasound sensors....
Best Video Pitch: Developing An Affordable Alternative For Autonomous Vehicle Localization Using High-Definition Radar Images (Zendar) About Zendar Based in San Francisco, CA, Zendar works on building the highest resolution automotive radar in the world. The product utilizes the resolution of LiDAR along with the benefits of radar, such as long-range and all-weather operation, to make autonomous driving safe and accessible for everyone. Project Overview Localization of autonomous vehicles on the road currently relies on LiDAR simultaneously map the environment around the car. The team proposed an algorithm to achieve an equivalent performance with a technology that is cheaper, easier to install, and less susceptible to adverse weather conditions such as rain, fog, and snow: high-definition radar images. This solution, based on the hardware and software suite of Zendar, breaks the traditional reliance on costly LiDARs...
The Fung Institute’s Most Innovative Project Award is awarded to the capstone team that most effectively demonstrates the relevance of the problem they are trying to solve, the originality of their proposed solution, and the potential of their project’s impact. In this year’s online showcase, two winners were selected by MEng alumni, based on the teams’ video or print project pitch submissions.
Q&A with the winners of 2020 Most Innovative Project
Bowen Wang, Pierre-Louis Blossier, Johan Gerfaux, and David Scanlan
Alex Wolcott, Martin Banet-Rivet, Pablo Amor, and Ruobin Liu
The Fung Institute Technical Leadership Capstone Award is awarded to the capstone team that most effectively demonstrates MEng Leadership principles: I. identify (or enable others to identify) a problem, opportunity, and/or vision; II. generate or elicit a solution to a problem; III. include and convince stakeholders of the proposed solution; IV. manage and include all stakeholders in solving the problem, exploiting the opportunity, accomplishing the vision. This year, the recognition goes to the smart eye-drop bottle to monitor medication habits of glaucoma patients capstone team, advised by Dr. Scott Lee of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Taiki Nishihara from Ocuelar, and Professor Tarek Zohdi of the mechanical engineering department. Project Overview More than 75 million people worldwide suffer from glaucoma -- the leading cause of irreversible blindness. The majority of these patients lack a proper and consistent medication routine, a concept referred to as poor medication adherence. The team developed a smart device to track patients’ eye drop medication adherence. Their smart eye drop bottle holder incorporates multiple onboard sensors paired with an algorithm to actively monitor the timing of medication administration. The data is collected via an integrated patient-physician smartphone application. Accurate tracking of medication adherence will improve physician treatment decisions and patient quality of life. We had a chance to speak with the capstone team members Kian Talaei (IEOR), Ryan Zolyomi (ME), Fang-Jhen Su (BIOE), and Tianyi Xing (IEOR) about their experience. How did you define the scope of the capstone project? The main goals for treating glaucoma are to slow disease progression and preserve the patients’ quality of life, with regular eye drop medication as the most common means of treatment. The team visited a local ophthalmology clinic to conduct informational interviews with glaucoma patients. The interviews demonstrated a significant unmet clinical need and the impact glaucoma progression has on the patients’ quality of life. In addition, literature research and studies show that poor medication adherence rates are generally high, in fact as high as 80% in some populations...
Francesco Piccoli 2020 Intellectual Leadership Contribution Award
I’m very proud to have been awarded this recognition by my cohort in the Master of Engineering program. As an international student, I have always dreamed of having an experience at an institution of higher education in the US, due to their strong reputation and quality. Once I got approved to study at UC Berkeley, I knew I had to take advantage of every opportunity I was given in this short period of time. My main goal in the program was to make a career transition into the field of data science and machine learning, so I enrolled in technical courses on the subject and also did some side projects with friends that I met in the program. From developing a prototype of a smart recycling bin powered by computer vision to participating in hackathons and working on a capstone project about optimizing traffic lights using reinforcement learning,
It feels very rewarding to be recognized by your peers for having contributed to their experience in the MEng program. The time we spent at Berkeley is such a short one and I’m very happy to have been able to leave a trace in people’s memory of their time at Berkeley. At the same time, many folks contributed to making my experience special, and I need to thank them for that. I have a lot of good memories, but if I were to give one, I would choose the first day of bootcamp back in August. Everything was so new to me, the way classes were taught, the beauty of the library, the Campanile, people speaking English with accents from all over the world. It was also the time where we didn’t know the other people in the program, and we were all so eager to meet and get to know each other. I really felt that amazement typical of kids when they discover something new.
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Winners of 2020 Individual Awards
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Each year, Master of Engineering students nominate their peers and vote for the candidates who have contributed the most to the program in leadership. This year, Fellipe Marcellino (IEOR) was recognized for demonstrated technical competency, and Francesco Piccoli (IEOR) was recognized for demonstrated leadership abilities.
The Fung Institute Mission Award is given to the capstone team that best exemplifies the mission of the institute: “Shaping generations of technical leaders to innovate across boundaries.” Finalists are nominated by Fung Instructors, and winners are chosen by Fung Institute staff based on the project brief. This award is presented to the Adapting Humanoid Robots to Aid First Responders capstone team, Jamie Chen (ME), Sonny Li (ME), David Tondreau (ME), and Mengyue Wang (ME), advised by Koushil Sreenath and in collaboration with Hybrid Robotics Lab. Project Overview In an effort to mitigate first responders’ exposure to danger and health risks in disaster sites, this team has taken the first steps towards developing a system to make legged robots walk swiftly and agilely, applicable on the typical rough terrain in disaster sites. This is possible because this project has enabled Cassie to transition from walking to stepping onto a static platform — the foundation needed for Cassie to step onto the dynamic platform, the Hovershoe. By implementing a two-camera system and enhancing gait synthesis, Cassie has more fine-tuned control over its movements to better assist first responders. We had a chance to speak with the capstone team members Jamie Chen (ME), Sonny Li (ME), David Tondreau (ME), and Mengyue Wang (ME), about their experience. How did you define the scope of the capstone project? “In many ways, the scope of our project was set by the 2019 MEng team who successfully enabled Cassie to ride Hovershoes. Currently, there are separate controllers that enable Cassie to robustly walk and to ride Hovershoes, but no controller to bridge these existing works. Thus, our scope was originally to connect these two functional controllers to enable Cassie to autonomously walk up to a pair of Hovershoes, step on, ride, and then step off at the destination. However, once we realized how difficult this goal was to accomplish within our time constraint, we utilized an interactive approach for scope definition by continually discussing with our advisors the challenges we faced and restructuring the scope of our project iteratively with their input...
Fellipe Marcellino 2020 Intellectual Technical Contribution Award
Q&A with the capstone winners of 2020 Fung Institute Mission Award
Team members Jamie Chen, Sonny Li, David Tondreau, and Mengyue Wang
View the 2020 Capstone Showcase!
First Year Fellow Project Showcase: Aging 360
Starting Fall 2020, the Fung Fellowship will launch its new program track focused on Conservation + Technology in partnership with UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources, positioning itself to serve the next generation of environmental leaders. Building on the already successful track focusing on Health + Tech, this expansion comes at a time when there is both increased student demand as well as a critical public need for a focus on conservation. The number of UC Berkeley undergraduates majoring in environmental fields has surged over the last ten years, with increases of up to 136% since the 2008-09 academic year. For comparison, the overall UC Berkeley student body grew only 20% during this same period. “This future generation of environmental leaders is keenly aware of rapid global environmental change as the defining challenge of our age, and are thus in need of more authentic leadership training opportunities in related fields in order to address it.” — Jennifer Mangold, Director of the Fung Fellowship Meanwhile, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published a report in May 2019 emphasizing that close to one million species are currently threatened with extinction. The reasons are attributed to five major human causes: changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and the spread of invasive alien species....
From February to May 2020, our Fellows worked with four project partners – CareMerge, OLLI@Berkeley, SF Tech Council, and Tin Can Associates – to create technologies for improving the lives of older adults. These challenges include intergenerational connections, employment, aging in place, and the role of caregivers.
From August 2019 to May 2020, our inaugural cohort of 17 Honors Fellows worked with community partners to develop innovative solutions to solve challenges in areas blending healthcare, technology, and social impact. In this final showcase, each team presents their projects that aim to improve the lives of their customer groups.
FROM THE FUNG FELLOWSHIP
Fung Fellowship launches new Conservation + Technology track
Honors Project Showcase
FF PROJECT FEATURES
This academic year, Honors Fellows formed teams to work with local community partners to develop innovative solutions in areas blending healthcare, technology, and social impact. Team Adapt launched their team in Fall 2019 and intended to design adaptable clothing for older adults. However, in March 2020, the team made the critical decision to pivot their project to help create emergency personal protective equipment (PPE) for at-risk eldercare workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had the opportunity to speak with Team Adapt members Shirley Jiang, Yoyo Ko, Josie Lee, Romina Mazooji who partnered with Elder Care Alliance (ECA), a Bay Area senior-living organization, to share their project, the progress they’ve made, and the lessons they’ve learned as graduating fellows. What did your work look like before COVID-19? How did your team pivot into your new project? Josie: Before COVID-19, we were working on adaptive clothing for older adults. We did a lot of physical user engagement in the first phase of our project with [older adults and caregivers]. Once we transitioned to PPE gowns, we had to also change the ways we tested and made them. A huge part of what we tested was whether the gowns could be easily made by local volunteers....
HONORS FELLOWS
FIRST-YEAR FELLOWS
We had the opportunity to talk with Food Connection, a team who developed a food delivery platform that connects older adults with home cooks who can provide ethnic cuisines. They partnered with Leah Edwards and Jonathan Denholtz from Tin Can Associates, an SF-based business consultancy specializing in ed-tech and mission-driven organizations, who provided the initial proposal and support for the team throughout the project. Fellows Fahad Paryani, Dorsa Moslehi, Marwat Al-Olefi, Caroline Chen, and Nikole Slaton shared the story behind their final product. How did your project start? What was the original "How Might We" question? We were working with Tin Can Associates, and their initial idea was how can we help older adults age at home independently. That was the big picture that was presented to us. Essentially, our "How Might We" question was: "How might we help older adults age in place independently through a healthy home delivery system?" What was the timeframe of the project? We began the project in late February, and had about two months to work on the product. Compared to our previous design challenges, this was our longest challenge in terms of timeframe. We knew we had to meet specific milestones, ranging from market.... research to design of prototypes to testing and surveying solutions to creating a second-draft....
The Food Connection story: Tracing a project from beginning to end
Honors Team Adapt responds to the COVID-19 pandemic
Tin Can Associates
The targeted outcome of SF Tech Council’s current 3-year plan is to develop strategies and actions at the intersection of technology with employment to advance employment outcomes and improve the economic livelihood, socioeconomic status, and wellbeing of the City’s older adult and adult with disabilities populations.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UC Berkeley is a dynamic learning community for explorers, age 50+. An OLLI @Berkeley membership opens up a world of discovery — smart, curated courses (with no exams or grades) taught by Cal faculty and other scholars; opportunities to participate in pivotal research; and a year round lineup of lectures, workshops, discussion groups, clubs and activities.
Caremerge is a partner of Amazon, and together brings Alexa and other technologies to seniors. They are serving over 80,000 seniors, in 39 states. Caremerge was named one of the fastest-growing companies by Inc 5000 and is determined to bring the latest technologies that can help older adults live healthy and happier.
Meet Our 2020 First-Year Fellow Partners!
SF TECH COUNCIL
Tin Can Associates work with impact-driven organizations that need a hand charting a course and/or simply getting things done. They specialize in bridging business considerations with human-centered design principles and in building and delivering compelling customer experiences that are consistent across multiple channels.
FELLOWS IN ACTION
OLLI@Berkeley
CareMerge
Berkeley MEng Class of 2013 Mona Raithatha (ME) Fun(g) Fact: I have spent significant time in six countries over four continents (Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa) until now! Update: I graduated with my MBA from University of Southern California in May 2020! While it was not the graduation that I had anticipated, it was special nonetheless and I was surprised to see how it has brought my cohort together! I also spent four days in the Amazon Rainforest while on a solo travel to Peru in May 2019! It significantly challenged my blueprint. Class of 2014 Saka Saddiq Nuru (CEE) Current job title and company: Head of Product Marketing - Fintech ecosystems and Payments - Intuit QuickBooks Update: Started a podcast called 'Saka's is that so?' which challenges conventional wisdom across technology, culture, and finance. Anurag Ramachandra (IEOR) Current job title and company: Head of Marketing Science, Twitch (an Amazon company) Fun(g) Fact: Just before the pandemic began I achieved my lifelong goal of visiting 50 countries Update: We are taking time to keep in touch during the pandemic across multiple time zones and continents. Class of 2017 Aaron Blotnick (BIOE) Current job title and company: Process Monitoring Data Scientist @ Grail Update: Published two research papers on genetics and aging biology with a third on the way, worked as a Venture Capitalist in San Francisco, currently a Data Scientist in Efficient Scaling at Grail. Class of 2018 Joshua A. McCumber (NE) Current job title and company: Operations Manager - Phoenix Neutron Imaging Center Update: Helped to design, build, and operate the world's first commercial neutron radiography facility without a nuclear reactor using electrically driven particle accelerators. Léo Laugier (EECS / Data Science & Systems) Current job title and company: PhD Candidate in Computer Science, Data, and AI, Institut Polytechnique de Paris. Fun(g) Fact: I recently found historic European monarchs very far in my family tree. Update: My PhD on developing systems detecting and mitigating subtle forms of toxicity in online conversations is fully funded by a Google doctoral fellowship. Class of 2019 Meryll Dindin (BIOE) Current job title and company: Co-founder & CTO at Thrive Education Fun(g) Fact: I shaved my head during quarantine, this is a disaster... Update: Thrive Education is on its way towards Techstars LA for the summer after our second semester at SkyDeck. We are close to ending our pre-seed funding and have been hiring, the launch occurs during the summer. CalAster (previously Project AsTeR), the social impact startup founded by four MEng students, incubated at the CITRIS Foundry and supported by another incubator in France (Scale Zone), is now officially a public benefit corporation. We will be presenting all of our work in Latvia during the EENA conference (biggest conference around emergency calls in Europe). More recently, I got to do a podcast with Gaper.io on Remote Working, Hiring and Team Management. Also presenting my paper 'Topological Data Analysis for Arrhythmia Detection through Modular Neural Networks' at the Canadian AI 2020 conference. Aaron Ong (ME / Product Design) Current job title and company: Mechanical Engineer, Blue Origin Fun(g) Fact: I just adopted a cat! Update: Post graduation, I joined Blue Origin, in Seattle, WA as a rotational mechanical engineer, working on reusable rockets. The one-year rotation program at Blue allowed me to work on different projects including fluid systems design, structural analysis, and avionics hardware. The program is really cool, since we get to rotate throughout the company, working on projects from different business units for four months at a time. I will soon finish the program, and I’ve chosen my final placement to be working on the stage separation system for the New Glenn orbital rocket. I definitely miss being an MEng student at Cal. The year went by so fast, and we sometimes take time for granted. I regularly catch up with my MEng colleagues, especially during this pandemic, and I miss all the friends I made at Cal! We’re also hiring non-stop! Feel free to reach out and ask about the company! CalAster (Finalist in the IBM Call for Code 2019 Global Prize) Continuing what Meryll said, We will also be present at the "Congrès des Sapeurs-Pompiers" in Marseille, France, in October. We also participated in ICorps which led to us to refine our value proposition, customer segment and how they come together in the right product-market fit for the emergency response field. We finished ICorps, are continuing the discussions with potential future partners and customers along with building CalAster's first MVP. Class of 2020 Michael Karpe (IEOR / FinTech) Update: We are five UC Berkeley students (as pictured above, including three MEng students) who won as a team the Kaggle "Google Cloud & NCAA® March Madness Analytics" competition! Please find the announcement here. Fung Fellowship Class of 2017 Steven Woodall (ME) Current job title and company: R&D S&E, Mechanical Engineer, Sandia National Labs. Formerly R&D Packaging Design Engineer, Intel. Fun(g) Fact: I'm a U.S. Navy veteran and a part of the original cohort of Fung Fellowship. Update: I recently married my wife Anna and we gave birth to our daughter Ilianna Sofia Woodall. Also, after two years as a Design Engineer at Intel I have accepted a position with Sandia National Labs as a Mechanical Engineer. Class of 2018 Julia Chow (MCB immunology ) Current job title and company: UI/UX designer, Paul Chris Luke Agency Fun(g) Fact: I’ve been doing remote work in Asia for about two years now. Update: I have been living in Cambodia for a year while developing my design and project management skills. In this year, our team has launched the first progressive web app in Cambodia, as well as a food delivery we are currently providing for free to locals of Siem Reap, Cambodia, due to lack of tourist business since coronavirus shutdowns. Markayla Stroubakis (Nutritional Sciences) Current job title and company: Clinical Pediatric Dietitian Fun(g) Fact: I was part of the first cohort! One of my favorite experiences was our retreat in Petaluma and going for a run with cows in the morning. Update: I'm working as a pediatric dietitian at our city's children's hospital. I wasn't anticipating a job in the clinical field but I'm really enjoying it so far. I moved back to my hometown of San Diego and am thriving here! Since COVID, we've been really aggressive implementing telehealth which I'm excited to begin on! Léa Tran-Le (Psychology) Current job title and company: Product Manager @ Ancestry Update: Taking it one day at a time during shelter in place, and picked up biking and reading in my favorite parks. Class of 2019 Alex Bazaar (Interdisciplinary Studies) Current job title and company: Social Security Administration - Claims Specialist Fun(g) Fact: I was born in Madagascar and do a dance called the Melbourne Shuffle. Update: Moved to San Jose. Class of 2020 Hailey Windsor (CED Individual Major in Human-Centered Design) Current job title and company: Summer Fellow at Impact Wrkshp Fun(g) Fact: I'm an ordained minister of the Church of the Latter Day Dude. (Look it up!) Update: I'm so happy to have graduated! Devin Pontious (Cognitive Science ) Current job title and company: Associate Software Engineer at Veeva Systems Fun(g) Fact: I have been zip-lining in four different countries! (France, Costa Rica, Mexico, USA) Update: After graduating early (in Dec 2019) with High Honors, I participated in a digital health fellowship (with StartUp Health) where I learned more about the digital health industry. I landed five job offers (all within the health / health tech fields) and ultimately decided to further develop my technical skills at Veeva Systems, as an Associate Software Engineer. In this position, I will be helping create the clinical data management software to help life science companies run clinical trials to find treatments for diseases such as COVID-19. I am taking a month to relax and help my parents move out of my childhood home, after which I will be starting my position in Pleasanton, CA in July! Nate Tilton (Anthropology) Current job title and company: UC Berkeley Disability Lab Manager Fun(g) Fact: I like pineapple on pizza. Update: I successfully presented my research (The Disabling Effects of American Institutions on Veterans) at the Cal Firebaugh Symposium and the John Hopkins Macksey Symposium (virtually). My research will also be published in the Firebaugh and Macksey Journals. I have also appeared on a few podcasts and a local tv show. Where I have been able to talk about my research and bring awareness to veteran issues. At the UC Berkeley Disability Lab, my team’s project “Radical Mapping” is focused on creating a mapping program that will help disabled users access spaces like never before. We have received a wonderful grant from the Student Equity and Success Division of Equity and Inclusion which will allow my team to continue its work. I have been appointed to the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Disability and Accessibility Planning (CACDAP). Where I look forward to helping Cal become a more accessible place for all people. I am the first student admitted to the UC Berkeley Medical Anthropology Masters Program and I will start in the Fall 2020. Marisol Loaiza (Public Health, Minor in Early Development & Learning Science) Fun(g) Fact: I am afraid of heights but have zip-lined from the highest zip-lines in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Update: Recently moved to Fairfield, CA. Focusing on homeschooling my daughter and caring for my mother. Matthew Nelson (Mechanical Engineering) Fun(g) Fact: I once thought Nair was lotion and accidentally chemically removed all the hair from my arms.
Updates from your Fung Institute community
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Activate your FI Connect Account This will be your continued resource for MEng job postings, events, and platform to search. connect & network with the global MEng alumni community.
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Industry Partnership Program
The Fung Institute Industry Partnership Program fosters meaningful industry collaboration as we train the next generation of technical innovators and leaders. Limited to five key partners, this program allows your company to gain unique access to Berkeley Master of Engineering students representing seven engineering disciplines and undergraduates working at the intersection of health + tech and conservation + tech. This partnership is exclusive to ensure purposeful and customized engagement. Become a founding Fung Institute partner and gain access to: Student Recruitment: Connect with over 300 current Master of Engineering students, 2,000 alumni, and undergraduate student Fellows Develop campus recruitment strategy with UR professionals Participate in a virtual interview day Gain access to FI Connect, an online platform for networking and job postings VISIBILITY & RECOGNITION: Create a unique campus event, e.g. Design Challenge or Hackathon Recognition on website, email campaigns, and social media Speaking opportunity in the Fung Institute Seminar Series Academic Team Projects: Invitation to partner on Master of Engineering Capstone project or undergraduate health + tech and conservation + tech projects Receive special recognition at student showcases Professional Development & Networking: Networking with other industry partners Discounted rates on FI executive education program Exclusive invitations to participate in UCB events, e.g. Women in Tech or Aging & Tech Conferences Join annual strategy meeting with FI leadership setting technology and workforce training priorities Current partners:
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contact us Julie McShane Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership jmcshane@berkeley.edu
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Content Ashley Villanueva, Lauren Leung, Lyndsay Song, Alison Huh, Dan Levin, Shivani Lamba Photography Lauren Leung, Golnaz Shahmirzadi, Ashley Villanueva copy Editors Julie McShane, Adrienne Greer, Lyndsay Song, Ashley Villanueva Design Lauren Leung COVER Ella Rochelle-Lawton
Editorial Team
Every year, MEng teams partner with industry leaders to pilot new initiatives, improve existing products, and develop data-driven business strategy. If you are interested in proposing a project, contact Alex Beliaev!
MEng Affinity Groups The MEng Career Development team is launching a new initiative intended to empower our students to be collaborators in creating meaningful and impactful experiences, based on their career interests and goals. There are 15 MEng Affinity Groups led by energetic and passionate incoming student leaders that are looking for Alumni mentors. We welcome multiple mentors for each group and look forward to working with you on this pilot program! Mentors can support in different ways: 1. Connect student leaders with industry speakers and experts in your field 2. Brainstorm ideas for activities/topics related to professional development 3. Join virtual events to share your expertise and offer ongoing mentorship to group members 4. Help generate buzz and excitement about upcoming events (posting it on social media, etc.) Expectations: Time commitment is approximately 1-4 hours per month which may include responding to emails, attending a virtual event, or virtually meeting up with the group Timely response to email inquiries from the group’s student leader Active FI Connect account (all events will be run through FI Connect / Zoom) Commitment is August - May To indicate your interest in becoming a mentor, please visit this spreadsheet to view the groups, then fill out the form below. We will be in touch with you shortly after you complete the form and activate your FI Connect account. If you have any questions, please reach out to Julie Mcshane at jmcshane@berkeley.edu. Deadline to sign up is Friday, July 24th!
Become an Affinity Group Mentor