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Bakar research fellows make their case in Silicon Valley

Sixteen faculty members from UC Berkeley's Bakar Fellows Program recently took their research ideas to Sand Hill Road — the heart of Silicon Valley's venture capital community — for a coveted meeting with some of the nation's top angel investors.

By Public Affairs

September 9, 2014

Sixteen faculty members from UC Berkeley’s Bakar Fellows Program recently took their research ideas to Sand Hill Road — the heart of Silicon Valley’s venture capital community — for a coveted meeting with representatives from prominent VC firms, industry partners and entrepreneurs. Joined by Vice Chancellor for Research Graham Fleming, the fellows presented their research to a packed room of alumni and friends who may have resources and connections to bring some of these Berkeley discoveries to market.

The day included networking time for everyone in attendance as well as a keynote talk from Jedidiah Yueh, president and CEO of Delphix, a Silicon Valley-based software company that focuses on data management and visualization.

The Bakar Fellows Program is a unique Berkeley initiative that exists to support early-career faculty working on innovative research, especially research that may translate important scientific discoveries into practical solutions in engineering, computer science, chemistry, biological sciences, physical sciences and other areas. Learn more about the Bakar Fellows who participated in this event on the Bakar Fellows Program website.

Bioengineer and Bakar Fellow John Dueber in conversation about his plans for a sustainable indigo-dyeing process that would bring new, ecologically responsible methods to the jeans (and other textile) industry.

Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology and a Bakar Fellow, presents her research on epilepsy.

Bakar Fellow Michel Maharbiz, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, explains “neural dust,” a next-generation neural interface technology that would allow patients to control prosthetics with their thoughts.

Presenting his research on brain-machine interfaces was associate professor Jose Carmena, a neuroengineer and Bakar Fellow.

Vice Chancellor for Research Graham Fleming conveys the excitement of the innovative work being done by the Bakar Fellows.

Mechanical engineering associate professor Lydia Sohn, a Bakar Fellow, works on the frontier of breast-cancer screening research. Here, she describes her work.

Jed Yueh, CEO of Delphix Corp., delivered the keynote.

Barbara Bakar (center) talks with Bakar Fellow Mary Wildermuth (left), a plant and microbial biologist, and UC Berkeley Foundation trustee Arnold Silverman (right).

Improving stroke diagnosis is bioengineer Shawn Shadden's focus; here the Bakar Fellow and bioengineering professor describes his work to a guest at the event. (UC Berkeley photos by Kevin Ho Nguyen)

More photos of the event can be viewed here.