What is an IdeaLab?
Is your work application oriented? Do you know students in other departments or research groups that you would like to meet with to discuss your work? Would you benefit from having a student-only discussion about your research area?
Idea Labs are multidisciplinary collaborations between UC Berkeley graduate and undergraduate students working on developing a common application, product, or service. Big Ideas is interested in supporting like minded groups in a wide range of areas, including groups that might bring together students in science, engineering, social sciences, humanities, etc.
For more information on how you can join an existing IdeaLab or about establishing a new IdeaLab, please contact the Big Ideas program at bigideas@berkeley.edu.
Current IdeaLabs
The Battery IdeaLab was founded by UC Berkeley students in 2008. The purpose of the group is to foster reative thinking and collaboration amongst battery researchers at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Members of the group study diverse topics in batteries including modeling and simulation, material characterization and design, and full battery processing and optimization. Our diverse backgrounds are complementary, thus strengthening our individual research projects.
The Berkeley Water Group (BWG) was formed with the goal of providing a forum in which Berkeley students from different departments can meet, collaborate and discuss the interdisciplinary topics of water, sanitation and hygiene. Most participants are actively engaged in projects and research implemented in or aimed at less developed countries, although the group is open to engaging problems found in developed countries as well.
Better Blocks is an Idea Lab focused on the design, evaluation, and implementation of low-cost, highly-insulating, earthquake-resistant construction techniques for seismically endangered communities, with the goal of improving the methods of construction currently used by the most resource-constrained citizens.
The Characterization and Imaging of Single Molecules and Assays (CharISMA) Idea Lab is a forum for graduate students to discuss multidisciplinary approaches to the application and elucidation of biological functions. Resulting collaborations serve applications as diverse as single-molecule genotyping and fundamental biological studies.
This Idea Lab is an interdisciplinary forum for discussion of climate policy on the Berkeley campus. The members’ interests are wide-ranging. They are engaged in research and study on topics that vary from land-use policy to climate law to international technology transfer. And the members come from such departments as the Energy and Resources Group, City and Regional Planning, Law, Public Policy, Public Health, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Environmental Science, Policy and Management.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Idea Lab
This IdeaLab includes students from multiple departments who are pursuing research or have interests related to Energy Efficiency & Conservation. In collaboration with the Environmental Energy Technology Division (EETD) at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), we interact closely with energy analysis experts as part of the larger BEC initiative.
At the heart of the Green Collar Jobs movement is the goal to shape the emerging green economy in a way that strengthens our nation’s foundation by empowering impoverished individuals with new skills and economic security. The University of California, Berkeley is perfectly situated to contribute substantially to this most worthwhile dream. Our long history of social activism, combined with today’s vast array of cutting edge research in clean technologies and green policy provide us with the expertise and motivation to make a difference helping to shape the future dynamic of local communities and state-wide policy in this field. California is taking the national lead in implementation of energy efficiency and air quality standards; we want to ensure it is taking the lead for the establishment of the Green Collar workforce as well.
Green Policy Innovations Idea Lab
The Green Policy Innovation Ideas Lab is a multi-disciplinary center of cutting edge graduate student work at the nexus of environmental problem-solving and emerging technologies. Graduate student participants draw from sociology, business and management studies, law, organizational studies, political science, anthropology, city and regional planning, public policy and environmental policy analysis to apply perspectives from social science disciplines to important debates about green innovation.
The Microbial Biofuels IdeaLab focuses on the envisioning of diverse strategies that microbiologists may utilize to contribute towards the advancement of biofuel technologies. Additionally, it serves as a focused group to facilitate collaboration across scientific disciplines, and to guide the progress of individual dissertation projects.
Point-of0Care Diagnostics Idea Lab
The POCDx Idea Lab was created in 2008 for the development and promotion of Point-of-Care Diagnostic (POCDx) systems at UC Berkeley. POCDx systems are miniaturized disease diagnosis devices designed to be inexpensive, portable, and field-ready with high sensitivity and specificity. Their impact will be particularly significant in the developing world, where small and low-cost medical systems are urgently needed to diagnose large populations suffering from often neglected diseases.
Rural Electrification in the Developing World Idea Lab
The Rural Electrification Idea Lab’s primary objective is to bring people together from different schools, departments and research groups at Berkeley to discuss ways to increase access to electricity for communities in the rural developing world. We will draw on the expertise of our diverse members to create a dynamic forum for sharing ideas on innovative technical, economic and social approaches to bringing reliable and affordable electricity to underserved rural communities in the developing world.
UC Information Studies Idea Lab
UC Information Studies IdeaLab is composed of a community of doctoral students in the general field of information studies in the University of California system with the shared objectives of understanding the role of information technology in society, through approaches spanning a range of social science, humanities, and engineering fields
