September 27, 2013 –
Graduate student Peyton Paulick demonstrates a balance game.
During his annual visit to catch-up on the latest CALIT2 projects, UCI Chancellor Michael Drake was accompanied by the new Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Howard Gillman. This was Gillman’s first time to the institute, and he and the Chancellor were given a whirlwind tour of various activities on each of the building’s four floors.
Starting at the top, CalPlug was the first stop on the agenda, where set-top box energy efficiency and home energy management system projects were demonstrated — the latter being a pilot study that is being tested in a real-time home setting. Chancellor Drake, who was very interested in the project, asked if it was ready for larger implementation, telling researchers, “I would be very excited to offer my home as a test subject.”
Moving down a floor, Ph.D. candidate Peyton Paulick and Professor Dave Reinkensmeyer provided a snapshot of eHealth Collaboratory efforts. Provost Gillman literally provided a hand in experimenting with the music glove, a therapeutic tool to encourage stroke patients and those with serious hand injuries to exercise by creating music. The glove has become a leading product for startup company Flint Rehabilitation Devices, which is located in CALIT2’s TechPortal incubator and has received first-round SBIR founding.
Provost Gillman tests the music glove.
Chancellor Drake gets a workout on a customized Mario game.
The second floor featured two lab stops. First up was EVoKE (Emerging Values in Knowledge Expression), an open space where students are encouraged to drop in and learn how to design things while thinking about values. The guests learned about the lab’s process of promoting a deep commitment to theory, but also a strong sense of play where design is a process of problem-solving that can be applied to every field.
The second stop showcased one of the newest building occupants, the Biophotonic Medical Device Fabrication and Testing Lab. Led by researchers from UCI’s Beckman Laser Institute, Professor Bruce Tromberg was on hand to guide Chancellor Drake and Provost Gillman through the maze of work stations dedicated to designing and developing new technologies for clinical translation and commercialization.
A tour stop at the second floor EVoKE lab.
“I am very pleased that this group has moved into this space,” Chancellor Drake said. “It really is an ideal location for this type of effort.”
With time running short, a final stop highlighted the first floor campus-wide shared resource facilities, including microscopy, materials characterization and clean room capabilities.
“I am grateful to have this opportunity to actually see all of the fantastic projects going on here,” Provost Gillman said. “There is some really exciting stuff happening on so many levels and I look forward to continued progress.”
–Shellie Nazarenus
