8 UC San Diego Breakthroughs Powering a Safer, Stronger Nation

Story by:

• Sara Bock- [email protected]

Published Date

1. Enhancing wildfire preparedness and response

Real-time views. Predictive simulations. UC San Diego innovations are giving first responders a critical edge when disaster strikes.

With more than 1,190 high-definition hazard-monitoring cameras across California, the ALERTCalifornianetwork gives the public and first responders a live view of conditions on the ground during natural disasters like wildfires-helping them act faster and smarter. It's powered by a multidisciplinary team drawing on expertise from UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering, Qualcomm Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Emergency managers, including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the U.S. Forest Service, use this live camera data and an award-winning AI toolto gain real-time situational awareness, monitor hazards and coordinate response. Popular apps like Watch Duty also pull in the ALERTCalifornia cameras to bring them directly to the public.

That same network is used by the WIFIRE Programin its AI-powered platforms developed by the San Diego Supercomputer Center in the School of Information, Computing and Data Sciences. Launched with federal support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), WIFIRE has developed a critical public safety tool-transforming live data into predictive fire simulations within minutes to help emergency managers quickly plan wildfire response strategies and evacuations.

Together, these tools guide decision-making at every stage of a disaster, from the first spark to post-fire monitoring of floods and debris flows-strengthening community resilience and serving as a model for wildfire-prone regions nationwide.

2. Lighting the way for safer surgeries

Imagine a surgeon watching nerves glow in real time-avoiding them and making surgery safer for every patient. That's the promise of a breakthrough molecule called bevonescein, developed to light up hard-to-see nerves. Currently in Phase 3 trials across the country, the technology could dramatically reduce complications like facial paralysis or loss of bladder control during delicate procedures.

At the heart of this innovation is UC San Diego surgeon-scientist Quyen Nguyen, who co-invented bevonescein with the late Roger Tsien, a UC San Diego chemist awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work developing green fluorescent proteins (GFP)-glow-in-the-dark molecules originally derived from jellyfish. Tsien's discoveries revolutionized biomedical science, making it possible to visualize biological processes with stunning clarity. Nguyen took that vision into the operating room, applying these fluorescent molecules to one of surgery's most persistent challenges: avoiding nerve damage.

Now, as founder and CEO of Alume Biosciences, she is expanding that breakthrough, bringing the technology from the operating room to widespread clinical use. The first patient to receive bevonescein was operated on at UC San Diego Health, just steps from where the idea first took shape.

3. Bolstering national leadership in microelectronics

Every smartphone, car and aircraft relies on microchips made from semiconductors-the tiny "brains" of modern electronics that power technologies shaping daily life and national security. Most are produced overseas, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.

Backed by a $2 billion Department of Defense investment, the Microelectronics Commonsis accelerating chip innovation and domestic production. As part of one of eight national hubs selected to lead this effort, UC San Diego's Qualcomm Instituteand the Jacobs School of Engineering are bridging the gap between lab research and commercial manufacturing. The work is anchored by Nano3, the university's world-class nanofabrication facility, where researchers are developing semiconductor technologiesalready moving into industry use.

One of the hub's recent breakthroughs is a chip process that integrates visible and infrared sensing and LIDAR-laser-based detection used in autonomous navigation-onto standard semiconductor platforms. These innovations could enable safer self-driving vehicles, smarter robots, next-generation mobile devices and advanced aerospace systems, and are already drawing interest from the U.S. Navy, Army, NASA and private companies.

4. Transforming stroke care nationwide

Every second counts in a stroke. UC San Diego helps change the outcome with a therapy that's now used in hospitalsacross the country.

In the 1990s, researchers in the School of Medicine helped launch the first national trial of intravenous tPA, a clot-dissolving drug that restores blood flow to the brain. At the time, there were no proven treatments for stroke. The success of that trial transformed stroke care-and turned UC San Diego into a national hub for stroke research and response.

Today, that same drug remains the standard of care, and UC San Diego continues to lead the way, training first responders, shaping protocols and advancing new tools to help more patients survive and recover. What began here now saves lives in hospitals across the nation every single day.

5. Delivering faster, more accurate cancer diagnoses

The wait for test results that determine the next steps after a cancer diagnosis can feel impossibly long. Working together across disciplines, UC San Diego engineers and medical researchers have developed DeepHRD, an artificial intelligence (AI) toolthat delivers answers in a fraction of the time, helping patients start the right treatment sooner.

Instead of waiting weeks and paying for costly genomic testing, doctors can analyze a standard biopsy image with DeepHRD to get rapid, reliable results-saving thousands of dollars per patient. In studies, it closely matched traditional testing with a negligible failure rate and could reduce the need for repeat testing or invasive re-biopsies.

Faster, more accessible results mean less anxiety, quicker care and more equitable access to lifesaving treatment-especially for patients in rural communities who face long travel times for specialized testing. It's a step toward making precision cancer care faster, more affordable and within reach for all Americans.

6. Revolutionizing cooling for cutting-edge data centers

Every time you use ChatGPT or stream a show, somewhere a data center is consuming massive amounts of electricity and water to keep its servers cool. As demand for AI and cloud computing grows, so does the need for smarter, more sustainable infrastructure.

UC San Diego engineers are working to meet that need with a new passive cooling systemthat uses capillary action-water wicking through tiny channels-to pull heat away through evaporation, with no fans, pumps or compressors required. Since cooling accounts for up to 40% of a data center's energy use, innovations like this could significantly reduce both power and water demand, ensuring computing hubs can keep pace with growing digital needs.

7. Making buildings safer through real-world earthquake testing

When the ground shakes, millions rely on buildings and bridges to hold strong. UC San Diego makes sure they do. Structural engineers are using the world's only outdoor earthquake simulator-known as a shake table-to test full-scale structures in real-world conditions, transforming how America prepares for earthquakes.

Funded by the NSF as part of the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure(NHERI) network, the shake table is one of just a few facilities in the world capable of reproducing the full force of an earthquake on life-size buildings. Research conducted here has shaped building codes and construction practices across the country, making homes, hospitals and other critical infrastructure safer in the face of seismic risk. With continued NSF support, UC San Diego structural engineers are now performing increasingly complex tests-including recent tests on cold-formed steel buildings-to generate insights that strengthen construction nationwide.

8. Keeping cars safe from cyberattacks

Modern cars are smartphones on wheels-packed with sensors, software and wireless connections. In the early 2010s, UC San Diego computer scientists, in collaboration with the University of Washington, revealed how hackers could exploit these systems to remotely access critical functions like locks, brakes and steering.

Their groundbreaking papers prompted automakers to rethink car safety and create new cybersecurity protocols. General Motors appointed its first vice president of product security, the Society for Automotive Engineers issued the industry's first cybersecurity standards, and other manufacturers-and even the federal government-followed suit. In 2012, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a project to develop hacking-resistant cyber-physical systems, building on the team's findings.

In 2021, the researchers earned a Golden Goose Awardfrom the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for the work's lasting impact on vehicle safety and its role in reshaping how the auto industry defends against digital threats.

Topics covered:

• Innovation
• Research
• Engineering
• Health Innovation

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