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1/3/2025
Recently, I had the opportunity to tour UC Berkley, and experience the academic and workshop atmosphere that defines the campus. Walking through Berkeley’s iconic grounds was inspiring in itself, but the highlight of the visit for me was spending time within the engineering facilities specifically the Materials Science and Civil Engineering departments.
During the tour, I was able to look at a wide range of advanced machinery used for research and teaching. From large-scale equipment to specialized testing setups, the labs showcased how theory is transformed into practical, real-world applications. One of the most interesting aspects was looking at the concrete testing setup, where materials are carefully analyzed with sensors for strength, durability, and deflection. Seeing these experiment setups emphasized how critical hands-on testing is to infrastructure design and development.
Hearst Memorial Mining Building
Hearst Memorial Mining Building
Walking into the Hearst Memorial Mining Building, you’re greeted by an impressive red brick flooring and the entrance area looked similar to a mineshaft. We walked around the ground floor where I saw historic carvings and classic hallways alongside cutting-edge research labs and workspaces. The building serves as home to Berkeley’s Materials Science and Engineering Department, where students and researchers investigate everything from ceramics and polymers to electronic, optical, and structural materials.
Davis Hall
Davis Hall
The second building that was of interest to me was Davis Hall. We ended up strolling through the CEE's Structures Lab where I got a chance to meet Irik Larson who is one of their Machine Shop Mechanicians. We had a long chat with Irik and he showed us around the structures lab. There were piles of concrete beams with many sensors embedded within them to measure deflection and load. Irik also showed us the various machine shop and fabrication tools such as the old school Bridgeport Milling Machines, Various Lathes, Drill Presses, Bandsaws, and Grinders for metal fabrication. Most of the tools there were older and looked as if they were from the cold war era. What impressed me most was their 10 Ton Gantry Crane. This crane runs on rails along the length of the lab, allowing researchers and technicians to lift, position, and move large structural specimens and heavy equipment like beams, columns, reaction frames, and test fixtures with precision and safety. They also had a setup for a special kind of damper to be used for protecting buildings. From what I understood it was for research involving Shape Memory Alloy cables to be used in seismic dampers. They used this special Nickel-Titanium Alloy cable that has super elastic properties to be used in this tension damper on the orange test rig. We saw this damper being used outside in the Grimes Engineering Center.
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