The IB Insight Fall 2019 newsletter is here! Learn all about what’s new in IB, our new faculty, and what our IB alumni are up to here.

New research from IB Professor Robert Full and scientists from the Department of Engineering and Tsinghua University in China have created a soft robot nearly as the cockroaches that inspired its design. At 20 to 65 milligrams, these robots are able to carry loads 6 times their weight and withstand the pressure of a 60-kilogram human step.

In the future, these robust, small-scale robots could be useful for search and rescue missions and for fitting into tight, dangerous spaces.

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Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our most recent PhD graduates and welcoming them as important members of the IB alumni community!

You can view individual alumni profiles highlighting their achievements, professional plans as well as some interesting personal projects here.

A new consensus statement published in Nature Reviews Microbiology raises awareness of the alarming consequences of global climate change on microbes, which have critical functions in animal and human health, agriculture, the global food web and industry.

“It’s always dinosaur bones,” says Pat Holroyd, feigning exasperation. She handles Vertebrate Collections for the UC Museum of Paleontology. Leslea Hlusko, a professor in the department of integrative biology, interjects: “But it’s actually better ... dire wolves!” 

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Daniela Kaufer, professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, shared progress toward addressing another cause of cognitive decline: dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier ordinarily protects the brain, but Kaufer’s work shows that when the barrier falters, itself a sign of aging, proteins can enter brain cells called astrocytes, which causes inflammation in the brain and leads to cognitive impairments.

Last week, the campus community lost an esteemed colleague as IB Professor Emerita Roberta “Robbie” Park passed away peacefully at the age of 87. Roberta had been an invaluable member of the Physical Education program for more than sixty years, from her time as an undergraduate to her service as a faculty member and department chair of the Department of Physical Education (later Human Dynamics, which merged with Integrative Biology in 1997).

Learn about the birth of the department, building a forest from fossil leaves, museum treasure troves, reconnect with your classmates, and much more!

The University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for up to five tenure-track positions in the Life Sciences with a potential start date of July 1, 2019.

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The Department of Integrative Biology (IB) and the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) at the University of California, Berkeley invite applications for a full time tenure-track position in vertebrate paleontology at the Assistant Professor level. Potential start date is July 1, 2019.
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