Innovation and Entrepreneurship

A student focuses intently as he operates one arm of a many-armed robot, while a teacher watches

The future is robotic surgery. These students get a front-row seat

UC San Francisco

August 28, 2025

UCSF is the first university to certify medical students as bedside assistants for robotic surgeries, giving the next generation of surgeons a head start in a burgeoning field.

Take a tour of your thoughts with the 'Glass Brain'

The Glass Brain is kind of like it sounds. It’s a colorful, 3-D window into all the mysterious activities that light up the brain.

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A young bearded man with red hair and protective glasses operates a small machine

New process vaporizes plastic bags and bottles, yielding gases to make new, recycled plastics

The catalytic process, discovered by researchers at UC Berkeley, efficiently reduces polymers to chemical precursors, bringing a circular economy for plastics one step closer to reality.

A person is leaning back and closing their eyes while driving a car.

Dozing at the wheel? Not with these fatigue-detecting earbuds

Researchers have created earpieces that identify brain activity associated with relaxation and drowsiness.

Two people stand in front of a wall of screens showing a grid of footage of natural landscapes, a map of California and some smoke from a wildfire

California has problems. AI can help solve them.

As AI gets more powerful and easier to use, UC researchers are finding ways to integrate these emerging technologies into their work, shortening the distance to solutions that benefit every Californian.