About the BEST Lab

Berkeley [ Emergent Space Tensegrities | Energy and Sustainable Technologies | Expert Systems Technologies ] Lab

BEST Director: Alice Agogino | People |  Publications
Current Research  | Past Research  |  Seminars
Design Thinking & Doing  | Photos & Videos

The BEST (Berkeley [Energy and Sustainability Technologies/ Expert Systems Technologies/ Emergent Space Tensegrities]) Lab is located in 230 Hesse Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. Hesse Hall was designed by John Galen Howard and named for the founder of the College of Mechanics, Frederick Godfrey Hesse.

The BEST Lab conducts research at the intersection of cutting-edge frontiers in design research, computational design, sustainability, gender equity, human-machine cognition, supervisory control,  soft robotics, sensor fusion, design research and intelligent learning systems.

The BEST Lab strongly supports campus goals in advancing equity, inclusion and diversity. We want to do all that we can to ensure the campus and our nation remain safe and welcoming for people of all backgrounds, identities and communities. Download resources and best practices.

The BEST Lab is under the direction of Alice M. Agogino, the Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley. Alice Agogino has served in a number of administrative positions including Chair of the UC Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, Associate Dean of Engineering and Director of the Instructional Technology Program. She also served as Director for the Synthesis Engineering Education Coalition and continues as PI for theDesignExchange educational portal. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and has served on a number of committees of the National Academies. Agogino was the Founding Chair of the Graduate Group in Development Engineering and former Education Director for the Blum Center for Developing Economies.

Alice Agogino also co-directs the Berkeley Institute of Design, the Human-Centered Design course threads for undergraduates and the Engineering and Business for Sustainability graduate certificate program. She works with approximately 50 San Francisco Bay Area companies and nonprofits on research and educational projects in product design and sustainability. She has supervised 197 MS projects/theses, 65 doctoral dissertations and numerous undergraduate researchers. Agogino has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications and has won numerous teaching, mentoring, best paper and research awards.

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