UCSC TO WORK ON ARTIFICIAL EYES VS

U.C.S.C HAS BEEN INCLUDED IN AN EFFORT TO SPEED THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL RETINA THAT COULD POTENTIALLY HELP MILLIONS OF PEOPLE BLINDED BY RETINAL DISEASES. SECRETARY OF ENERGY SPENCER ABRAHAM ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT 5 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL LABORATORIES, A PRIVATE COMPANY, AND 3 UNIVERSITIES--INCLUDING UC SANTA CRUZ--HAVE SIGNED AGREEMENTS TO FORM A RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP. THE GOAL OF THE AGREEMENTS SIGNED TODAY IS TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND CLINICAL SUCCESS OF THE FIELD OF ARTIFICIAL SIGHT. WENTAI LIU, PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LEADS UCSC'S PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROJECT. HE TRAVELED TO CHICAGO THIS WEEK TO TAKE PART IN THE SIGNING CEREMONY. LIU, WHO CAME TO UCSC IN 2003, HAS BEEN WORKING FOR MORE THAN A DECADE ON THE ARTIFICIAL RETINA IN COLLABORATION WITH RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (USC) AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS. LIU IS ALSO CAMPUS DIRECTOR A NATIONAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER BASED AT USC. THE ARTIFICIAL RETINA COULD HELP THOSE BLINDED BY DISEASES IN WHICH NEURAL WIRING FROM THE EYE TO BRAIN IS INTACT, BUT THE EYES LACK PHOTORECEPTOR ACTIVITY