Search Results for Engineering

After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, almost all of the Bay Area's toll bridges underwent major upgrades. Yet even with the focus on retrofitting, there are still 40 Bay Area bridges that rate lower than the one that collapsed in Minneapolis. How do we know which bridges are safe?

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Aug 10 2007

Over the last few years we've all been asked to tread more lightly on the planet - use less energy, less gasoline and less water. Now a growing movement of do-it-yourself-eco plumbers are testing the limits of just how green you can get before running into trouble with the law.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jul 20 2007

Over 100,000 acres of wetlands are being restored in the Bay Area, but how do we know what to restore them to? QUEST discovers how historical ecologists are recreating San Francisco Bay wetlands that existed decades ago.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 10 2007

Hoping to leave today's silicon solar cells behind, the Palo Alto company Nanosolar is creating paper-thin solar panels harnessing nanotechnology, a product that could revolutionize solar power.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 3 2007

Although not yet widely used, many believe tidal power has more potential than wind or solar power for meeting alternative energy needs. Quest radio looks at plans for harnessing power from the sea by San Francisco and along the northern California coast.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jun 29 2007

Silicon Valley is planning what will be the country's biggest wireless network, serving 40 cities and 2.4 million people. How will it work, and what are the real costs?

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jun 13 2007

The Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard bears traces of a toxic -- and historic-- military legacy. It could also be the site of the new 49ers stadium. But cleaning up this 500 acre Superfund site is costly and time consuming.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jun 7 2007

Not long ago, nuclear power was unthinkable among environmentalists, particularly in California, where a moratorium on new power plants has put a lid on the industry for thirty years. But that sentiment may be changing.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: May 24 2007

Can someone who's quadriplegic or hearing impaired play a video game? QUEST TV takes you to the international Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, where a group of gamers used colorful tactics to convince mainstream developers to make video games accessible for everyone.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: May 1 2007

It's not James Bond-- it's Graham Hawkes, record holder for the deepest underwater solo dive and inventor of Deep Flight, a winged submersible that may revolutionize underwater travel. QUEST TV Reports.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: May 1 2007

A growing number of Bay Area police are putting away their old radar guns and embracing new laser beam guns, clocking cars with much more precision than before. QUEST TV finds out how they work.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: May 1 2007

An infamous stretch of Route 1 is on its way to becoming the site of California's first tunnel in 43 years. For those working on the project, it's an opportunity of a lifetime.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Mar 30 2007

Global warming and seasonal storms are putting California's low-lying areas at risk. A new network of high-tech weather sensors is making the streams, tributaries and dams of the American River the country's most closely-monitored water system.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Mar 23 2007

An explosion in green building is underway. Cleverly engineered libraries, office buildings, even public housing projects are popping up across the Bay Area, championed as much by landlords as by environmental groups.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Mar 20 2007

Video games are becoming so popular that last year's sales in the U.S. surpassed movie ticket revenue. The almost 50 million people that are living with a disability in the U.S. are wanting a voice in how the games are designed.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Mar 9 2007

State transportation planners have nearly finished designing a high-tech bullet train system that would take passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours at 220 mph -- faster than a Ferrari. But will California voters pay for it?

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Feb 27 2007

Silicon Valley investors are betting that clean power is the Valley's next boom. With solar and other alternative energy industries evolving into big business, how are the faces of the environmental movement changing?

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Feb 23 2007

Admiral Chester Nimitz was nearly killed when his seaplane hit a floating telephone pole 65 years ago. Ever since, a group of Sausalito sailors have been SF Bay's trash collectors - removing everything from floating concrete to dead bodies.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Feb 13 2007

A group of Bay Area engineers is trying to launch a green car revolution at 100 mpg by souping up Toyota's Prius. The holy grail of their "plug-in hybrids:" less smog, less global warming and a cure for America's oil addiction.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Feb 13 2007