E 140 Guide to Technical Information

How do I find background information?

You can try these online encyclopedias and handbooks to find background information on topics in engineering.

• ENGnetBASE – Engineering Handbooks Online
• Encyclopedia of Materials

You can also try the other online encyclopedias and handbooks in our list of Electronic Books, or use the encyclopedias and handbooks shelved in our Reference section, especially

• McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. (Q121.M3 1997)
• Encyclopedia of Physical Science & Technology. 3rd ed. San Diego: Academic Press, 2002. (Q123.E497 2002)
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. New York: John Wiley, 1999. (TK9.W55 1999)

How do I keep up with hot topics in my field?

You can browse the current issues of trade journals and society magazines in your field to find news and features about research, products, and innovations. You can find the current issues for all of these titles in our Display Journals section.

• Trade Journals and Society Magazines in Engineering

You can also check these web sites for breaking news on science and technology research and products. Most are freely available and some permit you to sign up for email notices when new items are added to your area of interest.

• BBC News Sci/Tech
• CNN SciTech
• Nature Science Update
• New York Times Science Page
• Science
• Science Daily
• Science @ NASA
• Science News (U.S. Department of Energy)
• Science News Online
• Science Now

How do I find journal articles and conference papers?

You can search article databases to find research published in journal articles and conference papers. Use keywords, boolean operators, truncation, and limits as appropriate in your search. Choose the article index most appropriate for your topic.

There are two article databases essential to engineering research.

• Compendex: most comprehensive index for engineering (strengths: BioE, CEE, IEOR, ME and NE)
• INSPEC: most comprehensive index for physics, electronics and computers (strengths: EECS, IEOR, MSE and NE)

There are several other article databases appropriate to engineering research:

• Engineered Materials Abstracts: covers research on polymers, ceramics, and composite materials (strengths: MSE)
• Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management: covers research on environmental science and pollution (strengths: CEE)
• Metadex: covers research on metals and alloys (strengths: MSE)
• PubMed: covers research in the medical and health sciences (strengths: BioE)

This article index covers professional and trade publications. It is more appropriate for finding general information, practical applications, and industry news:

• Applied Science & Technology Full Text
  Covers all engineering and applied science fields. Good for general overviews of engineering topics from popular science and trade publications.

You can also search the other articles indexes in our list of Article Databases, using the descriptions to choose indexes appropriate to your needs.

How do I find books, journals, and conferences in the library?

You can search on titles in the library catalog to find books, journals, and conferences. Remember that conferences can be difficult to find, so consult our guide on How to Find Conference Proceedings for assistance.

• Melvyl: catalog for books, journals and conferences in the UC Library System.

Use the call numbers to locate books, journals, and conferences on our shelves. Remember that call numbers are based on subject matter. Once you find call numbers for books on your topic, you can look at other books shelved nearby to find additional resources.

How do I find patents?

You can search patent databases to find patents on particular technologies, methods, and processes. You can also search patent databases for patents issued to specific inventors, companies, or institutions. All U.S. patents back to 1790 are available in full-text TIFF images for free online.

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

You can also search for foreign patents using the patent databases in our list of Patents links.

How do I find quality websites in engineering?

You can use search engines and gateways to find technical information on the web:

• EEVL, Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library: gateway to quality engineering web sites, compiled by experts
• Google: quality search engine for general web sites, compiled by computers without expert selection

UC Berkeley Project Websites

Here are links to a few projects currently underway at UC Berkeley. For additional projects, check the College of Engineering website or the UC Berkeley website.

• Berkeley Institute of the Environment
• Energy and Resources Group, an interdisciplinary academic unit of the University of California at Berkeley
• Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab, Dan Kammen, Director.
• UC Oil Consortium, Tad W. Patzek, Director.
• UC Energy Institute, Severin Borenstein, Director.
• Consortium on Green Design and Manufacturing (CGDM), Arpad Horvath, Director.
• Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH), Alex Skabardonis, Director.
• Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley
• Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center
• Center for Environmental Design Research
• Institute for Environmental Science and Engineering
• Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society
• Engineers for a Sustainable World, Berkeley

How do I get help in the library?

To get expert advice on finding information, you can stop by our Reference Desk from Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. You can also send us your questions online through our Ask Us form.