The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) create information technology solutions for society’s most pressing challenges.
The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) leverage the research strengths of the University of California campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz, and operate within the greater ecosystem of the University and the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. We strengthen bridges between world-class laboratory research, state and national policymakers, and companies and startups creating new applications and reshaping entire industries. CITRIS and the Banatao Institute facilitate interdisciplinary work among hundreds of University of California faculty members, students, corporate partners, and international institutions. Together with these public and private partners, we are shaping the future of technology in ways that cross traditional boundaries.
History
In 2000, the California governor’s office launched four visionary Institutes for Science and Innovation. The state of California, the University of California and hundreds of leading businesses joined together in an unprecedented partnership to lay the foundation for California’s future economic and social development. CITRIS was created in 2001 as one of these four interdisciplinary institutes at the University of California by the California state legislature to shorten the pipeline between world-class laboratory research and the development of applications, platforms, companies and even new industries. In 2016, the institute was renamed to CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, in recognition of Dado and Maria Banatao’s early commitment to CITRIS and their ongoing leadership.
CITRIS Campuses
UC Berkeley
CITRIS at UC Berkeley is located at the seven-story Sutardja Dai Hall building. The location holds many labs and facilities, including the Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory, the Invention Lab and the CITRIS Foundry. It also houses CITRIS researchers and staff and hosts many CITRIS-sponsored events.
UC Davis + UC Davis Health
UC Davis is renowned for cross-disciplinary research and teaching that draw upon 100 academic majors, 87 graduate programs, and professional schools in business, education, law, medicine, nursing and veterinary medicine. The campus connects the greater Sacramento region with the Bay Area, the Delta and Sierra, and the Central Valley. CITRIS at UC Davis brings expertise in engineering, nanoscience, law and medicine to bear on complex challenges related to food, health, the environment and society.
UC Merced
As the first American research university of the 21st century, UC Merced serves as a major base of advanced research, a model of sustainable design and construction, and an economic growth engine for the San Joaquin Valley. Home to the UC Center of Excellence on Unmanned Aircraft System Safety, UC Merced is a leader in UAV/UAS research. The CITRIS Aviation program at UC Merced specializes in gathering scientific data using UAVs, with the goal of developing practical solutions in the fields of agriculture and landscape ecology, as well as promoting the use and understanding of aerial data collection in the community. The program conducts mapping flights for various university research projects and builds upon campus facilities and resources by offering research partnerships to industry and providing UAS instruction to the campus, partners, and the public.
UC Santa Cruz + UCSC Silicon Valley campus
CITRIS at Santa Cruz’s research themes in sustainable infrastructures include the design of microgrids and energy-management solutions, machine learning in monitoring and control of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and data analytics, and the application of control theory and formal methods in the design of CPS and new protocols for IoT.
