CITRIS

Project Envisioning Air Transport Between UC Campuses Earns Award

June 24, 2025

Photo depicts the UC Merced team using a large screen to present its project.

A simulation for a proposed air transport system among University of California campuses earned an award for a team of UC Merced students. Advised by mechanical engineering Professor Francesco Danzi, students Kyra Ruiz, Randy Serrano, Ana Hernandez, Samir Ahmed and Eduardo Miramontes competed...

A drone, viewed from below, flies between tall buildings on a partly cloudy day.

CITRIS Researchers Lay Groundwork to Bring Flying Buses to California Skies

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has awarded a team of researchers from the University of California campuses at Merced, Berkeley and Davis a two-year grant to simulate urban...

Peter Sou ('22) helps a student program a drone to fly a pattern at the Tri Valley Innovation Fair

UC Merced’s Mobile Maker Lab Brings Education to Community Fair

A team of UC Merced engineering students brought hands-on lessons on drones and robotics to hundreds of children and families at the recent Tri-Valley Innovation Fair. “Drones and robots are...

Campus Researchers, State Leaders Talk Secure Water Future for the Valley

Last year, UC Merced received the largest research grant in its history. The $10 million Secure Water Future (SWF) award, led by Professor Joshua Viers in cooperation with other UC campuses and other...

UC Merced Team Wins CITRIS’s Inaugural Student Aviation Competition

A team from UC Merced comprising eight undergraduate and graduate students has won the inaugural CITRIS Aviation Prize. For engineering the winning proposal, they will receive a $2,000 cash award, as...

Fourth-graders at a Merced elementary school are introduced to agriculture-related sciences by undergrads in the FARMERS program.

USDA Grant Supports Diverse Ag-related Learning and Training for Students

Students at UC Merced and those who might someday become Bobcats are the focus of FARMERS, Professor Rudy M. Ortiz’s training program funded again for $1 million by the U.S. Department of...

Professor Colleen Naughton is taking students to Morocco to study argan oil production.

Research Program Offers Students a Moroccan Summer Field Experience

Students will soon be able to apply for a unique opportunity to go to Morocco — when travel is safe again — to study the environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the production of argan...

Professor Joshua Viers stands near a canal on the UC Merced campus.

UC Merced Leads Innovative Effort to Secure Water for Agriculture and Ecosystems

UC Merced’s largest research grant in its 16-year history aims to improve agricultural and environmental water resilience. The new $10 million collaborative focuses on water banking, trading...

Incoming freshman Kyle Chun (mechanical engineering), third-year Daniel Baerwaldt (chemistry) and first-year Alejandro Lopez-Vaca (engineering) in front of their presentation.

USDA-funded Internship Program Introduced New Bobcats to Agriculture Research

Shortly before the fall semester kicked off in person, 11 students were wrapping up their first summer on campus as part of the FACTS summer bridge program. FACTS stands for San Joaquin Valley...

A machine developed in Professor Reza Ehsani's lab improves almond harvests by reducing the amount of dust stirred up as the nuts are gathered from the ground.

New AI Institute Expands UC Merced’s Smart, Sustainable Agriculture Effort

With a new $20 million federal grant, UC Merced becomes part of a multi-institutional research collaborative to develop artificial intelligence — or AI — solutions to tackle some of...