Engineering

UC Merced and Campos Foundation Host ENgage Summer Bridge Academy for Students in STEM

September 5, 2025

UC Merced, in conjunction with longtime campus partner the Campos Foundation, launched the pilot Campos ENgage Summer Bridge Academy, a weeklong summer program aimed at supporting underrepresented minority and female students interested in STEM. Held from Aug. 4–9, the program welcomed 23...

Professor Colleen Naughton (center) poses with first-year doctoral student Ana Grace Alvarado (left) and fourth-year undergraduate student Fernando Adali Roman, Jr (right). Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced

UC Merced Joins Global COVID-19 Wastewater Data Center Effort

As the number of cases of COVID-19 surge again globally as a result of the delta variant, world leaders are searching for ways to make more informed decisions on how to contain the pandemic....

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...

Professor Thomas Harmon shows students how to use Topcon Positioning Systems equipment on campus.

New Civil Engineering Major Designed for a Sustainable Future

Civil engineering usually brings to mind bridges and skyscrapers, but at UC Merced the engineering program extends far beyond that. This fall, UC Merced is launching a new civil engineering...

Professor Joel Spencer (far right) and members of his lab at UC Merced.

Spencer Lab Publishes New Technique for Live Imaging

Some scientific discoveries are a happy accident (think: penicillin). Others have been there all along, they just take a keen eye to notice, which was recently the case in Professor Joel Spencer...

Competitive Edge Summer Bridge participants and mentors

Incoming Grad Students Get a Jump Start

While the campus remained quieter than usual this summer, a group of new graduate students began their UC Merced journey earlier than the rest of their cohort. On July 6, 19 incoming grad students...

UC Merced Faculty Land Three UC-HBCU Grants, Most in System

The University of California Office of the President awarded three out of only seven UC-Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative grants to UC Merced faculty members. The...

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...

Computer science and engineering Professor Florin Rusu (left) and his third-year graduate students Asoke Datta and Yesdaulet Izenov.

Computer Science and Engineering Professor, Students Improve Database Query Results with NSF Grant

Every time you surf the web, check your credit card balance, or even sign up for a class at UC Merced, you’re using a relational database. Relational databases are basically the back end of...

Professor Colleen Naughton with the 2021 FACTS Summer Bridge Program students.

Students Conduct Ag Tech Research on Campus for USDA Internships

While many are preparing to head off to college after an unprecedented year, a handful of students are already on UC Merced’s campus and working away in research labs. They’re part of the...