Engineering

Championing the Transition to Clean Energy

June 11, 2025

Image depicts UC Merced mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro talking to students near a small robot.

Mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro has turned a penchant for systems-level thinking and a longtime love of cars into a climate-resilient research mission. From electric vehicles (EVs) traversing San Francisco's busiest streets to electric appliances such as...

Graduate students from UC Merced’s three schools will take the stage to compete in the Graduate Division’s 10th Grad Slam finals on April 8.

Graduate Division Hosts 10th Grad Slam Competition

Who will UC Merced’s Grad Slam champion be? Cheer on the finalists on April 8 and find out. Graduate students from UC Merced’s three schools will take the stage to compete in the...

Spotlight on Health Tech for Social Good at Hack Merced IX

The ninth installment of Hack Merced recently brought together 168 innovators focused on developing technology for the greater good. The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of...

UC Merced bioengineering Professor Eva de Alba and postdoctoral scholar Meenakshi Sharma are pictured.

UC Merced Researchers Analyze How Inflammation Works on a Molecular Level

Inflammation is the process by which the human immune system responds to injury and stimulates tissue repair and healing. But it can become a chronic condition, leading to health concerns such as...

An almond orchard with irrigation lines is pictured.

Water Risks to Agriculture: Too Little and Too Much

Water is among the most precious resources on the planet. Some areas don't get enough; some get too much. And climate change is driving both of those circumstances to ever-growing extremes....

UC Merced student Tejas Bhartia is pictured next to a NASA sign

Internship at NASA Yields Long-lasting Results for Student, Space Agency

A UC Merced undergraduate student's work at NASA helped ensure the space agency will have cost-effective and efficient communications. Tejas Bhartiya, who recently graduated from the...

As climate warms, the snowline, or rain/snow transition elevation, moves to higher elevations, placing some historically snow-dominated sites in the rain zone. Photo by Roger Bales at Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park

Warming Climate Pushes Rain to Higher Elevations, Raising Flooding Risks

A new study co-authored by UC Merced researchers assesses the effect of a warming climate in pushing the elevation of snow to rain higher during a storm, increasing runoff and the risk of flooding...

A portrait of electrical engineering assistant teaching professor Ayush Pandey

Can AI Increase Air Traffic Safety?

Air traffic controllers sort out three-dimensional space at 600 miles per hour while keeping your flights safe and on time. But as challenges in air traffic increase, the Center for Information...

Photo shows tree mortality in Sierra National forest, taken by Margot Wholey, December 2015.

Having a Mix of Tree Heights Enhances Drought Resilience in Sierra Nevada Forests

In a paper published in Nature Communications, UC Merced Professor Roger Bales, collaborating with an international team, found that the height of neighboring trees strongly influenced whether...

Researcher Among the World's Most Highly Cited for the Fourth Straight Year

Distinguished Professor Martin Hagger from the Department of Psychological Sciences has been awarded one of this year’s Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher awards. He is one of four...