Mechanical Engineering

UC Merced's Smart Farm Abuzz with Activity

June 25, 2025

Photo depicts UC Merced student Jesse Martinez operating a robot on the Experimental Smart Farm.

At UC Merced's biggest lab, students work from before sunrise to well after dusk. They are operating the university's Experimental Smart Farm, 40 acres of dirt and plants, research and experiments. They study everything from pollinators to hydroponics, but there are more than just...

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

Project Envisioning Air Transport Between UC Campuses Earns Award

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...

Photo depicts the reservoir at the UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm.

Idea for Powering UC Merced Smart Farm a Winner in Solar Energy Contest

A UC Merced team competing in a U.S. Department of Energy contest won its division with a proposal to use floating solar panels to power the campus's Experimental Smart Farm. The Solar...

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

Championing the Transition to Clean Energy

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...

Photo depicts students describing their product, an irrigation sensor, at the Innovate to Grow event at UC Merced.

Creative Solutions Win at Innovation Event

Imagine you're a farmer who uses a drip irrigation system on your crops. On watering day, you open the valve from the canal, then go to your orchard, maybe a few acres away, and wait. Once enough...

UC Merced Student’s Photography Joins Exhibit of Young Valley Talent

Zachary Silva’s camera escorts us to extraordinary places. We see UC Merced from high above, the land around the campus warped by a fisheye lens. We look straight down a pole at a fluttering U....

Three Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 100 by U.S. News

UC Merced’s School of Engineering and its programs continue to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as demonstrated in the release today of its 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings....

Depicted are two electric vehicle charging stations at UC Merced.

Researchers Make the Case for Charging Cars During the Day

Many people with electric vehicles drive them to work during the day and then charge them overnight after returning home. But a simple reversal of that schedule could make it cheaper and easier to...

Finalists Vie for Campus Grad Slam Champion Title During Research Week

Each spring, master’s and doctoral students across UC Merced’s 18 graduate groups are invited to contend in the campus’s Grad Slam Finals. They are given three minutes and one...

Postdoctoral researcher Derek Hollenbeck and mechanical engineering Professor YangQuan Chen are pictured.

Researchers Developing New Tools in Fight Against Methane Emissions

UC Merced researchers are taking part in a comprehensive, multi-agency effort aimed at efficiently measuring and mitigating methane emissions. IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory are leading...