School of 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...

Global CO2 emissions from forest fires increase by 60%

A major study publishing Friday in Science reveals that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-...

Study: Climate Change Extends Drought Recovery by at Least Three Months

A group of researchers at UC Merced has found that climate change means it takes about three months longer for California to recover from drought, and probably longer. “Climate change has...

Annaliza Perez Torres is pictured on campus at UC Merced.

UC Merced Grad Honored by Society of Women Engineers

Annaliza Perez Torres has already accomplished plenty. A 2019 graduate of UC Merced, Perez was named the School of Engineering's Outstanding Student in Materials Science and Engineering and...

Pictured are RESTORE facility leaders Jennifer Manilay, Kara McCloskey, Changqing Li, and David Gravano.

New Facility Will Expand UC Merced's Groundbreaking Stem Cell Research

Stem cells hold vast potential to help people live healthier lives. UC Merced researchers have delved into expanded uses of these cells, which can be used to create any cell in the body, to...

Depicted are mouse embryonic stem cell derived-tip endothelial cells with nontip endothelial cells

UC Merced Research on Growing Blood Vessels Earns NIH Grant

A grant from National Institutes of Health will fund research into using stem cell-derived cells to grow new blood vessels in areas that might have blockages. The $416,741 grant will fund work by...

Carlos Diaz Alvarenga and his wife, Rocio Medrano Calderon, are pictured.

UC Merced Graduate Ends Exciting Year with Professorship at Cal Poly

It is a serious understatement to say Carlos Diaz Alvarenga had a big year: He graduated from UC Merced, successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis and landed a position as an assistant professor at Cal...

Lab members Zabir Mahmud and Farzan ZareAfifi are pictured on either side of electrical engineering Professor Sarah Kurtz.

As California Develops More Clean Energy, Researchers Delve Into How to Store it

As California lawmakers consider a package of bills aimed at increasing the production of clean energy, a major question arises: How would we store all this new power? Storage is a vital...

Kara McCloskey and students in her lab are shown.

Students Spend Summer Learning about Stem Cells

A diverse group of students participated in a stem cell training pilot program at UC Merced this summer. It was the second summer for the Training Undergrads in Stem Cell Engineering and Biology (...

CITRIS Aviation Prize Delivers Connections, Prizes

What would it take to connect the University of California's campuses in Merced, Berkeley, Davis and Santa Cruz with a safe and sustainable system of air taxis that ferries students, faculty,...