School of Engineering

Professor and Environmental Champion Bales Retires, But Research and Advocacy Continue

November 10, 2025

Professors Roger Bales and Martha Conklin arrived in Merced in 2003, the first non-administrative faculty members at UC Merced. They came with a vision: to create a research university that would serve California’s future. Now, after more than 22 years of building institutions, mentoring...

Wells Fargo Gift Increases Focus on Critical Regional Projects

An increased gift from longtime campus partner Wells Fargo is allowing more engineering students at the University of California, Merced, to focus on solutions to problems related to water, energy...

NASA, UC Merced Successfully Test Miniature Methane Sensor

Researchers from the UC Merced Mechatronics, Embedded Systems and Automation (MESA) Lab and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently tested JPL miniature methane gas sensor similar to one...

Study: Fishing Industry a Bigger Polluter than Previously Known

Many studies have shown that raising cattle and pigs for food is hard on the environment, and fish has long been considered a better alternative. But the work of UC Merced graduate student Brandi...

GradSLAM! Finalists Hope to Become Campus Champion

Ten UC Merced graduate students are going to the campuswide finals of the GradSLAM! competition in the hopes of becoming campus champion and competing with grad students from across the UC system....

Young Professor Honored with Prestigious NSF Award

In his first faculty position, in his first year at UC Merced, Professor Dong Li has won his first grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and it’s a prestigious Faculty Early Career...

Growing Research Week Offers Events and Activities for All

The annual Research Week tabling event has more than doubled in size from last year, and that’s just one of the new and growing events featured in UC Merced’s weeklong celebration of research. More...

Biomedical Researcher Earns Respected Keck Award

Professor Victor Muñoz’s novel approach to advancing biomedical research has earned him the campus’s first prestigious Keck Award, including $1 million over the next five years. The University of...

FAA Chief, Silicon Valley Entrepreneur to Speak at Commencement

Two trailblazers in their fields will grace the stage during the 11th commencement at the University of California, Merced. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree candidates will hear words of...

Group Offers Encouragement, Support to Women in STEM

A new organization at UC Merced is working to close the gender gap by engaging, supporting and mentoring women in fields traditionally dominated by men. WSTEM — or Women in Science, Technology,...