Mechanical 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...

‘Diverse’ Magazine Names Groundbreaking Professor an Emerging Scholar

The magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education has named UC Merced Professor Ala Qattawi an Emerging Scholar of the Year in its first issue of 2017. Qattawi, with the School of Engineering, is the...

Robots and People Working Together to Save Water and Enhance Agriculture

A nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is helping University of California researchers refine collaborative robotic technology that could change the way crops are...

New Class Designed to Teach Students to Think Like Engineers

Students often expect that in classes, there will always be a right answer. Multilayered engineering problems with uncertain outcomes are a challenge for any student, but especially for first-...

Mechanical Engineering Now an Officially Accredited Graduate Degree

Current and prospective graduate students now have the option to earn degrees in mechanical engineering, after the UC system and the WASC Senior College and University Commission recently granted...

Mind and Body Join Robotics in New Research Project

Three UC Merced researchers are connecting eye-tracking hardware with a robotic exoskeletal arm to further understand the mind-body connection and, someday, to help people with disabilities have...

Researcher’s Solar-Powered Water Heaters Could Save Energy and Money

UC Merced Professor Gerardo Diaz is developing solar-powered water heating technology that could reduce the demand for natural gas in businesses and homes and lower the costs for business and ...

Engineering Students Find Success, Passion and Possible Lifesaver in Research Lab

A team of UC Merced engineering students — plus one from a nearby state university and two from a local high school — made progress this summer on prototypes of portable machines for diagnosing...

New Research Center to Leverage High-Performance Computing Hardware

Faculty members from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Mechanical Engineering groups are forming the newest research center at UC Merced, seeking the...

Alumna Stays Local, Pledges to Serve the Underserved

When she began her journey at UC Merced, Sheena Truong had the future planned out. She’d graduate, go to dental school and become an orthodontist. But Merced had more to offer — and in a roundabout...