Our Faculty
materials and biomaterials science and engineering
CORE FACULTY
ROBERTO Andresen Eguiluz
Cell-material interactions and mechanobiology; Force spectroscopy of (bio)adhesive and (bio)lubricating thin films under confinement; Force spectroscopy of biological interfaces from the molecular to tissue scale
Email: randresenguiluz@ucmerced.edu
sarah kurtz
Modeling and facilitating the energy transition, understanding and improving solar panel performance
Email: skurtz@ucmerced.edu
valerie leppert
Electron microscopy, nanomaterials for application in technology and the environment
Email: vleppert@ucmerced.edu
jennifer lu
Design, synthesis and characterization of new transducer platforms for energy and sensing applications
Email: jlu@ucmerced.edu
KARA MCCLOSKEY
Dr. McCloskey's research is in the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering including deriving cell products from stem cells. She has become most well-known for her work in endothelial cell (EC) fate. She currently focuses her efforts on integrating stem cell-derived products with biomaterials for developing functional tissue platforms including microfabrication and lab-on-a-chip techniques
Email: kmccloskey@ucmerced.edu
ELIZABETH NOWADnICK
Computational materials science, complex oxides, ferroelectrics, energy materials
Email: enowadnick@ucmerced.edu
christopher viney
Biomolecular materials (design of materials synthesis, assembly, processing and physical optimization strategies based on examples from nature), physical science and engineering of polymers and liquid crystals (structure-property-processing relationships)
Email: cviney@ucmerced.edu
yue (jessica) wang
3D printable functional polymers; Biomimetic electronic materials; Organic structural metamaterials; Wearable and implantable (bio)electronics
Email: yuewang@ucmerced.edu
AFFILIATED FACULTY
mehmet Baykara
Mechanics on the nanometer and atomic scales; scanning probe microscopy with applications in nanotribology and nanoelectronics; atomic-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of surfaces; surface science
Email: mehmet.baykara@ucmerced.edu
hui cai
Frontiers of quantum materials and 2D materials
Email: hcai6@ucmerced.edu
eva de alba
Protein Structure, Function, Dynamics, Engineering and Design, Bioinspired materials: Inflammation regulation and inhibition, protein assembly, Bioinspired materials: Protein- and peptide-based biologics and functional hydrogel, Liposome-drug delivery: Proteoliposomes and drug encapsulation
Email: edealbabastarrechea@ucmerced.edu
Sayantani Ghosh
Experimental condensed matter physics, magnetism, metamaterials, nanoscience and quantum systems
Email: sghosh@ucmerced.edu
arvind gopinath
Mechanobiology, structural biology and biochemical aspects of single-cell and collective motility and phototaxis in microorganisms
Email: agopinath@ucmerced.edu
ajay gopinathan
Theoretical biophysics, biopolymer structure-dynamics and function, molecular motors, intracellular transport, cell migration, collective motion, active matter, non-equilibrium systems and soft condensed matter
Email: agopinathan@ucmerced.edu
linda hirst
Experimental soft matter physics and biophysics: liquid crystals, soft nanocomposites, biopolymers, membranes and active matter
Email: lhirst@ucmerced.edu
min hwan lee
Electrochemical energy conversion and storage, fuel cells, electrocatalysis, nanoscale materials engineering
Email: mlee49@ucmerced.edu
bin liu
Microorganism locomotion, biological fluids, mechanical metamaterials
Email: bliu27@ucmerced.edu
patricia liwang
Biochemistry and structural biology of chemokines, anti-HIV microbicides
Email: pliwang@ucmerced.edu
yanbao ma
Mesoscale non-diffusive heat transfer; mesoscale mass and energy transport in energy systems; thermal management of electronics and energy systems; environment-friendly water desalination systems
Email: yma5@ucmerced.edu
ashlie martini
Tribology (friction, wear and lubrication) and phenomena associated with sliding interfaces and their mechanisms from atomic- to macro-scale; wear due to surface contact and sliding; use of solid coatings to minimize friction and wear in extreme environments; the role of lubricants and lubricant additives in interface efficiency and performance
Email: amartini@ucmerced.edu
Andrea Merg
Design, synthesis, and engineering of nanoscale materials derived from the self-assembly of sequence-programmable biomolecules
Email: amerg@ucmerced.edu
clarissa nobile
Molecular development of microbial communities, biofilm formation
Email: cnobile@ucmerced.edu
aleksandr noy
Bionanoelectronics, biophysics, and nanofluidics; combining nanowires with membrane proteins to create electronic devices that mimic cellular transport
Email: anoy@ucmerced.edu
james palko
Multiphase heat transfer and electrokinetic transport in porous media; modeling heat transfer and flow in additive manufacturing; thermal management of power electronics and mobile devices; electrochemical energy storage; water purification technologies
Email: jpalko@ucmerced.edu
michael scheibner
Experimental quantum science and technology for sensing, metrology, phononics, photonics, materials engineering, information processing, resource sustainability and extreme environments
Email: mscheibner@ucmerced.edu
jay sharping
Ultrafast laser technology and applications in physics, chemistry and biology
Email: jsharping@ucmerced.edu
joel spencer
Biomedical optics, intravital imaging and sensing, tissue regeneration, transplantation, hematopoietic stem cells
Email: joel.spencer@ucmerced.edu
david strubbe
Computational materials science, 2D materials, photovoltaics, nanoscience, amorphous materials
Email: dstrubbe@ucmerced.edu
tao ye
Scanning probe microscopy study of interfaces; nanoscale machines on surfaces; single molecule analysis of biopolymers
Email: tye2@ucmerced.edu