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

Contact

sarah kurtz

MBSE Graduate Program Chair

Email: skurtz@ucmerced.edu

Telephone: 303-881-5085

Website: mbse.ucmerced.edu

GRADUATE STUDIES | MBSE