Sierra Nevada Research Institute
[ SNRI ]
Climate change, water, wildfire, air, soil and water pollution, drought, sustainability, natural resources management and competing land uses — all of these are topics being studied by researchers in the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI).
SNRI, which was UC Merced’s first established research institute, now has more than 60 affiliated faculty members and researchers examining local, regional and global issues. Part of SNRI’s mission is sharing information, data analysis and research results with policy makers, resource managers and public and private stakeholders to help them make fully informed decisions.
Engineering researchers work closely with colleagues and research groups on campus in other disciplines, including management of complex systems, cognitive science, UC Water, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and UC Solar. They also work with regional partners such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and local, state, and federal agencies, as well as colleagues around the world.
Center of Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society
[ CITRIS ]
CITRIS develops synergistic partnerships with academic institutions and corporate collaborators worldwide to collectively produce innovative solutions to challenges in four primary sectors: Sustainable Infrastructure, People and Robots, Connected Communities, and Health. CITRIS at UC Merced addresses California’s most pressing societal and environmental problems by leveraging cutting-edge technologies, incorporating a convergence of the following focuses: Student-Driven Initiatives, Seed Grants & Faculty Research, and Corporate Partnerships.
The CITRIS Sustainable Infrastructures Initiative pursues information technology research in energy, water, and transportation as parts of the cyber-infrastructure of a sustainable society.
The CITRIS Connected Communities Initiative supports collaborative discovery, design, and governance through new technologies that enhance education, creative work, and public engagement.
The CITRIS People and Robots Initiative focuses on new theory, benchmarks, software, and approaches that address challenges the interest of society via Cloud Robotics, and Human-Centric Automation.
The CITRIS Health Initiative improves access to cost-effective care through the development and integration of innovative technology in telehealth, sensors, analytics and mobile devices.
Mechatronics, Embedded Systems and Automation
[ MESA ]
The Mechatronics, Embedded Systems and Automation (MESA) Lab is earning UC Merced national recognition, and the campus’s expertise prompted the UC system to establish its Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety — which determines systemwide policies for drone use and serves as an information resource — at UC Merced.
Unmanned aerial systems, or drones, have significant appeal as remote sensing and actuation platforms for many civilian and commercial applications, from precision agriculture and using aerial mapping to explore and preserve historic sites to remote leak sensing in the atmosphere and in the underground world of natural gas pipelines.
Health Sciences Research Institute
[ HSRI ]
The Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) is the University's focal point for health and medical research and aims to foster world-renowned researchers through its work to improve the health of the people in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.
San Joaquin Valley regional health issues include asthma, valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), obesity, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, heart disease, risky teen behaviors, teen tobacco use, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis, and many others.
HSRI’s collaborative multidisciplinary research clusters and community emphasis provide an opportunity to rapidly develop, test, and disseminate new ways of improving health and delivering healthcare.
