University of California, Merced - Elizabeth Arakelian

Winston Cone Optics' Innovative Technology Garners State, National Attention

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 17:17:49 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

November 22, 2021

A 10 kW array on location at �鶹��. This is one of the two innovative technologies in the Department of Energy's desalination contest.

When people hear the word “solar,” many think of solar panels on a house, which generate electricity. But there is another way to use energy harnessed by the sun: heat.

Founding faculty member and Director of the University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar) Distinguished Professor Roland Winston has created several devices for solar thermal energy that have grabbed the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) attention.

Earlier this year the CEC awarded Winston’s company, Winston Cone Optics, $1.4 million to reduce emissions in the food processing industry. The company is working with Tyson Foods in San Lorenzo to find affordable ways to efficiently use solar thermal heating for an on-site boiler on an industrial scale. The company developed a solar water heater at salami processing facilities.

“The project will support the decarbonization effort of California's commercial and industrial sectors and reduce dependence on natural gas by using a unique asymmetric non-imaging optical design and scaling up the technology through iterative demonstrations,” states the CEC.

So far, the project is progressing three months ahead of schedule, said Lun Jiang, chief executive officer of Winston Cone Optics. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Hilmar Cheese Company have expressed interest in potentially utilizing the technology to answer their own environmental challenges.

Winston is considered the “father of non-imaging optics” and invented breakthrough technology in solar energy.

A 3 kW prototype that will soon be tested at �鶹��. It is one of the two innovative technologies in the Department of Energy's desalination contest.

Winston Cone Optics also has two innovative technologies entered in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “American Made Challenges” contest which is seeking solutions for water desalinization.

The first is a low-cost, compact solar concentrator designed to minimize the cost, complexity and maintenance of a solar thermal collector system. The optics eliminate the need for any collector tracking or tilting, allowing modules to be installed adjacent to one another to maximize land use.

The second is also a low-cost and compact solar-thermal collector, which maximizes solar-to-thermal efficiency without tracking, using a silver reflector coating to concentrate sunlight on an aluminum mini-channel absorber. This technology has an extremely low-cost potential because the collector is made almost entirely of low-cost glass and aluminum.

“I am pleased the prize committee is recognizing the value of non-imaging optics which enables stationary concentrators to produce steam. The resulting collectors have a unique synergy with desalination applications,” Winston said of his invention.

“These two innovations put the �鶹�� spin-off company on the map as a quarter finalist of American-made solar desalination, not just once, but twice,” said Jiang.

The final prize winner will receive $1 million in cash to develop a demonstration project.

Engineering Students Translate Math Curriculum, Build App to Help Early Learners

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:32:39 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

November 17, 2021

Literacy is often promoted over math skills for early learners, something Early Family Math is trying to change.

It’s a scene familiar to many students: sitting at the kitchen table, utterly hopeless because they can’t solve that tricky math problem. Many people can identify with that feeling and if it’s not conquered, it can turn into what Chris Wright calls “math phobia” — something students at �鶹�� are trying to help early learners avoid.

Wright is the founder and project lead of Early Family Math (EFM), a nonprofit aimed at improving early learners’ understanding of math alongside their families during the first eight years of life. The nonprofit provides free materials for families to engage with their children with the hopes of fostering an openness to learning math that is fun and low stress.

“Adults are doing math all the time, they simply need to get used to verbalizing it and involving their children with it,” Wright said. “We want the child, and the family, to experience that math is a fun, social activity that they can look forward to doing together.”

Chris Wright of Early Family Math

While literacy is often promoted as an important early education tool, math does not typically receive the same promotion, something Wright aims to change with EFM. To encourage more math learning, EFM offers storybooks, activities and videos free of charge to families online. The storybooks have two goals: to associate mathematics with family time and to build a habit of interaction for the adults so they become used to talking about mathematics. The videos are instructional to help adults learn the best way to engage with their children and the activities are designed to be fun math games and puzzles for families to do together.

Math is a universal language — two plus two is four in any country. But the languages used to explain math can vary by household. Mechanical engineering Professor Ashlie Martini discovered EFM through a friend and saw opportunities for �鶹�� students to help the nonprofit reach more families.

“I realized this was a great way for students at �鶹�� to use their many skills to give back to the community and, particularly, enable the next generation of scientists and engineers,” Martini said.Three of Martini’s mechanical engineering doctoral students translated course materials into Chinese and Spanish to help EFM reach more families.

Professor Ashlie Martini

“I think education at an early age is important because kids are like white papers — what they learn when they are little will have profound impacts on the rest of their lives,” said Quanpeng “Sam” Yang, a third-year mechanical engineering doctoral student who translated EFM materials into Chinese. “For example, it is much easier for a kid to learn a language than an adult. Math is also a language, a language of nature and science. Practicing math early helps to form a scientific thinking pattern that will benefit a person's whole life.”

Computer Science and Engineering Teaching Professor Santosh Chandrasekhar and Director of Innovation Stefano Foresti are also teaming up with EFM for the computer science and engineering (CSE) annual capstone program. This is an experiential learning program which offers students an opportunity to solve a real-world problem for industry partners. Students are working to get EFM’s content in an easy-to-use desktop application.

“Through this program, students gain valuable experience and skills that better prepares them for their future professions, not just purely academic endeavors. This program also provides them with professional development opportunities and helps them become more attractive to the industry and eventually secure jobs,” said Chandraskhar.

The projects are also featured at Innovate to Grow (I2G), the School of Engineering’s flagship program that draws hundreds of people biannually. Industry leaders, community members, and entrepreneurs from the Central Valley, Silicon Valley, Southern California and beyond come to see �鶹�� students’ creative solutions to their industry partners’ problems.

“The clients participating in the program gain from delivery of a product that fulfills their needs. Some of these clients, like EFM, may not have the resources to develop a solution in-house or through external consultants from the private sector, making the student-developed solutions that much more valuable,” said Chandraskhar. “The program provides �鶹�� another way to serve the local community and beyond in a meaningful and philanthropic way.”

Keske Publication Shows Central Valley Ripe for Biochar Studies

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 19:29:18 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

November 10, 2021

Biochar is high in carbon and created by heating biomass at moderate temperatures in a process called pyrolysis.

Central Valley natives are accustomed to seeing plumes of smoke from burning tree piles after harvest. This is the traditional way farmers dispose of crop waste, such as trees, nut shells and pruned vines. But there may be a better way to get rid of residual orchard waste that is less harmful to the environment according to research conducted by Professor Catherine Keske.

The solution could be in a charcoal-like substance called biochar. Biochar is high in carbon and created by heating biomass, such as residual orchard waste, at moderate temperatures in a process called pyrolysis. The result is a black, chalky substance that has shown promise for reducing greenhouse gas emissions when applied to soil.

Keske and graduate student Maryam Nematian, who served as lead author, just published the paper “A Techno-Economic Analysis of Biochar Production and the Bioeconomy for Orchard Biomass” in the journal Waste Management. Their work shows that it is technologically possible and economically feasible to use biochar to create a circular bioeconomy for orchard crop residues.

A circular bioeconomy is one that reframes waste, like leftover almond tree branches, as opportunity. It is the opposite of the traditional “take, make, use, dispose” model, said Keske.

“To establish a circular bioeconomy, we propose that instead of disposing of crop residue through open burning, for example, we produce a value-added product like biochar from biomass waste that can have positive economic and environmental impacts,” Keske said. “Crop residues are viewed as ‘value-added’, rather than waste, if we’re able to capture the product and nutrients in a cost-effective manner.”

While Keske isn’t the first to estimate biochar production costs, she does believe their paper is the first to assert the competitiveness of biochar under uncertain conditions with the goal of establishing a bioeconomy. The paper is part of an interdisciplinary research effort funded by the Strategic Growth Council to create markets for products that help California adapt to and reduce climate change.

Professor Catherine Keske

The Central Valley is ripe for biochar research, considering its agricultural setting, but biochar is still considered experimental with limited market demand. It’s mainly created in small batches and is relatively expensive to make. Other faculty on campus, such as Professor Gerardo Diaz, also study biochar. His lab has analyzed pistachio and almond shells, as well as orchard tree sticks to study the conversion process from biomass to biochar.

For biochar to become more widely adopted, the one thing scientists like Keske need is buy in from those doing the burning. And while environmental benefits are important —the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District intends to ban all ag waste burning as soon as January 2025 — so is the bottom line.

“Cost competitiveness is critical for converting waste into value-added product, and for establishing a bioeconomy,” Keske said.

It also incentives people to change their behaviors. Keske hopes that as biochar becomes more mainstream, its use may appeal to more farmers.

“For biochar to be accepted by mainstream farmers, there needs to be a predictable response in crop yields and soil health, for the investment,” Keske said. “The science is emerging to provide these answers. Our study shows that positive financial gains outweigh costs of a subsidy to convert almond orchard biomass into biochar instead of burning it. We hope that these positive financial gains will encourage biochar production, and that resulting field trials will demonstrate yield and soil benefits.”

OMRON Endowed Scholarship to Help Engineering Students in the Robotics Field

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 17:34:17 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

November 4, 2021

�鶹�� received a generous donation to establish an endowed scholarship from OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies, a global leader in intelligent robotic systems based in Pleasanton.

Many �鶹�� students are first-generation college students, meaning they are the first in their families to pursue college degrees and the types of careers having a degree affords. �鶹��’s strong relationships with industry partners plays a key role in helping students navigate these career paths. A new partnership between the School of Engineering and OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies will help students find opportunities in the robotics field.

�鶹�� recently received a generous donation to establish an endowed scholarship from OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies, a global leader in intelligent robotic systems based in Pleasanton, CA. The aim is to increase funding for students studying engineering with an interest in a potential career in robotics.

“We are very excited to begin OMRON’s new partnership with the University of California, Merced. �鶹�� is a great, young school that produces talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, and we feel OMRON’s expertise in the field of robotics engineering can contribute to the learning experience of the students in the engineering department. We are happy to have sponsored a new ‘OMRON Engineering Endowed Scholarship’ to help students more easily pursue their academic careers,” said Yani Liaskos, vice president of engineering at OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies.

The company, which is globally based in Pleasanton, has also employed students and alumni. Moving forward, the new partnership between the two will further strengthen a pipeline for engineering students entering the robotics field.

“We also look forward to collaborating in other ways such as by sharing our expertise with students during visits to OMRON robotics laboratories, sharing state-of-the-art equipment on which students can learn and sponsoring senior design projects,” Liaskos said.

This hands-on experience is an integral element of the engineering program, said School of Engineering Dean Mark Matsumoto.

“An important part of experiential learning for our students in engineering at �鶹�� is the senior capstone experience, either through the Innovation and Design Clinic for senior engineering students or the Software Capstone for computer science students,” Matsumoto said. “There are many needs associated with these programs such as funding for materials to develop prototypes, and funds for travel to industry locations for site visits and meetings. Each year, there are more than 300 students participating in these programs. Funds like those from OMRON help us cover the costs for these endeavors.”

NSF Awards CCBM Center $5 Million to Continue STEM Research

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 18:23:33 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

October 27, 2021

NSF-CREST Center members, including faculty, staff and students, as well as center contributors and affiliates.

�鶹��’s NSF-CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) has been awarded an additional $5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue its mission. In total, the NSF has invested $10 million in the center, an indicator of the importance of the Center’s work and its faculty, student and staff contributions.

The CCBM, which is funded as a Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology, was established in 2016 at �鶹��, and brings together scientists and engineers from bioengineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, molecular cell biology and applied math.

"We are proud to be able to continue to serve as a focal point for biophysical science, biomaterials and biotechnology research on campus, while also providing training and graduate minor degrees in these fields for a diverse group of students from across the university," said physics Professor Ajay Gopinathan, the center’s co-director.

The CCBM aims to understand intricate mechanisms of the life and its design principles so that increasingly sophisticated biological materials and devices can be designed and developed. The Center’s quest is to learn from the design principles of nature as its members engineer new devices and materials that go from the nanoscales of biomolecular machines to cell colonies and tissue. Members explore and study biological mechanisms with the aim of understanding how the basic components of life come together, how to manipulate and exploit these principles of nature and how to make improvements upon them.

“Our research continues to lead to transformative advances in our basic understanding of the rules of life and in engineering applications in medicine, biotechnology, environment and energy, thereby contributing to an environmentally sustainable economy,” said bioengineering Professor and CCBM co-Director Victor Muñoz.

Professors Sayantani Ghosh, Victor Muñoz, Ajay Gopinathan and Executive Director Carrie Kouadio.

During the center’s first phase it awarded nearly 60 semesters of graduate fellowships and served more than 100 graduate students active in the Center's research, education, outreach and broadening participation goals. These students participated in scientific events, Center meetings, summer training modules, mentorship and more.

Funding for the second phase will last through August 2026 and will focus on three key areas or thrusts: protein metamorphosis and responsive nanodevices; adaptive and responsive microscale assemblies; and adaptive cellular communication. These research thrusts will be led respectively by professors Eva de Alba (bioengineering), Linda Hirst (physics) and Kara McCloskey (materials science and engineering). There will be an emphasis on cross-cutting research conducted across these thrusts as well.

About 30 CCBM faculty, 50 graduate students and 20 undergraduates are currently active in the Center, with several staff contributing as well. These include CCBM project scientist Mourad Sadqi, Stem Cell Instrumentation Foundry project scientist David Gravano, undergraduate program coordinator Petia Gueorguieva and external evaluator Professor Ayesha Boyce from Arizona State University. The Center will hire another project scientist in Phase II, focused on Modeling and Computation, as well as administrative and outreach staff.

In addition to research, the training of graduate student fellows is a major focus. These fellows then share their experiences with and mentor undergraduates and high school students, which helps recruit diverse and underrepresented students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, an area of importance to the Center and the campus at large. During the first five years, or Phase I of the Center, it served nearly 200 undergraduate students with research opportunities and professional development workshops. Moving forward, CCBM leadership will build upon that strong foundation by adding new scientific training modules.

“Research will remain the central component of our program, given the critical role it plays in STEM engagement at all levels. We will continue our hands-on monthly workshops to prepare our undergrad researchers for a broad range of professions, while also offering training modules focused on scientific writing. These will assist them should they choose to attend graduate programs as the next step in their careers,” said CCBM Undergraduate Lead Professor Sayantani Ghosh.

Another major aim of the Center is to make an impact on the region by exposing underrepresented students to STEM fields and potential career paths through a variety of programs.

“We are thrilled that our Center faculty, students and staff will continue to lead engaging STEM outreach sessions that serve the local community and beyond, inspire interest in STEM fields and contribute to broadening participation through the infrastructure offered by the Center,” said CCBM Executive Director Carrie Kouadio.

In Phase II, the Center will host the annual CCBM Open House, which includes scientific talks for the public, lab tours and demos. There will also be a high school research program, weeklong K-12 summer programs, school visits and teacher professional development workshops, as well as an initiative to develop STEM education, outreach and science communication resources. Programmatic and other updates will be posted on the Center website.

The Center’s growing understanding of the principles and the mechanisms of biology will allow its researchers to better engineer biological materials and devices for the benefit of humanity, while training and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers at �鶹��.

Arif Lab Studies Throat Patterns to Give a Voice to the Speechless

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 00:00:10 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

October 19, 2021

Professor Ahmed Sabbir Arif’s lab is contributing to a new form of communication that could people who are not able to audibly express themselves.

Not being able to communicate with loved ones is an unfortunate reality for some, such as recent stroke patients or mute individuals. Vocal imaging research performed by Professor Ahmed Sabbir Arif’s lab is contributing to a new form of communication that could help these afflicted populations communicate, even if they can’t audibly express themselves.

Arif runs the Human Computer Interaction Group where he and fourth-year doctoral student Laxmi Pandey recently developed a deep neural net framework that translates real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) of vocal tract shaping to text. The lab used a data set of MRI images that shows the vocal movements people make when speaking.

“The MRI images are of the vocal cords and surrounding areas where there are a lot of muscles that are used to produce speech,” Arif said. “The idea is that by processing these images, we are able to understand those who are unable to produce speech.”

The human-computer field is a collaborative one, with researchers and universities openly sharing their findings. Because of this, Arif was able to process thousands of MRI images from the University of Southern California on the campus’s cluster, or supercomputer. Arif’s lab taught the computer words and sentences based on the shown articulatory vocal patterns with an accuracy rate of 60 percent.

“We found incredible results considering this is the first time someone has done something like this,” Arif said of the study.

Professor Ahmed Sabbir Arif’s lab is contributing to a new form of communication that could people who are not able to audibly express themselves.

Fourth-year doctoral student Laxmi Pandey worked with Professor Arif to develop a deep neural net framework that translates real-time MRIs of vocal tract shaping to text.

Pandey also studied how emotion and gender can affect the articulation of speech, finding surprising results.

“One of the findings that really grabbed my attention was that each sub-regions of the vocal tract are affected by both emotion and gender,” Laxmi said. “Most of the regions showed more distortion for high arousal emotions (anger and happiness) than low arousal emotion (sadness). Overall, for all emotions, female speakers had more noticeable changes in all regions.”

Laxmi presented the findings of the Human Computer Interaction Group’s study at SIGGRAPH, the premier conference for computer graphics and interactive techniques, earlier this month.

The overarching mission of Arif’s lab is to make computer systems accessible to everyone by developing intuitive, effective, and enjoyable input and interaction techniques. Much of his work centers on improving human relationships with computers to increase accessibility.

“We receive a lot of emails from people who have conditions and that inspires us,” Arif said. “People desire a way to communicate with other human beings.”

Arif’s recent work includes creating lip-reading software to enable people to send secure messages as well as helping blind people send text messages more accurately. Moving forward, he hopes his vocal imaging research will help other scientists in the human computer interaction field by laying a groundwork from which more advances to the technology can be made.

“When the technology becomes more affordable and less invasive, it could be used to input text and communicate with various computer systems. It can also enable users to interact with public displays and kiosks without contact, which is of a particular interest in global spread of infectious diseases, such as the current COVID-19 situation,” Laxmi said. “Most importantly, it could enable people with speech disorders, muteness, blindness and motor impairments to communicate with other individuals, and input text and interact with various computer systems, increasing their access to these technologies.”

An example of the can speech and emotion recognition can be found here.

Research Program Offers Students a Moroccan Summer Field Experience

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 20:56:35 +0000

By Lorena Anderson, �鶹��

October 13, 2021

Professor Colleen Naughton is taking students to Morocco to study argan oil production.

Students will soon be able to apply for a unique opportunity to go to Morocco — when travel is safe again — to study the environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the production of argan oil.

The oil is commonly seen in cosmetics in the United States, but it is also edible and in high demand around the world. Moroccan women are the main producers and they undertake long hours of manual labor to extract the oil from the nuts of the indigenous argan trees that live in a UNESCO-protected biosphere.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is supporting a three-year project led by Professor Colleen Naughton and colleagues at the University of South Florida. The $118,000 project will allow a total of 18 undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering/systems and anthropology students from both schools to conduct transdisciplinary summertime research.

“We plan to do life cycle assessments looking at the environmental and social impacts of the process as well as mapping of the argan forest,” Naughton said. Population growth and changing climates have made it difficult to ensure equitable access to food, water and economic security across the globe, particularly for women and vulnerable communities, the researchers said. As both an edible and cosmetic product, argan provides a food source and income to local communities and benefits the environment by conserving argan trees that prevent erosion and desertification.

A Moroccan tea set.

�鶹�� and USF faculty and students will work with an ethnographic field school, Dar si Hmad, and faculty from Université Ibn Zohr in Agadir, Morocco. The researchers said the project aims to train students to study and design socially and environmentally equitable and sustainable food and livelihood systems throughout the world.

“The students will look at the production process, the human energy expended, the environmental impacts and the economic benefits, and see how they might co-design interventions that will reduce the environmental impacts and save time and labor,” Naughton said. “That’s important especially now because business is so global.”

The grant will pay for students’ airfare, as well as room and board for five weeks. Summer researchers will gain experience in quantitative and qualitative research, data analysis and ethnography, as well as language and cultural skills.

No travel experience is necessary to apply. The students who apply for summer 2022 must be willing to continue with the project even if research must be conducted virtually, as the COVID-19 pandemic may continue to prevent travel, Naughton said. Applications for the 2022 cohort are due Nov. 15, 2021. Those interested in more information can find details online.

�鶹�� Joins Global COVID-19 Wastewater Data Center Effort

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 17:46:09 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

September 21, 2021

Professor Colleen Naughton (center) poses with first-year doctoral student Ana Grace Alvarado (left) and fourth-year undergraduate student Fernando Adali Roman, Jr (right). Photo by Veronica Adrover, �鶹��

As the number of cases of COVID-19 surge again globally as a result of the delta variant, world leaders are searching for ways to make more informed decisions on how to contain the pandemic. Researchers at �鶹�� and Michigan State University (MSU) know what can provide early signs of the virus and help with critical decisions — sewage.

Professor Colleen Naughton and colleagues at MSU are developing the Wastewater SARS Public Health Environmental Response, or W-SPHERE, a global center for data and public health use cases on SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Other collaborators include KWR Water Research Institute and Venthic Technologies. W-SPHERE is being developed as part of a larger wastewater surveillance project led by PATH, a global health nonprofit.

“I’m extremely honored to be a part of this collaboration that uses data we collected from the COVIDPoops19 global dashboard of wastewater monitoring sites we launched with COVID-19 seed funding from the Center of Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS),” Naughton said.

W-SPHERE is part of the Global Water Pathogen Project (GWPP) a resource on pathogens supporting sanitation and safe water and promoting quantitative information via monitoring of sewage, fecal sludges and freshwaters to inform public health measures. This online data repository and global map is now open for access and sharing across the globe.

“We know that early after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, both people with symptoms and those without excrete the virus in their feces, which ends up in wastewater,” said Joan Rose who is the MSU Homer Nowlin Endowed Chair in Water Research and a professor in the Departments of Fisheries and Wildlife, and Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.

“This is why sewage provides a real-time view of trends in community infection earlier than other surveillance systems,” Rose said. “This can benefit society greatly because public health officials can be overwhelmed when monitoring individuals to obtain good data supporting vaccination strategies, implementation of safety measures and policy decisions, such as on operating schools and other businesses.”

W-SPHERE’s interdisciplinary team of environmental virologists and public health specialists, as well as engineering and IT professionals present global data visualized on dynamic maps on a global and country scale with options to zoom in regionally at a spatial level, protecting the anonymity of the facility and enable examination of the spatial and temporal trends of SARS-CoV-2.

Currently, over 2,691 cities and counties across the world, scientists and utilities are monitoring wastewater for SARS-CoV-2, or have communicated that they will be setting up for monitoring soon. The goal is to continue to grow the W-SPHERE, adding more public databases in the next six months.

The W-SPHERE research team at �鶹�� includes Krystin Kadonsky, an environmental systems graduate student, and Clara Medina, an environmental engineering undergraduate researcher.

USDA-funded Internship Program Introduced New Bobcats to Agriculture Research

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 20:40:13 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

September 20, 2021

Incoming freshman Kyle Chun (mechanical engineering), third-year Daniel Baerwaldt (chemistry) and first-year Alejandro Lopez-Vaca (engineering) in front of their presentation.

Shortly before the fall semester kicked off in person, 11 students were wrapping up their first summer on campus as part of the FACTS summer bridge program.

FACTS stands for San Joaquin Valley Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics Tools and Science. The six-week summer course, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture, introduces students to the world of research in agricultural science and technology.

Through the FACTS bridge program, first-year and transfer students get a head start on research and much more. The internship was led by Professor Colleen Naughton and included visits to local farms and industries, giving students exposure to real-world applications of the region’s agricultural industry.

“The program went very well despite the continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Naughton said. “It was great to be back in person for the first time since Spring 2020. I learned a ton alongside the students. The students exceeded my expectations for their research and poster presentations at the symposium. They put in a ton of hard work and woke up early many Fridays and braved the heat to participate in the practical field days.”

Each student had the opportunity to select which professor and areas of focus — ranging from hydrology to nutrition and food security — to work with to begin their academic careers. For instance, incoming mechanical engineering student Kyle Chun worked on drones with faculty mentor Professor YangQuan Chen while second-year sociology student Briana Lopez studied how almonds impact quality of sleep compared to other foods with Professor Rudy Ortiz.

Graduate student Azar Alizadeh, incoming Merced College transfer student Socheata Hour (computer science and engineering) and Professor Reza Ehsani during the FACTS program.

“FACTS made my summer because I was able to meet a wide variety of people, from my fellow interns and guest speakers on our Wednesday workshops to people who gave us tours on our Friday field trips,” said Lauren Hur (computer science and engineering, class of 2024). “Even as someone who had no prior exposure to the field of agriculture, I was able to leave this program with new profound knowledge of ag-tech.”

The internship culminated in August with the students presenting their research posters at a symposium. Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz attended and spoke to the new Bobcats along with the students’ faculty mentors.

Professor Colleen Naughton speaks to the FACTS program students.

The FACTS grant proposal was put together by CITRIS (Center of Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society) in collaboration with faculty from the School of Natural Sciences, School of Engineering, Merced County Public Health Department and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. The proposal was one of 26 grants selected for funding by the USDA.

The internship program will run for three more years. Those interested in applying for a future internship can keep an eye on the CITRIS website.

New Civil Engineering Major Designed for a Sustainable Future

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 17:39:52 +0000

By Elizabeth Arakelian, �鶹��

September 7, 2021

Professor Thomas Harmon shows students how to use Topcon Positioning Systems equipment on campus.

Civil engineering usually brings to mind bridges and skyscrapers, but at �鶹�� the engineering program extends far beyond that.

This fall, �鶹�� is launching a new civil engineering major that will sit within the existing civil and environmental engineering major. The program is available to first-year students and will focus on modern civil engineering concepts with an emphasis on sustainability.

“We developed a forward-looking civil engineering program focused on students who want to be active players in building a sustainable future,” said Thomas Harmon, professor of engineering and current department chair. “We’re not just teaching how to design a building to make sure it carries a load. We’re also teaching about the use of sustainable energy and building materials to reduce our impact on the environment. We’re taking advantage of our LEED-certified buildings and infrastructure on campus as learning oppotunities.”

To keep sustainability front and center, the civil engineering major courses will share three of its core courses with environmental engineering: hydrology, sustainable energy and environmental engineering. Newer requirements include geometrics, or modern surveying, spatial analysis and sustainable structures.

One of the pieces of equipment donated from Topcon Position Systems.

“At �鶹��, particularly in the School of Engineering, we are focused on sustainability,” said Mark Matsumoto, dean of the School of Engineering. “Civil engineering is the first new undergraduate engineering major since fall 2006 — the year after the campus first opened — yet it is the oldest engineering discipline. Our goal for the civil engineering program is to train students with sustainability in mind when designing infrastructure for the futures such as transportation systems, water supply networks and smart buildings, among other things.”

Eighty-five first-year students have already committed to the new major. This fall, Harmon will teach a one-unit course on the fundamentals of civil engineering and new Teaching Professor Siddaiah Yara will teach a surveying class in the spring, using cutting-edge gear provided by Topcon Positioning Systems.

Students practice with gear on campus.

“The tools are state-of-the-art, such as laser scanners resembling what you might find on a Google Earth street view mapping vehicle,” Harmon said.

The Topcon gear collects and processes huge amounts of data, and will enable students to learn to acquire and manage massive data sets. Classes and projects employing these real-world tools will better prepare them for the workforce.

Moving forward, the School of Engineering will incorporate more courses as students progress through the major.

“After two years, we’ll be at full-speed with upper-division courses, too,” Harmon said.

University of California, Merced - Elizabeth Arakelian

Winston Cone Optics' Innovative Technology Garners State, National Attention

Engineering Students Translate Math Curriculum, Build App to Help Early Learners

Keske Publication Shows Central Valley Ripe for Biochar Studies

OMRON Endowed Scholarship to Help Engineering Students in the Robotics Field

NSF Awards CCBM Center $5 Million to Continue STEM Research

Arif Lab Studies Throat Patterns to Give a Voice to the Speechless

Research Program Offers Students a Moroccan Summer Field Experience

�鶹����� Joins Global COVID-19 Wastewater Data Center Effort

USDA-funded Internship Program Introduced New Bobcats to Agriculture Research

New Civil Engineering Major Designed for a Sustainable Future

�鶹�� Joins Global COVID-19 Wastewater Data Center Effort