UC Merced Energy Center Experts

Email: skurtz@ucmerced.edu
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Location: SE2 380
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Trends of renewable energy growth
• Research challenges in renewable energy improvements
• Performance and grid integration of photovoltaic (PV) systems
• Reliability issues in PV systems

Faculty Insight: “As the solar industry expands rapidly, our research focuses on improving system performance and ensuring long-term reliability. We’re addressing the critical challenges needed to support the growth of renewable energy.”

Email: rehsani@ucmerced.edu
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Mobile agrivoltaic systems
• Renewable energy in agriculture
• Climate resilience in crop production

Faculty Insight: “My research focuses on the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of a mobile agrivoltaic system for high-value crop production in Central California. A mobile agrivoltaic system has the potential to optimize land use, improve crop yields, and provide renewable energy, making agriculture more resilient to climate change.”

Email: rcastro@ucmerced.edu
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Zero-emission vehicles
• Power conversion and energy management
• Energy storage systems
• Electric and robotic vehicles
• Safe and resilient motion control

Faculty Insight: “My research focuses on electric and robotic vehicles. I am interested in combining power conversion with advanced control and optimization methods as a means of achieving high energy efficiency, durability, and reliability of energy storage systems. Vehicle automation is another area of my research, with particular emphasis on safe motion planning and resilient control.”

Email: ericcheng@ucmerced.edu
Department: Electrical Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Power electronics and high frequency power conversion
• Electric vehicles, vessels, aircraft…
• Electromagnetics, high frequency magnetics…

Faculty Insight: “Professor Cheng focuses on various aspects of power electronics and has been developing technology for electric vehicles, power converters, motor drives, and motor design. Electric transportation and robotic systems are major trends for the coming decades, with power electronics, magnetics, and actuation serving as the driving forces behind these technologies. We excel in application research and translate high-level research into practical electrical products.”

Email: mlee49@ucmerced.edu
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Electrochemical energy conversion and storage
• Fuel cells and electrolyzers
• Hydrogen storage
• Nanoscale surface functionalization

Faculty Insight: “We focus on advancing electrochemical energy conversion and storage technologies, including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen storage systems, with an emphasis on nanoscale surface functionalization to enhance efficiency and sustainability.”

Email: achuang@ucmerced.edu
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Energy conversion and storage
• Fuel cells, water electrolysis
• CO₂ reduction via electrochemical methods

Faculty Insight: “Professor Chuang conducts research on energy conversion and storage, focusing on fuel cells, water electrolysis, and CO₂ reduction via electrochemical methods. His work aims to develop more efficient and sustainable energy solutions by advancing electrochemical processes that improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.”

Email: amartini@ucmerced.edu
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Tribology: friction, wear, and lubrication
• Reducing energy consumption in mechanical systems
• Energy efficiency in wind turbines and electric vehicles

Faculty Insight: “Professor Martini focuses on tribology, the science of friction, wear, and lubrication, to discover innovative methods for reducing energy consumption. Her research aims to minimize friction in mechanical components, thereby decreasing wasted energy. By minimizing wear, this research can reduce the energy needed to replace parts that fail due to wear-related issues. Tribology research also contributes to technologies that will overcome the mechanical challenges facing new energy-efficient technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles.”

Email: mfindlater@ucmerced.edu
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Organometallic catalysis
• Activation of small molecules
• Hydrofunctionalization and cross-coupling
• Catalytic efficiency for renewable energy and green chemistry

Faculty Insight: “Professor Findlater's research focuses on organometallic catalysis to develop energy-efficient and sustainable chemical transformations. His work explores the activation of small molecules and catalytic processes, such as hydrofunctionalization and cross-coupling, to minimize energy input and maximize atom economy. By designing novel metal-ligand systems, his research aims to improve catalytic efficiency for applications in renewable energy and green chemistry.”

Email: xlu5@ucmerced.edu
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Energy-efficient parallel and distributed computing
• Sustainable AI systems and applications
• High-performance computing for scientific research

Faculty Insight: “We are addressing the energy challenges in high-performance computing and AI for scientific discovery by developing energy-efficient parallel and distributed computing systems and sustainable AI applications. Our goal is to enable scalable, energy-conscious solutions through interdisciplinary collaboration.”

Email: jlee85@ucmerced.edu
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Nanomaterials for heterogeneous catalysis
• Energy and environmental sustainability
• Materials and physical chemistry

Faculty Insight: “Our research develops a general framework for designing heterogeneous catalysts by combining precisely engineered nanostructures with advanced testing and characterization. We aim to address critical challenges in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.”

Email: palmeida@ucmerced.edu
Department: Management of Complex Systems
Website: Lab Site

Research Interests:

• Human behavioral aspects of climate action
• Engagement in renewable energy adoption
• Climate action planning

Faculty Insight: “My work focuses on the human behavioral component of climate action—specifically, understanding how to engage more people in all forms of climate action, from renewable energy adoption to climate action planning and beyond.”