Outstanding students from each discipline in the School of Engineering are recognized by the faculty of their department for academic excellence and notable contributions to the department and the school.
Congratulations to our graduating students!
What's Next: Visit UC Merced Commencement
Photo: Fall 2024 Outstanding Student Recipients
I chose UC Merced because of its spirit of innovation and growth, and because of my own roots in the Merced area. Attending UC Merced feels a little like giving back to my hometown and being a part of its growth.
When I decided to pursue a career in STEM as a youngteenager, I wanted to be sure that the work I did could make a positive, measurable impact on someone’s life. Bioengineering seemed like the obvious choice, as a practical science focused on studying and treating human disease.
I can say with complete confidence that I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for my family’s incredible support and for their value of my happiness and well-being above my academic success. I am also grateful to the Spencer Lab, my friends, and to my favorite teacher for mentoring me and cheering me on.
Participating in undergraduate research in Dr. Joel Spencer's Lab has been invaluable to my growth as a scientist, an engineer and an individual. My time there has been by far the most formative period of my undergraduate education and has positively shaped the way I think and address problems not just in science, but in everyday life.
I hope to begin graduate school in Fall 2023, with an emphasis on neuroengineering and medical device design. In grad school and beyond, I want to maintain a vision of serving others and improving quality of life through collaboration with the medical community.
I chose UC Merced because when I was looking for colleges during my senior year of high school it stood out to me as a new campus near my hometown with the prestigious name of an University of California and the curriculum to back it up.
From a young age, computers fascinated me which is not that hard since the simplicity and complexity of computers go hand in hand to make them function. I also wanted to learn more about coding, so that helped further cement my decision on taking this major.
My family inspired me to go to college, as I am the first to graduate in my family. My family comes from a diverse background and the highest they had ever gotten was my brother taking a vocational course and my mother dropping out before she could get her degree when she was pregnant with my brother.
A memorable academic experience would be the clubs on UC Merced campus, there were so many and I felt like I barely had time to enjoy any, but the ones that I joined and went to I enjoyed very much.
I have joined a startup part-time, and can't go into details because of my contract, but I hope it goes somewhere profitable or if not at least becomes something stable. I also plan to apply for some work in my hometown to find a stable job to fall back on just in case.
UC Merced was the natural choice for me. I feel that I could identify with UC Merced's student population; I'm a first-generation college student, an immigrant, and from a low-income background. I was attracted to the financial aid and scholarships offered as well as the low cost of living in the city of Merced, which made college financially feasible for someone like me.
I've always felt that computer science was for me. I've been fiddling with computers ever since I was young, and I've always had a knack for being able to break things. Luckily, computer security and hacking are all about breaking things! I'm specifically interested in digital forensics and network security, and I enjoy analyzing attacks and hunting down threats as well as exercising offensive attacks within the network arena (ethically, of course!). It's just what I find really cool and fun to do, and I think it's great that there will always be more for me to learn.
I'm just the summation of the influences of all the people around me. I thank my parents, first and foremost, for working hard day and night in an unfamiliar country so that I could one day go to college. I thank my team, IrisSec, for teaching me so much and having so much patience for me, and for always being awesome! I thank everyone I work with at UC Merced Extension for always having my best interests at heart and giving me access to so many opportunities and connections. I thank my professors and TAs for having infinite patience for me these past 3.5 years.
I specifically want to single out and thank Professor Cerpa and PhD student Jothi for my experiences taking a grad class as an undergrad this past semester. Professor Cerpa has truly intellectually challenged me and I've grown a lot as a result (and it's REALLY been a great challenge!), and PhD student Jothi has always treated me with kindness and understanding and has mentored me not just with my research project, but with my life. I appreciate their patience and understanding, and I aspire to have their passion for their art!
I've had plenty of memorable academic experiences, from the series of events I hosted for HackMerced where I created some sort of vulnerable system and taught attendees how to hack them ("Hack the Power/Packet/Tracks!"), to staying up night after night to work on my projects for my computer networks class with my classmate (and later, friend) Nathan. Perhaps none are more memorable than my experiences teaching and mentoring at Willie Lewis Brown Jr. Youth Academy (Summer Youth Academy) hosted by UC Merced Extension each summer.
It was so deeply wholesome to see in middle and high school students the same spark that I'd had when I was their age. I'll always remember the middle school student I had who took my coding bootcamp series over Zoom during the middle of the pandemic and created a website to show off their art in a gallery. That student came back the next summer when we hosted the academy in-person and thanked me for my encouragement, because that's what led pushed them to continue doing art.
As much as I impacted the lives of those students, they've impacted mine.
I'm not totally sure yet! I'm about to be on the market pretty soon so it's time I start looking for a job more seriously. I would like to stay in Merced for a little bit longer to work on some personal projects before moving back to Orange County because I miss my family. There's a whole backlog of hijinks and shenanigans I've yet to blog about, and then I should probably join my team, IrisSec, in finishing to prepare for our first hosted CTF in early January. I'm definitely coming back as an alumni in March for HackMerced. In the meanwhile, in the gap after I graduate but before I find a job, I'll probably be working on a series of side projects and blogging about my computer hijinks.
This has been an awesome chapter of my life!
Sierra Lema grew up in California and tested out of high school, attending Diablo Valley College before transferring to UC Merced to earn her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering. Sierra tutored at Mathnasium in San Ramon, CA while in college from 2018 to 2020. She became actively involved in two research groups under Dr. Marie-Odile Fortier and Dr. Erin Hestir. Through these research activities, Sierra investigated how direct land use and albedo change contribute to the life cycle environmental impacts of electricity generated from coal in the US; identified the interrelated factors that could affect the efficacy of the climate engineering approach of ocean iron fertilization; used remote sensing to identify watersheds with wildfire-related sediment and carbon discharges to kelp forests in California coastal waters; and computationally modeled the impacts of wildfires on watershed hydrology.
Sierra is planning to continue building a research career with broader impacts to environmental protection and climate change mitigation by pursuing a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the Geospatial Energy Resources and Life Cycle Assessment (GERLCA) research group headed by Dr. Fortier.
As a decisive person, I identified materials science and engineering as the major I wanted to pursue my sophomore year of high school. Since it is a smaller field, there were limited schools in California that even offered the major. Among these schools, UC Merced emerged as the forerunner due to their prompt offer of acceptance. With my interest piqued, I attended an outreach mixer hosted by UCM, and after meeting some of the MSE faculty, their welcoming environment was something I came to associate with the school and the MSE department. I knew that my time at UC Merced would not only be academically enriching, but also would allow me to take advantage of all opportunities presented to me in order to make the most out of my college experience. Coming into college I wanted the full experience, including performing research and becoming a leader in the campus community, and I saw the potential for that early on at UCM.
As a first generation student, I didn't have any role models whose career I wanted to emulate. Something that my high school counselor stressed to me was the disparity between genders in STEM fields. Attending college in general was a leap of faith due to the financial and time commitment required, so I wanted to pursue a degree where I saw the highest chance of success for myself. With this in mind, I found an interest in engineering because it relies on ingenuity and creativity, and more specifically materials science and engineering because it is foundational for other disiplines. After my freshman year I found a genuine passion for the field, and after declaring my second major, computer science and engineering, I am proud of the skillset I have developed in my time at UC Merced.
Since the MSE student body is small, we have developed a close knit community at UC Merced. I ended up receiving contact info for someone a few years older than me before I even began my freshman year, and she was immensely helpful in my transition to college and in helping me navigate what courses to take. Although she has since graduated, her impact on me my first couple of years helped make me into the person I am today.
Additionally, I have had the pleasure of conducting research in three labs during the course of my undergraduate career. Dr. Sarah Kurtz took me in as early as my freshman year, mentored me, and showed me how research could be conducted with a variety of projects. From there, Dr. Valerie Leppert helped me develop lab skills and how to plan and successfully execute a detailed experimental procedure. Finally, I concluded my years with Dr. Jennifer Lu who has given me a peek at how graduate school will be by placing higher expectations on me and pushing me to perform effectively.
I will always look fondly back at the good times I had in my upper division courses with the other MSE students. Once I started my upper divs the same set of familiar faces began to emerge, and I found many friends from this group as we laughed in class together, formed study groups, and worked on projects in smaller teams despite the virtual setting. Additionally, I enjoyed my time employed as a Resident Assistant for three years, as my co-workers, supervisors, and residents made my time in the dorms memorable.
I have just finished submitting my graduate school applications, where I will be pursing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering with a focus on computational methods. This field allows me to utilize both of my degrees cohesively in order to contribute to an up and coming area of research. I am excited to be attending a graduate school out of state, as I believe it is a great chance to have a new experience and see more of the world! Upon graduating with my PhD, I plan on going to industry to gain experience, before transitioning into a National Lab setting to return to my research roots. Before retirement, I would like to conclude my career back in academia with my own research group in order to give back to the students and mentor others who are just beginning their career.
I want to give a shoutout to the Society of WomenEngineers and Theta Tau, the professional engineering fraternity. All the SWEeties were a support system for me, especially my freshman year, and I appreciate their friendship and mentorship early on. I gave back by serving as Treasurer, then President to continue mentoring young women in STEM who were just beginning their college career. I joined Theta Tau my second year and made lifelong connections within the brothers, especially among my potential class and in my family, Hephaestus. Theta Tau helped me get more involved with the campus engineering community and I will always remember the good times we had.
Before coming to UC Merced, I was definitely not considered an 'outstanding student' so UC Merced was only school to accept me. What I ended up enjoying about Merced was the amount of research opportunities and the atmosphere that allowed me to focus on my academics.
I chose mechanical engineering because I wanted to understand how the world works. Also, mechanical engineering is a multifaceted major that gave me a strong basis for many different potential career paths.
One of my mentors while I was at UC Merced was Dr. Ricardo Pinto De Castro. I took his circuit theory class towards the beginning of my time at UC Merced and ended up doing research in his lab later on. He always provided the help and guidance I needed to do my best, all while pushing me towards bigger and better things.
One night, while studying with some friends for a circuit theory midterm, I figured out a good way to explain a difficult concept. As I was walking my friends through the process, another group of people in our class was walking by and stopped to listen in. As I kept explaining and going over more problems, more and more people from the class began to join us. What started as only a few friends studying together turned into a big group of people collaborating and working together.
After graduation, I plan on moving home to Los Angeles, where I will hopefully find a job that will support me getting a masters degree in the future. I am unsure exactly what kind of engineering job I am going to get, but I know that my time at UC Merced provided me a strong foundation for my career.
As a first generation low-income student I did not have a lot of knowledge about post secondary education. However, I did know that I wanted to attend a university within the UC system. With UC Merced being oneof my top choices due to it's affordability and size, I chose to attend Bobcat Day. After attending and getting to see the campus in person for the first time, I knew that I would be going to UC Merced. Not only was the campus great but the community of people from UCM that I interacted with werevery welcoming and comforting.
I chose my major because I have always been very intrigued by the STEM field and I wanted to have the knowledge to be able to work on my own personal projects one day.
I have many people that have motivated me and inspired me to become who I am today and who I want to be in the future. First is my family that have always encouraged me to do whatever will make me happy and have never discouraged me from pursuing my current endeavors.
Second is one of my high school teachers, Mr.Frank who always motivated me to do better academically for myself and no one else. Lastly, is my current faculty mentor Dr.Ashlie Martini. At the time of our first conversation I was not sure what I wanted to do with my degree. But now after having been apart of her lab and with her guidance I have found a path that I am very excited to take.
One of my most memorable academic experiences has to be working on and completing the Four-Ball Nitrogen Chamber Project with one of the Graduate students from the Martini Lab, Jose Arturo. I remember having the most satisfying feeling when we ran our first successful test after multiple days of work. Arturo even pointed out that I had a large grin on my face.
After I graduate, I will be coming back to UC Merced to begin the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program. I will continue to be a part of the Martini Group and working on my current projects.
I wanted to be a part of a UC program because I have wanted to pursue a career in research and STEM. Furthermore, when looking into schools, I have been told by my advisors in high school that UC Merced would be a great option because there would be more available labs to work in. I also enjoyed how the school was part of a rural community, which allowed me to not only expand my worldview but create a space for myself to thrive.
I originally came to campus as a Human Biology major but realized that I love the math aspect of STEM and decided to pursue Bioengineering. I want to help develop new machinery for diagnostics and therapy in the medical field, especially for patients with psychiatric and neurological disorders, and I found that the Bioengineering major was able to give me insight into this type of research.
My main inspiration has been my family and my significant other, who have instilled in me to always become a better version of myself and to strive to use my abilities to help others whenever I can. I am also grateful for my peers and faculty on which I could rely for professional and personal growth, especially professors such as Dr. Victor Muñoz, Dr. Changqing Li, and Dr. Patricia LiWang, and a graduate student, Jesse Rodriguez Reyes, who have been large influences on my path in research and academia.
Unfortunately, a good chunk of my academic career at UC Merced has been online, but this past year, I have been most grateful for the hands-on experience I have obtained from working in the Muñoz Lab. Also, working as a tutor for the SALA Program and STEM Tutoring Hub has been a rewarding experience as I am able to provide knowledge and interest in learning for my students.
After graduating, I will be taking a gap year to pursue research in Protein Engineering in Dr. Muñoz’s lab and continue learning about Bioimaging techniques in Dr. Li’s Lab on campus while looking into other opportunities at other campuses. Afterward, I will be applying for graduate schools for Bioengineering in the field of Biotech.
To anyone interested in the Engineering program, or any program for that matter, I would advise working on time management and always taking everything as a learning experience and an opportunity to grow. You can only take as much as you give, and that includes your time and energy.
It's rare that as an undergraduate, you have the opportunity to make real changes to a school. UC Merced is new and constantly improving, so there are tons of opportunities available! I truly believe that UC Merced allows students to get as much out of the experience as they want to put in.
Choosing Computer Science and Engineering was always a "natural" choice for me. I spent much of my childhood and free time in high school building things, from Raspberry Pi clusters, to websites for friends and organizations I was a part of. I realized that as a CSE major, I would have the ability to continue working on the types of projects I find interesting while also learning the concepts behind them at a deeper level.
Both Professor Erin Hestir and Professor Xiaoyi Lu have been wonderful mentors to me. I took a spatial analysis course taught by Professor Hestir not knowing what to expect. I originally found the course because it fulfilled a degree requirement, but I ended up finding the course incredibly interesting. She offered me a position in her lab as an undergraduate research assistant, though which I was able to apply my programming experience and knowledge of computer science to real problems with real impact. I can't thank her enough for helping me navigate poster submissions for conferences and the application process of wonderful programs like NASA DEVELOP. Professor Lu helped me realize that pursuing Systems in graduate school was possible by giving me the opportunity to work in his lab on a real research topic.
Many of the courses I have taken here include a team-based project of some kind. Depending on team dynamics, skill levels, and the amount of time everyone has to devote, these projects can go extremely well or extremely poorly. I consider myself "lucky" enough to have experienced leading teams in both scenarios, and I think my leadership skills are better for it.
I was lucky enough to be accepted to multiple graduateprograms and had to make the difficult decision of choosing just one. Because of my positive experiences with research as an undergraduate, UC Merced won out, so I will be starting this coming fall as a first year PhD student.
I chose the University of California, Merced because I wanted to study with the best. UC Merced provides a high quality education with top professors who are willing to help when needed. The university is also conveniently located near Silicon Valley, the heart of technology and innovation. There are many career fairs that are hosted throughout the semester, which encourages students to apply for internships to various companies and jumpstart their career. UC Merced also offers the best financial aid within the UC system, bringing many students like me closer to their academic goals. I am grateful that UC Merced has offered a number of opportunities to prepare and thrive in the tech industry.
I majored in Computer Science and Engineering because I believe in building meaningful software to make technology more accessible and user-friendly. I want to be able to provide people in need with the proper technological resources to ensure they can achieve their fullest potential.
I would like to thank Dr. Santosh Chandrasekhar for being a generous and dependable mentor. He was very helpful in my capstone class and I learned a lot about how to interact with clients and how to manage my time to accommodate their needs. He was also very supportive in my decision to attend graduate school. Dr. Chandrasekhar has inspired me to become a much more well-rounded person.
My advisor, Christina Mayo, has also been of great help in preparing for my bachelors. She directed me to various resources that would further enhance my experience at UC Merced.
I would also like to thank my family and friends, who have been very supportive of my academic career and encourage me to become successful in my future endeavors.
My most memorable academic experience happened during my capstone class. This class allowed me to experience what working with a client was like, how to communicate our product effectively with them, and how to manage our time to complete a product that satisfied our client’s requirements. We also learned how to present our project in a way that was easy to understand, yet meaningful. This class gave me a taste of what it was like to work in the tech industry, which allowed me to become more prepared when performing a job.
I will be attending graduate school at the University of California, Irvine, where I will pursue a masters in Human-Computer Interaction and Design (MHCID). I hope to use the skills I’ve obtained from both my bachelors and my masters to make technology more accessible and user-friendly to people in need.
Being a first generation college student I knew nothing about college while I was growing up, but I dreamed of going. Everything I learned about selecting a college, a major and a career, I learned on my own through google. I had a short list of potential schools because they had to be schools with environmental engineering in California that I had a chance of getting accepted to. There was a time when I thought I would never make it to college because of tuition costs and my lack of knowledge. When I found UC Merced, it seemed like a place I could thrive at, since it was a somewhat smaller campus, had a strong focus on sustainability and had a community aspect a lot of other schools do not have. When I got accepted I didn't consider any other option.
I chose environmental engineering because I have always been passionate about environmental justice, preservation and solving problems. I was always the nerdy science kid growing up. I wanted my future career to combine my love of technical subjects with my passion for environmental science. After stumbling upon and doing some research on environmental engineering I knew it was for me. I want to be able to make a difference in the world by helping my community and our environment through innovative solutions.
I have had the opportunity to be a part of three research groups throughout my time at UC Merced and each mentor has had a great and distinct impact on me. Dr. Colleen Naughton gave me the chance to be a researcher with her group when I was a second-year. She taught me the importance and social responsibility that comes with being an engineer. She was my first female engineering role model and I will be carrying all of her advice with me for the rest of my life. Dr. Lilian Davila hired me to join her research group during our fully online academic year. She kept me focused on my goals while every other aspect of life was chaotic. Dr. Marie Odile Fortier brought me into her research group this year and has given me the chance to be a part of a project that directly relates to my future goals. Her support has been the most integral to my success post-graduation.
Academics were always my main focus, so a lot of my friendships started out as lab partners or members of study groups. So I will remember a lot of group projects in upper division courses where I was able to struggle through the task with people I was actually friends with.
After graduation I will be living on my own and working full-time as a field engineer with the Lane Construction Corporation in Southern California. I will be a part of the corridor project on the I-10 highway! I also plan to be a licensed PE within the next five years, as I will have taken (and hopefully passed) the FE exam by the time everyone is reading this. Working in industry and being a licensed professional engineer has always been my goal so it's amazing to see it coming into fruition!
I would not be where I am now without SWE and all the SWEeties! I was able to hone my leadership style, mentor lower classmen and inspire the next generation. I held a board position as a freshmen, then became secretary and then president. I have met forever friends and strongly believe that I would have changed my major if I would not have joined the organization. The women I met have become an integral support system for my success. The national SWE conference I attended my fourth year is also where I interviewed for and received my job offer that I will be pursuing after graduation!
I was anxious transitioning from high school to university in 2018 but attending Bobcat Day and orientation help me feel at ease to UC Merced's welcoming environment.
Like many, I did not know what Materials Science & Engineering major entailed but quickly learned that Materials is the basis of many engineering applications. I loved the blend of chemistry, mechanical, and materials coursework and found it applicable so many topics, especially sustainably advancing technology. In my small class sizes, I have grown very close to my peers and professors in countless collaborative engineering labs and projects. When someone asks me "What is Materials Science & Engineering?" I usually refer to the fast-paced materials advancement of the semiconductors used in their smart phone.
As a first generation Asian-American, a large motivation for my success was my parents' perseverance to provide me with opportunities and the support needed to succeed. I would like to mention my recently deceased father and strong-willed mother that gave me strength to continue my Materials Science & Engineering degree during tough times and who have trusted me to achieve their dream of pursuing higher education.
I have been collaborating as a student researcher with Dr. Valerie Leppert for 1.5 years analyzing the photocatalytic properties of nanoparticles with the application of degrading organic pollutants. Almost instantaneously, I found myself very passionate with the experimental process and constantly asked questions. A huge take away from my time as a student researcher was when faced with inaccurate experimental results. Instead of getting discouraged, Dr. Leppert taught me how to critically think of possible mistakes I could've made in my procedure and how it would effect the data. Not only has developing a problem solving process useful to producing reproduceable results, but it has also built confidence in my academic abilities.
I plan to travel internationally over the summer before procuring an industry job in materials selection or research. I also plan to advance my career in Graduate school working towards an M.S./Ph.D.
I chose UC Merced because I saw the potential for the school to offer great opportunities that wouldn't be as available at otherschools. Since it is the newest UC school, it has new equipment for labs and brand-new buildings for classrooms and dorms. The campus is very beautiful,and the student community here was very friendly and accepting. I wanted tocome here because I wanted to take advantage of all of these amazing attributes to help me grow academically and socially.
Throughout my academic life before college, I was always interested in STEM topics and enjoyed solving problems whether they were physical or on paper. I wanted to become an Engineer because I liked the type of problems they worked on and the industries that they worked in. I am a huge fan of the Aerospace, Energy, and Transportation fields. With all thatin mind I did not originally know what engineer I wanted to become because I had an interest in each general area. To compromise, I chose Mechanical Engineering because I would gain knowledge in many different areas of engineering which would help me discover what career path I want to follow when I graduate.
My inspiration for doing all of this hard work and dedication would have to be because of my parents and my brother. All of the life lessons and stories that have been told to me from my parents remind me how lucky I am to be in the situation that I am in today. They have given me so many opportunities and I want to do my best to make them and myself proud. Me and my brother have been competing for as long as I can remember whether it’s in sports, in academics, or in music. We have a strong sibling rivalry and even though he is better than me at some things, it just motivates me to get even better and to surpass him. In school I have had some great mentors who helped me throughout my time here at UC Merced. There are many TA's who have helped me tremendously at office hours and professors who have helped me understand difficult topics. Of all of those people, the onethat stands out to me would be Professor Ashlie Martini. She has helped me a lot with the projects that I have been working on and has helped me apply the skills I have learned in the classroom to solve complex problems. Without a doubt she has helped me grow the most since I started college.
My most memorable academic experience here at UC Merced would have to be my freshman year when I absolutely failed my first physics midterm. In high school I would pay attention in class, not study, and getting A's on my tests. Getting this result gave me a huge shock because I have never failed a test, not in high school, middle school, or elementary school which caused me to become laser focused on my schoolwork. After that 1 midterm, I went to office hours every week, completed my homework 1 week in advance, and studied like crazy for the exams. Because of all that hard work, I ended up acing the rest of the midterms and the final, which got me an A in the class. This experience taught me that working hard and putting in the extra time to learn something is how I can become successful in any task or project that I want to complete.
After I graduate, I plan to enter the job industry as an entry-level Mechanical Engineer. The short-term goal is to work in either the aerospace, energy, or transportation fields and gain experience from the projects I work on. In tandem I would like to pass the FE and EIT exams as soon as possible so that I can work in more qualified positions, eventually working my way up to getting my engineering PE license. In the long term, I would like to eventually work with NASA on planet exploration projects or help develop technological systems that can help minimize global warming.
When I first came to UC Merced, I was very shy, introverted, and typically had a difficult time initiating and continuing conversations. However, when I moved into the dorms my freshman year, I made the decision that I would break out of my shell and improve my social skills. I am so happy I made that decision because I have made so many great friends and have met so many cool people that I would've never met otherwise. I can now start and hold conversations and speak to people with confidence. If it wasn't for the amazing UC Merced students in my freshman class, I would not be where I am today and I am glad that I was able to grow not just academically but socially as well. The memories that I have made during my time at UC Merced were amazing and I can't wait to see what the future will hold.
UC Merced offers accessibility and mobility. Whether that be social, financial, or academic, it is a place of opportunity.
In my eyes, mechanical engineering is a way of organizing the physical chaos around to serve a purpose. And although I majored in mechanical engineering, it's not a stand alone major. Throughout my undergraduate time, I've found that we often work with those in computer science, electrical engineering, chemistry, and more.
I'm thankful for my family, friends and the professors throughout my academic journey. They've kept me grounded and I wouldn't be where I'm at at without them.
One of the most memorable moment was joining the Martini undergraduate research team. I was exposed to some of the unsolved engineering problems. It was an opportunity to understand how we dissect issues with no clear and perfect solution.
After graduating, I'll be heading down to LA for a tribology internship at The Aerospace Corporation. Then I'll be back to UC Merced to start the mechanical engineering PhD program.
