UC San Diego celebrates five faculty members who received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)—the highest U.S. honor for early-career researchers. Among them is John Hwang, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who is recognized for advancing computational design tools for urban air taxis. 

A $1.35 million award from the Department of Energy is paving the way for fusion research at UC San Diego. Led by researcher Matthew Baldwin in collaboration with Professor George Tynan, the funding will open the PISCES facility to external research teams, providing a unique environment to test materials under extreme fusion reactor conditions. 

UC San Diego’s DERConnect, led by Professor Jan Kleissl, is a groundbreaking testbed that essentially replicates the California power grid on campus. Supported by a $42M NSF grant, DERConnect allows researchers to test and control distributed energy sources—like solar panels and EV chargers—to provide crucial insights for developing resilient, sustainable power grids.

At the 9th San Diego Robotics Forum, experts discussed embodied intelligence—how AI interacts with the physical world through robotics. UC San Diego faculty highlighted the importance of integrating sensors, learning models, and environment estimation. The forum also explored applications in fields like robotic surgery and self-driving cars, featuring talks from industry leaders. 

Mechanical Engineering at the University of California San Diego has ranked #8 in the nation and #20 in the world, according to the 2024 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS). The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is within the Jacobs School of Engineering and is currently led by Professor Stefan Llewellyn Smith.