Engineering Progress Magazine

Bold ideas. Socially responsible solutions. A better tomorrow built today.

Flying taxis, age-defying medicine and food grown in space were once visions of a far-off future. Today, UC Davis engineers are bringing that future into focus, not as a distant horizon but as a fast-approaching reality. From innovating quantum technologies to preventing pandemics before they start, they are turning possibilities into progress and laying the foundation for a stronger, more resilient and technologically advanced world.   

Envisioning the Future

In this edition of Dean’s Download, Dean Richard L. Corsi sits down with Chancellor Gary S. May to explore what it will take to engineer a better future. Their conversation explores the evolving role of engineers in society, the promise and challenges of AI, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and how UC Davis is shaping the next generation of innovators through project-based learning, socially responsible engineering and the growing ecosystem at Aggie Square, the university’s Sacramento-based innovation district.

Ultimately, they reflect on the imagination, principles and lifelong curiosity required to build what’s possible — and to ensure all next-level solutions serve the planet and the public good.

Read Their Discussion

Featured Stories

Tomorrow, Today

From youth-extending medical interventions to 3D printers that bypass physical barriers with sound, assistant professors at the University of California, Davis, are daring to build the world of tomorrow with visionary research programs.

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A Smarter Response to Disease

How UC Davis Engineers are Building Tools to Slow the Next Outbreak

UC Davis engineers Cristina Davis and Zhaodan Kong are building sensors and smart drones to spot the earliest signs of disease in wildlife. Their work with the NSF Center for Pandemic Insights could help catch outbreaks before they spread — and maybe stop them from becoming a global pandemic.

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Engineering the Quantum Leap

By pushing the boundaries of research and bridging the gap between theory and practice, engineers and computer scientists at the University of California, Davis, are working to usher in the unfathomable, paradigm-shifting potential of a fully realized quantum era.

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A Cooler Future for AI

UC Davis Engineers Address the Hot Topic of Data Centers

AI is fueling a data center boom, raising questions about the current and future effects of data centers on people and the planet. Two UC Davis researchers address some of the most pressing questions about data centers, energy and potential solutions, from smarter server memory to water-saving cooling systems.

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A mobile data center is lifted by a crane

More Engineering Progress Stories

Beyond Soil and Sunlight: An EPiC Reimagining of Accessible Biomanufacturing

The EPiC project is rethinking where biomanufacturing can happen, from remote deserts to space. With plant-based “mini factories,” 3D-printed handheld bioreactors and innovative training, the team is building a more sustainable future for making food, medicine and more.

An illustration of how the digital twin can simulate the movement of microspheres in the liver's arterial forest

Improving Cancer Treatment with Digital Twins

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Emilie Roncali is developing a digital twin to provide more precise and effective care of liver cancer, thanks to funding from the National Cancer Institute. She envisions this research as a model of the future, where personalized replicas of the human body facilitate and improve medical care.

Vertical Vision: How UC Davis is Shaping the Air Taxi Revolution

Flying taxis may have once seemed like science fiction, but UC Davis researcher Seongkyu Lee is helping make them a real-life commute option, from designing quieter vehicles to championing air mobility education.

Training the Defenders of the Digital Age

As cybercrime surges, UC Davis computer scientist Matt Bishop aims to build a stronger frontline. His SWEEPS initiative trains developers to write secure, resilient software from day one — shifting cybersecurity from patching crises to proactively defending our digital lives.

people at the student startup center grand opening

Creating Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs: A Look Inside the UC Davis Student Startup Center

The Student Startup Center in the UC Davis College of Engineering helps students turn ideas into companies through hands-on courses, daily programming and collaborative maker spaces. Open to all majors, the center focuses on real-world experience to help students engineer solutions to critical problems.

Investing in the Next Generation of Changemakers

UC Davis alum and industry leader John Wasson reflects on how his chemical engineering degree prepared him to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges and highlights the value of supporting engineering education and research at UC Davis to help the next generation tackle the biggest issues of tomorrow.  

UC Davis Alum Leads Safety Efforts for Roblox’s Global Community

As the chief safety officer at Roblox, UC Davis alum Matt Kaufman leads safety and civility efforts across one of the world’s most complex online ecosystems. Through this vast digital space, young users are gaining important socialization skills, such as how to communicate, collaborate and be respectful to one another.

Dean’s Download: Envisioning the Future

Dean Richard L. Corsi sits down with Chancellor Gary S. May to reflect on the imagination, principles and lifelong curiosity required to build what’s possible — and to ensure all next-level solutions of tomorrow serve the planet and the public good.