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Composite image with four areas of Next Level Research: solar panels, wildfire, cells, and an air taxi

Next Level Research Awards

The College of Engineering Next Level Research Awards fund near-term research, conferences, symposia and planning for bold ideas that align with our strategic research vision. Funded projects are interdisciplinary, have the potential to advance national leadership and secure extramural funding, and articulate clear near-, mid- and long-term goals.

Next Level Research Vision 2023 Awards

2024 Funded Projects 

 

Tunable Magneto-Optical Plasmonic Metasurfaces for Communication, Sensing and Health Applications 

PIs: Yayoi Takamura, Materials Science and Engineering, Sebastian Gomez-Diaz, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Researchers from the materials science, biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering disciplines will combine their expertise to tailor infrared and visible light at the nanoscale, which has great potential for low-power multifunctional devices like antennas, biosensors, security and quantum systems. The team will design and develop metasurfaces for nanoscale light control and aim for advances in reconfigurable and topological nanophotonics. 

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graphics

Direct Sound Printing: Manufacturing Beyond Barriers

PIs: Mohsen Habibi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Aijun Wang, UC Davis Health Department of Surgery, Blaine Andrew Christiansen, Orthopedic Surgery, James Paul Marcin, Pediatrics

Using direct sound printing, or DSP, a novel 3D printing technique devised by Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Mohsen Habibi that uses sound waves to print from the other side of an opaque barrier, this team of researchers will pursue noninvasive printing of tissues inside the body. This research, which will begin with clinical trials, has the potential to not only revolutionize the medical implant industry and substantially reduce surgical and recovery time and costs, but also to establish UC Davis as a center of excellence in DSP and a pioneer in establishing a new model for non-invasive surgery. 

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direct sound printing diagram

Investigation of Flow Interactions of Vertical Lift

PIs: Camli Badrya, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Holly J. Oldroyd, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Aditya Thakur, Computer Science

This interdisciplinary team aims to make vertical lift air vehicles safer, more energy-efficient and eco-friendly by gaining a physical understanding of the fluid interactions within the atmospheric boundary layer, or ABL, which is the lowest part of the atmosphere that is directly influenced by the Earth’s surface. Their approach includes generating data from wind tunnel experiments in UC Davis’ atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel, using existing ABL field data and employing a combination of gradient-descent based learning techniques and novel symbolic learning algorithms for data analysis. Their efforts could have great impact on urban air mobility, wildfire research and resilience and improving wind turbine designs. 

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wind tunnel

Building a Pipeline for the Next Generation of Biomedical Engineering Entrepreneurs 

PIs: Xianglong Wang, Biomedical Engineering; Jennifer Choi, Biomedical Engineering; Steven George, Biomedical Engineering 

UC Davis researchers are working to boost healthcare innovation opportunities for undergraduate biomedical engineering students by expanding a quarter-long clinical immersion and entrepreneurship program at Aggie Square into a two-year pathway. This expansion will strengthen the department’s opportunity to support students’ innovative biomedical research and ability to develop viable startup plans through a deeper integration of curriculum with college services, such as the Student Startup Center and the Translating Engineering Advances to Medicine Lab. Overall, this redesign aims to establish UC Davis as a startup hub for healthcare innovation and generate job opportunities across the Sacramento region. 

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Rendering of Aggie Square

Exploring Surface Topography Manufacturing Techniques and Applicability for Future Green Aviation

PIs: Barbara Linke, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Camli Badrya, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Rajeevan Amirtharajah, Electrical and Computer Engineering 

There is an increasing need for quiet, safe and affordable aircraft that meet zero-emission requirements. To achieve these future aviation goals, advanced low-drag and high-lift techniques are essential to produce at scale. A UC Davis team of researchers aims to enable this future by exploring and assessing surface topography manufacturing and quality assurance processes for lifting surfaces, such as wings, rotors and propellers. The team will consider bio-inspired approaches for aircraft lifting surfaces, fabricate and test microstructures and surface roughness, investigate micro-scale sensor techniques that can be integrated with these surfaces and develop prototypes that can be replicated across scales to democratize sustainable aircraft design. 

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topography graphic

Imaging Headset for Diagnosis and Treatment Planning of Ocular Diseases in Children

PIs: Iman Soltani, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Parisa Emami, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, Robert Zawadzki, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences

This team of visionaries will develop a wearable and fully automated headset to image the eyes’ retinal layer and detect ocular diseases; early detection of such diseases could prevent the development of other diseases, including cardiovascular, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Designed to be easy to wear and operate without a clinician, the headpiece would allow neurodivergent individuals, particularly children, who may have issues with conventional imaging systems to be examined easily and thoroughly. The team will collaborate with the UC Davis MIND Institute to recruit younger individuals for retinal imaging. 

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imaging headset rendering

Northern California Aerospace Symposium

PIs: Rich Whittle, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Christina Harvey, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The Northern California Aerospace Symposium, or NCAS, builds off the momentum of Bay Area Aero Fest, held in early 2024, which connected aerospace engineering faculty from UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Stanford University. With the 2025 event, co-organizers Rich Whittle and Christina Harvey, assistant professors of mechanical and aerospace engineering, aim to establish an annual meeting to foster research collaborations between faculty and graduate students, government and industry professionals. This symposium will demonstrate UC Davis as a leader in the aerospace field. 

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group of people stand on stairs outdoors

Turning Disabilities into an Advantage Through AI

PIs: Sam King, Computer Science, Stephanie Crossen, Pediatric Endocrinology

While diabetes management technology has come a long way in the past decade, automated insulin delivery systems do not use the most advanced machine learning, like deep neural networks, that could take them to the next level. This research team will integrate trustworthy computer systems into insulin delivery systems to take the guesswork out of insulin delivery and turn the world’s boldest biohackers into the gold standard for AI-driven distributed healthcare. 

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app screenshots

QuIST Curriculum Initiative

PIs: Isaac H. Kim, Computer Science; Marina Radulaski, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Greg Kuperberg, Computer Science 

The interdisciplinary partnership between computer science and electrical and computer engineering faculty members continues to advance the College of Engineering’s position as an emerging leader in quantum information science and technology, or QuIST. The team will continue its innovative seminar series, bringing experts from across the world to UC Davis, while working to expand the experimental curriculum for undergraduate students, which includes hiring additional faculty and establishing a QuIST center on campus. They are also in the process of developing an online graduate program in QuIST. 

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QUIST gear

Projects with All Investigators and Centers

Tunable Magneto-Optical Plasmonic Metasurfaces for Communication, Sensing and Health Applications 
  • Randy Carney, Biomedical Engineering 
  • Sebastian Gomez-Diaz, Electrical and Computer Engineering  
  • Seung Sae Hong, Materials Science and Engineering 
  • Roopali Kukreja, Materials Science and Engineering 
  • William Putnam, Electrical and Computer Engineering 
  • Yayoi Takamura, Materials Science and Engineering  
Direct Sound Printing: Manufacturing Beyond Barriers
  • Mohsen Habibi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
  • Aijun Wang, UC Davis Health Department of Surgery 
  • Blaine Andrew Christiansen, Orthopedic Surgery 
  • James Paul Marcin, Pediatrics 
Investigation of Flow Interactions of Vertical Lift
  • Camli Badrya, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
  • Holly J. Oldroyd, Civil and Environmental Engineering 
  • Aditya Thakur, Computer Science 
Building a Pipeline for the Next Generation of Biomedical Engineers 
  • Xianglong Wang, Biomedical Engineering
  • Jennifer Choi, Biomedical Engineering
  • Steven George, Biomedical Engineering
  • Aijun Wang, Biomedical Engineering 
  • Jinhwan Kim, Biomedical Engineering 
  • Aaron Anderson, Student Startup Center 
  • Wenting Gao, BrioPryme Biologics, Inc. 
Exploring Surface Topography Manufacturing Techniques and Applicability for Future Green Aviation
  • Barbara Linke, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Camli Badrya, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Rajeevan Amirtharajah, Electrical and Computer Engineering 
Imaging Headset for Diagnosis and Treatment Planning of Ocular Diseases in Children
  • Iman Soltani, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
  • Parisa Emami, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences 
  • Robert Zawadzki, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences
  • UC Davis MIND Institute 
Northern California Aerospace Symposium
  • Rich Whittle, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
  • Christina Harvey, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
Turning Disabilities into an Advantage Through AI
  • Sam King, Computer Science 
  • Stephanie Crossen, Pediatric Endocrinology 
QuIST Curriculum Initiative
  • Isaac H. Kim, Computer Science
  • Marina Radulaski, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Greg Kuperberg, Computer Science 

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