August 2025: The UC Irvine Engineering+ Equation

August 2025

Message from Dean Egerstedt

Life on a college campus is by design supposed to be transient. Students enroll, then a few years later they graduate and move on with their lives. This past June, we got to celebrate a whopping 1,277 Samueli School of Engineering graduates as we conferred 838 undergraduate and 439 graduate degrees. And although commencement is indeed always a major cause for celebration, it can sometimes be a bit bittersweet in the way that goodbyes always are. But not to worry, next month we will see another record-breaking incoming class of future Anteater engineers.

Best,

Magnus Egerstedt, Ph.D.

Stacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering

UC Irvine Rocket Project Places First in International Competition

The UCI Rocket Project Solids came in first place in one of the most difficult categories at the 2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), the premier competition for universities around the world.

UC Irvine BMES Wins National Outstanding Achievement Award

The award is the highest recognition a student chapter can receive at the National BMES Annual Student Chapter Awards.

Unraveling Molecular Secrets

Photo-induced force microscopy began as a concept in the mind of Kumar Wickramasinghe when he was employed by IBM in the early years of the new millennium.

UC Irvine-led Team Uncovers Cell Structures That Squids Use to Change Their Appearance

By examining squid skin cells three-dimensionally, researchers have unveiled the structures responsible for the creatures’ ability to dynamically change their appearance from transparent to arbitrarily colored states.

High School Students Attend Samueli School-Crystal Cove Summer Institute

The students had a chance to learn about and create their own environmental robots. “Robots are coming. We need your help to make sure they make the world better,” Dean Egerstedt told the inquisitive students.

UCI Student-designed Home for Homeless Youth Opens

The award-winning home students designed for homeless youth has officially opened in Placentia. The team donated the dwelling to Homeless Intervention Services of Orange County (HIS-OC) so it could be used to house at-risk youth.

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