Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC)

Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC) As a non-profit provider of engineering and logistics services, MERC offers a unique combination of

Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC) is the research and applied engineering arm of Mercer University, a private university founded in 1833. For over 175 years, the University has served Georgia as a highly-respected educational institution. In 1984, the School of Engineering was established at the Macon, Georgia campus, with the charter class beginning studies in 1985. Two years later, in 19

87, the Mercer Engineering Research Center was established under the School of Engineering to provide locally available engineering and scientific services with critical specialized skills to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC), while simultaneously providing a workload support-base to Mercer School of Engineering in its development of high-technology skills in the Middle Georgia area. Today, Mercer University is the largest provider of young engineers to Robins AFB. MERC now supports all the military services, large and small business, and other research agencies. Mercer Engineering Research Center is an operating unit of Mercer University devoted to the performance of sponsored engineering research for governmental, industrial, and commercial markets through the use of engineers and scientists, students, faculty, and support persons. A concentrated effort is made to involve Mercer Engineering Research Center in the engineering academic process and vice versa and to pursue joint proposal efforts to enhance the discovery and utilization of knowledge to solve real problems.

Congratulations to 19 employees for their service to MERC, ranging from 5 to 20 years. These employees were honored at a...
04/14/2025

Congratulations to 19 employees for their service to MERC, ranging from 5 to 20 years. These employees were honored at an employee recognition luncheon on April 9.

MERC was proud to participate in and serve as a sponsor of the 49th annual Association of Old Crows Dixie Crow Symposium...
03/26/2025

MERC was proud to participate in and serve as a sponsor of the 49th annual Association of Old Crows Dixie Crow Symposium, held in the Museum of Aviation’s Century of Flight Hangar, Robins AFB. Several MERC employees with expertise in electronic warfare (EW) attended the symposium, including Dr. Steven Britt, Tyler Watson, and Justin McFall (shown here). Dr. Britt demonstrated MERC’s Multi-Asset Gamespace Engagement Simulator (MAGES), which MERC designed as an electronic warfare tool to simulate real-world EW threats. Pictured with Dr. Britt is a group of Pulaski County middle school robotics club members participating in a MAGES demo. Students from several local area middle and high schools were invited by the organizers of the symposium to take part in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities at Century of Flight Hangar.

Three seniors from Northside High School in Houston County are shadowing MERC engineers as part of a Professional Intere...
02/12/2025

Three seniors from Northside High School in Houston County are shadowing MERC engineers as part of a Professional Interest Exploration Program designed to help students determine a possible college major. These students will work with MERC engineers for 12 weeks on projects in electromagnetic warfare and electrical, mechanical, software, and aerospace engineering. Pictured from L to R: Sean Moyers, Garrett Bulharowski, Ryan Snelling--MERC aerospace engineer, and Tomoki Tanaka.

MERC employees, family, and friends enjoy food and fellowship at our annual Christmas party.
12/09/2024

MERC employees, family, and friends enjoy food and fellowship at our annual Christmas party.

MERC was delighted to join the 21st Century Partnership’s 2024 Care Package Initiative by supporting our troops here on ...
10/28/2024

MERC was delighted to join the 21st Century Partnership’s 2024 Care Package Initiative by supporting our troops here on our homeland and throughout the world. In honor of the nearly 24,000 men and women who protect our freedom and to support Robins Air Force Base, MERC employees generously donated over 400 items to fill care packages for our deployed military members.

MERC employees gather for food and fellowship at a potluck lunch and a tailgate party.
09/05/2024

MERC employees gather for food and fellowship at a potluck lunch and a tailgate party.

Marina Van Sickle and Skylar Wadas were selected to present their recent work at the 2024 Aircraft Airworthiness and Sus...
09/03/2024

Marina Van Sickle and Skylar Wadas were selected to present their recent work at the 2024 Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment conference in San Antonio, TX. Marina’s presentation was titled “Armament Digital Twin.” Skyler presented on the topic of “Using Empirical Loads Regression to Support Damage Tolerance Analysis.” Their presentations will be published in the conference proceedings.

Summer engineering interns Brady Blake (UGA) and Aaron Schneider (Mercer) work on damage limit testing in MERC’s tensile...
09/03/2024

Summer engineering interns Brady Blake (UGA) and Aaron Schneider (Mercer) work on damage limit testing in MERC’s tensile test laboratory. From coupon construction to destructive testing, they are involved in the entire process of the investigation.

As part of a major aircraft tooling reverse engineering program, engineering interns Lucas Garza (Georgia Tech) and Niall Walsh (Kennesaw State) support contour mapping and technical data package development in MERC’s Mechanical Product Area.

Summer interns Katie Gibbs (Georgia Tech), Kevin Garza (Georgia Tech), and Steven Carter (Georgia Southern) are working ...
08/05/2024

Summer interns Katie Gibbs (Georgia Tech), Kevin Garza (Georgia Tech), and Steven Carter (Georgia Southern) are working in MERC’s Electronic Warfare and Avionics Product Area supporting the United States Air Force. They are getting hands-on experience with applications such as signal analysis, RF systems, and electronics/avionics design.

David Schmitz, a software engineering intern from Georgia Tech, works with MERC’s software and cybersecurity team developing web-deployed tools for our DoD customers.

MERC was pleased to host a group of local high school students who are participating in the Student Pathways Program (SP...
07/24/2024

MERC was pleased to host a group of local high school students who are participating in the Student Pathways Program (SPP) sponsored by Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR/ALC). These students toured MERC’s facility and several of MERC’s summer engineering interns presented their latest projects and answered questions.

MERC interns are pictured on the left. SPP participants and engineering students interning at WR/ALC are pictured on the right. Samantha Ramey, WR/ALC EN Workforce Development Program Manager, is in the middle.

Mercer University undergraduate and graduate interns are working with MERC engineers to support the United States Navy h...
07/22/2024

Mercer University undergraduate and graduate interns are working with MERC engineers to support the United States Navy helicopter fleet. The interns are using 3-D models, real damage records, and a retired H-60 helicopter to provide Naval Air Systems Command with a digital map of all historical damage. As well as learning hands-on engineering skills, these students are directly helping the Navy ensure the safety and reliability of their helicopters!

Erin Parker and Emily Schmidt take advantage of the Navy-provided H-60 airframe to ensure that historical damage reports are located correctly. The result will be a full helicopter 3-D model seeded with all the damage history.

Looking at a computer model does not give the same frame of reference as spending time inside an actual helicopter cabin. Caleb Cook, Daniel Sellers, and Drew Jackson familiarize themselves with the unique components of a Navy H-60.

Andrew Smelser, Aerospace Engineer, was proud to participate in the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Along with 75 members of ...
07/17/2024

Andrew Smelser, Aerospace Engineer, was proud to participate in the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Along with 75 members of the Liberty Jump Team, Andrew completed three static-line parachute jumps that commemorated the invasion of Normandy: (1) Amfreville, (2) La Fière, and (3) Mont-Saint-Michel. His first two jumps were out of C-47 “Skytrains” both of which fought in WWII; the third was a ramp jump from an HC-130J.

Andrew is a WWII buff and was honored to take part in the D-Day celebrations. He is pictured with two of the colleagues from the Liberty Jump Team and in the drop zone in front of Mont-Saint-Michel.

Address

135 Osigian Boulevard
Warner Robins, GA
31088

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

(478) 953-6800

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC) posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Share