Raúl Bayoán Cal doesn’t talk about science in abstracts. He talks about people. “My career is built on [students],” he said in a recent interview. “If they don’t exist, I don’t exist.” That simple statement offers insight into his work as a professor of mechanical engineering in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University. It also explains why he has been selected to receive the 2025 Presidential Career Research Award. Maseeh College Dean Joseph Bull notes that his "high impact research program addresses a wide range of societal problems and creates new knowledge in collaboration with community and students. His research and its synergy with education activities align closely with PSU’s mission to let knowledge serve and our focus on inclusive excellence."
Cal’s research centers on fluid mechanics, but its applications range widely—from renewable energy, wind and solar, to fluid management in space applications, agrivoltaics, biomimicry, atmospheric processes, science education and more. What makes his work distinctive is not only the technical ambition but the collaborative structure that supports it: a lab built on trust, experimentation, and rigorous inclusion.
“They get to go and hang out—scientifically.”
Cal’s students don’t just observe research. They do it. They travel internationally, conduct experiments in wind tunnels and drop towers, and build projects that intersect with energy, climate, outer space and education. “So, the people in the group, they get to go and spend time abroad,” he explained. “They get to experience different science, interact with different people. And not only scientifically… they also get to be in a different culture, different language, different problem-solving.”
A recent example: three students from Cal’s lab spent three months in Germany working on wind farm to wind farm interactions, exploring how one installation affects the performance of another. He described the project this way: “It becomes really important to know what are those effects, how do you quantify them, what should be a little bit the rules. It is the wind that is a commodity and harnessing it allows for more installations - if you cannot do that, then you’re toast.”
These are not hypothetical case studies. They are real-time experiments, designed and executed by students deeply embedded in the questions that drive Cal’s work. Graduate student Zein Sadek comments that Cal’s lab environment is conducive to both relationship building and engineering investigation: it “feels like a group of friends where we are able to both have fun and conduct stellar science. The work we do is novel and always interesting; from exploring new wind energy technologies, bio-inspired geometries and their aerodynamics, to fluid behavior under microgravity. The connections, sense of community, and hard and soft skills I have learned during my time working with him are going to carry through the rest of my life.”
Engineering With, Not For
One of Cal’s research tracks focuses on agrivoltaics—the co-location of solar panels and agricultural production. But rather than propose a one-size-fits-all solution, his group works directly with communities. “They are the ones really who are driving the work,” he said, referencing his current collaborations with both an Indigenous community in the U.S. and a rural community outside Oaxaca, Mexico.
“They get to dictate what is important to them; they have decades and decades of experience/knowledge,” he said. “So we get to co-research these things. Every place is different. Every community is different.” This is not a rhetorical position. It’s a structural commitment built into how his lab operates. Sung Yi, Maseeh College's Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department Chair, notes that Cal "has nurtured and created a research ecosystem in the department that also motivates those around him to pursue similar efforts. [He is] very generous in his approaches, often mentoring younger faculty on how to pursue funding, how to form groups and recruit, how to engage with potential collaborators."
Cal’s reach extends into science education through partnerships with local schools and museums. His collaboration with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) includes designing public facing demos and participating in training to improve science communication. “They teach you how to better communicate to a general audience… to design and strip out all of the complexities and really hone in at the idea and the most important points,” he said. “Not just vomit information, but rather understand at what level and how is it that they process information. Provide information by asking questions.”
His Montessori school partnership follows the same logic: shared inquiry, not presentation. “We’re doing science with them. We don’t know what’s going to happen... we only know what we know at that moment.” Cal doesn’t separate technical research from ethics. “As soon as you remove the human components, one can start asking these kinds of questions,” he said. “In many of the things, or more and more in the things that we do, we try to incorporate [people].” That approach includes refusing to pre-stage outcomes for the sake of neatness. “We didn’t have a pre-cooked experiment… we’re doing the science together, collaborating,” he said of his work with 7-9 year old students. He applies the same principle to his university lab: no manufactured data, no massaged conclusions, no shortcuts.
PSU and a Research Culture That Builds People
Asked what he he enjoys about his tenure at at Portland State, Cal offered a clear answer: “The students are incredible. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.” Graduate mechanical engineering student Sarah E. Smith notes that research with “Cal” is energizing and impactful. He brings creativity to problem-solving, finds unique gaps in science, and recognizes the broader potential of science and people.” But he also points to the environment—both institutional and physical—that makes his work possible. “I rarely get a no,” he said. “And if I do, it’s usually followed by, ‘Let’s find a way.’ That’s rare.” He credits the support of department leadership and college administration, as well as the university’s unique facilities. “Our toys are crazy,” he said, referring to PSU’s Drop Tower and Wind Tunnel. “We’re doing experiments here that most places couldn’t even attempt.”
Cal’s lab is notable not just for its research output, but for the culture he’s built. He emphasizes trust, clear communication, a commitment to care and having fun. “We’re doing it together,” he said. “Let’s dive and improve that. Let’s work on it. Having the patience and having the courage… that’s how we grow.” He’s also intentional about curating a space where students feel safe enough to take risks. “I'm really careful to build… a space that allows for these kinds of dynamics,” he said. “Anything that disrupts that, I react.” Students concur, attesting that his “enthusiasm, tireless drive, and depth of knowledge are well known, but one of his most distinctive, and often overlooked, strengths is his ability to assemble students who are not only open-minded, intelligent, and collaborative, but also consistently develop close, lasting friendship" (Ondrej Fercak). The result is a lab that produces not just papers and prototypes, but people who are ready to lead future research—on their own terms.
Award and Recognition
The Presidential Career Research Award recognizes sustained, original contributions to PSU’s research mission. In Cal’s case, it also affirms a body of work that combines technical innovation with social accountability, educational access, and long-term community partnerships. His research is international in scope, interdisciplinary in method, and fundamentally inclusive in structure. Whether he’s unpacking turbulence, fluids in microgravity, or the ethics of energy access, his work remains grounded in a simple principle: the science is only as solid as the relationships that make it possible.