Dr. Mérida was born in Guatemala in 1970. He began his higher education in Italy at the United World College of the Adriatic. In 1989 he moved to Canada to pursue a BSc. degree in Physics & Chemistry at Trent University. He then completed MASc. and a PhD. Programs in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria. His graduate research focused on alternative fuels, fuel cell design, and hydrogen infrastructures.
From 1996 to 1999 Dr. Mérida worked at the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems. He became the Project Coordinator for a collaboration between NSERC, Ballard Power Systems, British Gas Investments Canada, and two universities.
Dr. Mérida joined the faculty at UBC in July 2002. He is an Associate Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering, a member of the Clean Energy Research Centre, and a collaborating scientist at the NRC's Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation.