Energy

When she began her journey at UC Merced, Sheena Truong had the future planned out. She’d graduate, go to dental school and become an orthodontist. But Merced had more to offer — and in a roundabout way, it became her destination.

The UC Merced campus is getting greener and earning gold as it does — gold ratings, that is.

Last fall, the

An increased gift from longtime campus partner Wells Fargo is allowing more engineering students at the University of California, Merced, to focus on solutions to problems related to water, energy and food.

Wells Fargo awarded its Clean Technology and Innovation Grant to the UC Merced School of Engineering’s senior Innovation Design Clinic (IDC). The $125,000 gift — $25,000 more than last year — supports IDC’s efforts to develop, design and create engineering solutions addressing the critical water, energy, food (WEF) nexus.

The federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recognized this year’s team of UC Merced engineering students for its design of a device that cools high-powered electronics aboard military aircraft.

In the yearlong Field-Reversible Thermal Conductor (RevCon) Challenge, hosted by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the team of juniors and seniors took second place overall and won first-place honors for having the most comprehensive analysis.

More than 70 people learned about the research and education opportunities offered by UC Merced’s new Merced nAnomaterials Center of Energy and Sensing (

Almost $2 million in grants will go a long way toward helping Professor Christine Isborn and colleagues at other universities learn more about the molecular processes involved in capturing solar energy, energy storag

The University of California aims to lead the way to a sustainable future in the face of global warming, and UC Merced professors have contributed to a report that offers practical steps to help get there.

The University of California, Merced, just became part of a massive, five-year, multi-million-dollar international research consortium that tackles water-related aspects of energy production and use.