Environmental Research

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$100,000 Wells Fargo Gift Supports Engineering Capstone Program

Longtime campus contributor Wells Fargo is giving a $100,000 grant to help students at the University of California, Merced, design technologies that address some of the Central Valley’s water, energy and food needs.

Wells Fargo’s Clean Technology and Innovation grant is part of a focused effort to support technology advancements for a clean energy future.

Solar, Water Research Proposals Rewarded with Competitive UC Grants

MERCED, Calif. — Research into sustainable water supplies and viable solar energy solutions won the University of California, Merced, an anticipated $5 million in prestigious and competitive grants from the University of California.

Campus Earns Fourth Platinum LEED Certification

The Student Services Building is the latest to hear the top environmental certification for UC Merced.The University of California, Merced, received another Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certification, this time for the Student Services Building.

Researchers Delve into Valley Fever from All Angles

Note: This story originally appeared in the Fall 2014 issue of UC Merced Magazine.

Before it infects humans who breathe it in, the fungus that causes valley fever changes shapes in the environment. Once infected, some people fight it off while others die.

Professor’s Soil Research Digs Up Many More Questions

When people get near California’s giant sequoias, they usually look up.
 
But Professor Steve Hart looks down, and what he finds beneath the trees has intrigued him.
 

UC Solar Working to Meet State’s Renewable Energy Goals

MERCED, Calif. — The solar energy industry is emerging as a key player in the multi-pronged approach California will take in leading the nation in renewable energy, experts say.

And the University of California’s research is leading the way.

The University of California, Merced, home of The University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar), is sponsoring a seminar exploring the solar industry present and future, and the many creative initiatives being developed by the University of California.

Students Battle for Sustainability Supremacy

UC Merced’s 2,100 resident students are gearing up for a month-long battle in which no one will get hurt. They might have greasy hair, though.
 

Solar Power Purchase Positions Campus for Total Renewable Energy Use

The University of California, Merced, will get 75 percent of its power from renewable sources by the end of 2016, and is on its way to being 100 percent renewably powered by then.
 

Pine Needle Bacteria Earn Professor Second NSF Grant of the Year

Professor Carolin Frank will collect $1.6 million over the next four years to continue researching the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in pine needles and to work with the Sierra Foothill Charter School, which she helped found.

California Overspends Water Rights by 300 Million Acre Feet

California is deficit-spending its water and has been for a century, according to state data analyzed recently by researchers from the University of California.

UC Merced Professor Joshua Viers and postdoctoral researcher Ted Grantham, with UC Davis at the time, explored the state’s database of water-rights allocations, and found that allocations in California exceed the state's actual water supply by five times the average annual runoff and 100 times the actual surface-water supply for some river basins.