Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Fuel Record-Breaking Wildfires in 2020? New Study Explains
May 5, 2025
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many facets of life, including health care, schools and the work environment. A new study by UC Merced researchers shows evidence that the pandemic also fueled an elevated number of wildfires in the... Read More
Researchers Look Ahead to Fire Season 2025
April 22, 2025
Pictures accompanying Professor John Abatzoglou's presentation on the 2025 fire season were blurry. That was intentional, he said, because so much about wildfire is unpredictable. "There's a lot that we know, and a lot we don't know," he... Read More
Graduate Student Earns Fellowship to Study Fusion at Livermore Lab
April 16, 2025
UC Merced physics graduate student Sameen Yunus has been awarded a prestigious fellowship allowing her to spend the next three years working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, conducting experiments and simulations that could lead... Read More
Three Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 100 by U.S. News
April 8, 2025
UC Merced’s School of Engineering and its programs continue to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as demonstrated in the release today of its 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings. The R1 school advanced three spots in the latest... Read More
Research Team Focuses on the Next Generations of Scientists
March 4, 2025
The Biology Integration Institute (BII): The Institute for Symbiotic Interactions, Training and Education in the Face of a Changing Climate, or INSITE, stands out because it is supported by $12.5 million from the National Science... Read More
Researchers Developing New Tools in Fight Against Methane Emissions
February 20, 2025
UC Merced researchers are taking part in a comprehensive, multi-agency effort aimed at efficiently measuring and mitigating methane emissions. IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory are leading the effort, which earned a $20 million award... Read More
Founding Faculty Roland Winston Remembered for Pioneering Solar Energy
February 18, 2025
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Roland Winston, a pioneer in solar energy, engineering and physics, died Feb. 8 at the age of 88 at his home in Merced. A founding faculty member in the schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering at UC... Read More
UC Merced Achieves R1: Highest Tier of Research Classification
February 13, 2025
UC Merced has assumed its place in the top echelon of research institutions in the nation by earning R1 status from Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The announcement was made Thursday morning by the American... Read More
UC Awards Support Tackling Big Questions in Health, Physics, Agriculture and Climate
February 5, 2025
Faculty members at UC Merced are taking the lead on four Multicampus Research Program Initiatives (MRPI), working with colleagues around the University of California system to address challenges around labor and agriculture, active matter... Read More
Multinational Research Project Shows How Life on Earth can be Measured from Space
February 3, 2025
Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir ... Read More