Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Shark Teeth Provide Clues About Ancient Global Change
January 25, 2021
A character in a very famous movie about a great white shark once said all sharks do is “swim and eat and make little sharks.” It turns out they do much more than that. Sharks have roamed Earth’s oceans for more than 400 million years,... Read More
Paleoecology Professor's Research and Teaching Earns Recognition
January 21, 2021
Professor Sora Kim has been named one of this year’s Emerging Scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. Only 15 researchers, out of hundreds of nominees, have been selected. Each scholar is selected based on their research... Read More
Prestigious Biennial Grant Program Includes Funding for Ag-labor and Wildfire Research
January 14, 2021
Two new projects designed and led by UC Merced researchers will address challenges facing many Californians — wildfire recovery and agricultural labor — but will also have global reach. Both are funded through the University of California’... Read More
Chemical Biology Lab Creating DNA-based Nanomachines that can Self Assemble
December 21, 2020
Professor Tao Ye and colleagues have received a $1.18 million grant from the Department of Energy to study how DNA molecules can arrange themselves into nanostructures that could form the basis of nanoelectronic circuits. All living things... Read More
Campus Reaches Carbon Neutrality Ahead of Schedule
December 3, 2020
After a lengthy and rigorous review by independent auditors, UC Merced can proudly announce it is the first public research university in the country to achieve carbon neutrality, two years ahead of its goal. “UC Merced has been on the... Read More
Berhe Honored with Prestigious AGU Medal and Fellowship
November 11, 2020
Soil biogeochemistry Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe has been recognized by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as one of this year’s recipients of the Joanne Simpson Medal for Mid-Career Scientists. Two or three medals are given each... Read More
New Precision Ag Project Would Help Farmers Measure Plant Moisture
November 2, 2020
One of the biggest challenges in managing crops, especially in large fields, is knowing how much water each section of a field needs. Determining that accurately is a cumbersome process that requires people to hand-pluck individual leaves... Read More
With Fire Threatening, National Parks Turn to UC Merced for Help Preserving History
October 15, 2020
Ward Eldredge warily monitored the fire’s progress. As curator of the archives of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, he deliberated what would need to be done if the nearby Castle Fire continued its approach toward the parks’... Read More
Restoring State's Forests to Reduce Fire Risks Will Take Time, Money and Broad Commitment
October 13, 2020
School of Engineering professors Roger Bales and Martha Conklin have written a new article for The Conversation discussing the changes that need to be undertaken in land-management practices in California's mountain forests: "As California... Read More
New Project Focuses on Life in Soil in the Earth’s Critical Zone
October 6, 2020
Since 2007, UC Merced researchers have been extremely productive in the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), delving into investigations of hydrology, climate change, geology, biology and more. But the National Science... Read More