Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Sierra Seedlings Illustrate Effects of Climate Change on Next Generation of Forests
June 24, 2019
Climate change is bad news for forests, and a new study by UC Merced Professor Emily Moran demonstrates one aspect of that news. Higher summer temperatures hurt tree seedlings’ growth and survival. But whether that is entirely bad... Read More
Science-Themed Living Learning Communities Enjoy Successful Debut
June 18, 2019
It started with a simple off-hand comment, one that would likely be met with a chuckle at any other institution. At UC Merced, it became a ripple that has changed the academic and social strata of an entire school. School of Natural... Read More
Field Station Planned for UC Merced's Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve
June 13, 2019
At the northern tip of the UC Merced campus, an unremarkable aluminum gate leads into a field that extends, seemingly, into infinity. Perpendicular to the gate, the LeGrand Canal, drawn from Lake Yosemite, snakes around campus into the... Read More
County Fair Provides Glimpse of University’s Mobile Maker Space
June 5, 2019
The county fair offers food and fun, and thanks to UC Merced, this year’s Merced County Fair will also feature an interactive space for kids to learn. UC Merced’s Mobile Maker Space is an innovative mobile science, technology, engineering... Read More
UC Solar Projects Bringing Lower Costs, Renewable Energy to Industry, Commerce and Homes
May 28, 2019
Three big UC Solar projects are poised to be the next big breakthroughs in low-cost, accessible sustainable commercial and residential energy in California and far beyond. Researchers are building working models of one project developed... Read More
Lengthy Study Shows Value of Soil Health and Forest Restoration after Damaging Events
May 23, 2019
A nine-year experiment by a UC Merced Department of Life and Environmental Sciences professor and his colleagues is illuminating the importance of soil carbon in maintaining healthy and functioning ecosystems because of its influence on... Read More
One Key to Climate Change Could Be Stuck in a Shark’s Tooth
May 2, 2019
Most people wouldn’t think sharks can teach researchers about the planet’s distant past and its more immediate future. UC Merced paleoecologist Professor Sora Kim isn’t most people. There’s a connection between data in fossilized shark... Read More
UC Merced Leads Way in National Park Leadership through NPI Seminar
May 2, 2019
Conservation and leadership of the country’s national parks and natural resources is ingrained in the UC Merced’s DNA. To reinforce the concentrated efforts surrounding sustainability of the nation’s gems, the university recently hosted... Read More
Grad Student Represents Valley at Global Food Security Symposium
April 24, 2019
Graduate student Vicky Espinoza shared the plight of some San Joaquin Valley families with a wide audience this spring in her role as a Next Generation delegate to this year’s Chicago Council on Global Affairs Global Food Security... Read More
UC Merced Researchers Help Uncover Soil Biodiversity
April 23, 2019
A rigorous, first-of-its-kind global study provides new insights into the natural history of soil biodiversity and shows that changes in soil pH during soil development is a major driver of most of that biodiversity. Published recently in... Read More