Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Graduate Students Make a Case for Research at Capitol
March 20, 2019
Two UC Merced Ph.D. students took to the State Capitol yesterday with representatives from the other UC campuses to advocate for the importance of the research being done across California. Craig Ennis and Vicky Espinoza were accompanied... Read More
Climate Change is Negatively Affecting Waterbirds in the American West
March 15, 2019
Climate change is having a profound effect on the millions of migrating birds that rely on annual stops along the Pacific Flyway as they head from Alaska to Patagonia each year. They are finding less food, saltier water and fewer places to... Read More
Three Environmental Systems Graduate Students Receive Department of Energy Fellowships
March 15, 2019
Under the leadership of Professors Asmeret Berhe and Stephen Hart, three UC Merced Environmental Systems (ES) graduate students have been awarded fellowships from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance their doctoral theses. The... Read More
Three Environmental Systems Graduate Students Receive Department of Energy Fellowships
March 15, 2019
Under the leadership of Professors Asmeret Berhe and Stephen Hart, three UC Merced Environmental Systems (ES) graduate students have been awarded fellowships from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance their doctoral theses. The... Read More
Engineering Grad Programs Ranked Among Best in the Nation
March 12, 2019
UC Merced’s graduate programs in engineering had a strong showing in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released today. Overall, UC Merced’s School of Engineering is ranked No. 134 in the nation, after... Read More
Food Waste Prevention Program Saves Thousands of Pounds of Food in Merced County
March 12, 2019
With nearly a third of all food worldwide being wasted and millions of people going hungry every day, preventing food from going to waste is a crucial operation. The Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program may have a long... Read More
Study: Tiny ‘Ecosystem Engineers’ Are an Overlooked Source of Carbon Dioxide Emissions
March 4, 2019
It’s estimated that a leaf-cutter ant colony can strip an average tree of its foliage in a day, and that more than 17 percent of leaf production by plants surrounding a colony goes straight into their giant, fungus-growing nests. It’s no... Read More
Scientists Simulate Forest, Fire Dynamics to Understand Area Burn of Future Wildfires
February 26, 2019
Climate change and wildfire make a combustible mix with deadly and costly consequences. Scientists have been trying to understand that link for many years, studying the effects of climate and wildfire interactions in the Sierra Nevada. UC... Read More
New Project to Build Climate Resilience through Improved Land Management
February 7, 2019
A $4.6 million grant to UCs Merced and Irvine will help researchers develop new tools and methods for better managing the state’s forests, shrub lands and grasslands. The Innovation Center for Advancing Ecosystem Climate Solutions, a three... Read More
Researchers Assess Western Forests’ Ability to Survive Next Drought
December 13, 2018
UC Merced researchers have evidence that California’s forests are especially vulnerable to multi-year droughts because their health depends on water stored several feet below ground. “Each year our forests, grasslands and shrublands depend... Read More