First. Further. Forward

Construction has begun on a pilot project to install solar panels above two sections of Central Valley canals. This innovative initiative, which studies significant power and water issues, has already garnered recognition.

Project Nexus, a partnership between the Turlock Irrigation District (TID), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Bay Area development firm Solar AquaGrid, and UC Merced, received the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Award from the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB).

Farmhand Ventures announces the publication of its research paper, "Inclusive Innovation in Agriculture: Redesigning Agtech Ecosystems for All," funded by UC Merced's Valley Institute for Sustainability, Technology and Agriculture (VISTA).

As the climate continues to change, the risks to farming are only going to increase.

That's the key takeaway from a recent paper published by a team that included UC Merced researchers. The paper dives into what those challenges are, how farmers are working to address them and what should come next.

Editor's note:This is part of a series of profilesabout new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Jesus Silva graduated from Central Valley High School in Ceres after being named the school's Central California Conference male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. "I had no idea I was going to win," Silva told the Ceres Courier. "My athletic director (Greg Magni) told me. I think it's pretty cool. It's an incentive to do your best in the class and on the field."

Almost 3 billion people worldwide are projected to suffer from severe water scarcity by 2025. Thousands have already been affected in California alone, where more than 1,200 wells ran dry in 2022.

It's never been more important to find ways to make the best use of this precious resource.

The vision of the School of Engineering at UC Merced is to be a leader in research, education and innovation. Based on U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 edition of Best Graduate Schools rankings released today (June 18), the school is doing just that.

California high-speed rail, a multibillion-dollar project designed to connect the Central Valley to Los Angeles and the Bay Area, promises swift transportation, the protection of agricultural land and contributions to a cleaner environment.

It's also providing a lot of jobs - from design to construction to, eventually, operation.

Much of the work Yue (Jessica) Wang does at UC Merced sounds like science fiction: She creates flexible material that gets stronger the more you hit it. And it conducts electricity.

Science, yes. Fiction, no.

This work is happening. It was featured in a presentation materials scientist Di Wu from the Wang lab delivered this spring at the American Chemical Society meeting in New Orleans.

The speakers who will address graduating UC Merced students at their commencement ceremonies May 10-12 come from a variety of backgrounds and achievements, but all three are vanguards in their fields.

Sometimes public service at UC Merced looks like finding ways to grow crops with a changing water supply. Or delving into how children translate for their non-English-speaking parents.

And sometimes it looks like picking up a paintbrush and refurbishing park benches and curbs at Lake Yosemite.