Patty Guerra

Boosting AI and Science: NSF Invests $600K in OpenDOTA Project at UC Merced

August 12, 2025

Photo depicts Professor Xiaoyi Lu on a blue and gold graphc background.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $600,000 to support a groundbreaking project at UC Merced aimed at accelerating the future of artificial intelligence and scientific research. Professor Xiaoyi Lu from the electrical engineering and computer science group in the School of...

Photo depicts the reservoir at the UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm.

Idea for Powering UC Merced Smart Farm a Winner in Solar Energy Contest

A UC Merced team competing in a U.S. Department of Energy contest won its division with a proposal to use floating solar panels to power the campus's Experimental Smart Farm. The Solar...

Stock image depicts an electronic flight board with multiple delays at an unnamed airport.

Disruptions in the Digital Supply Chain Can Have Major Physical Impacts

Last July, a glitch in a software upgrade by a cybersecurity company impacted 8.5 million computers, resulting in the cancellation of 2,800 flights and delays for 11,000 more. In an increasingly...

Instructor Kristen Hogue works with a class of high school students in New York City.

UC Merced Brings Climate Justice Course to Title I High School Students Across the Nation

Recently, more than 150 students at 10 high schools in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. completed Climate Justice, a UC Merced course , through a unique partnership between the...

A student holds a copy of the Merced Sun-Star, with a large headline proclaiming "It's Ours!"

'It's Ours!' Merced Selected for UC's Newest Campus 30 Years Ago

On May 18, 1995, the University of California Board of Regents voted to select Merced as the site for its ninth undergraduate campus. To get to that point, Merced had to beat out what started as a...

Photo depicts a firefighter and flames from the 2020 Apple fire in California.

How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Fuel Record-Breaking Wildfires in 2020? New Study Explains

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...

Flames, the beach and the ocean are depicted in a scene from the January 2025 Palisades fire.

Researchers Look Ahead to Fire Season 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...

Students listen to a presentation during a previous Merced To Market event at UC Merced.

Bringing Ideas to Market the Topic of Event at UC Merced

Developing a great idea is an accomplishment in itself. But taking it to the next step — into potential commercialization and market opportunities — has the potential to both...

Image from the Palisades fire in Los Angeles depicts flames and trees.

Experts to Provide Outlook of Upcoming Fire Season

What will California's fire season look like in 2025? A panel of UC Merced experts, joined by the founder of a public safety information nonprofit organization, will conduct an in-depth...

A mugshot of Pengfei Su is depicted on a blue and gold striped background.

Machine Learning Research Earns CAREER award

Electrical engineering and computer science Professor Pengfei Su has received a CAREER award for his research on cross-layer performance tuning to enhance deep learning model efficiency. He...