Patty Guerra

Multinational Effort to Map South Africa’s Biodiversity from the Air Earns NASA Award

October 15, 2025

BioSCape, a multinational research project co-led by UC Merced, the University at Buffalo and the University of Cape Town, which monitored Earth’s biodiversity from the air, has received a Group Achievement Award as part of the 2024-25 NASA Honor Awards. A new documentary also showcases...

Kara McCloskey and students in her lab are shown.

Students Spend Summer Learning about Stem Cells

A diverse group of students participated in a stem cell training pilot program at UC Merced this summer. It was the second summer for the Training Undergrads in Stem Cell Engineering and Biology (...

Researcher's Work Aimed at Helping People Live Better Lives

"I like research on the Internet of Things because it solves problems in people's lives," said Shijia Pan , a professor of computer science and engineering at UC Merced and a...

Photo depicts UC Merced environmental engineering Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara.

Climate Change is Transforming California Agriculture — But There are Ways to Adapt

California's agriculture faces challenges from a highly variable climate with temperatures that will increase over the next several decades. Droughts are worsening and the Sierra snowpack,...

Two goats eating tall grasses are depicted.

Goats Visit UC Merced to Reduce Fire Fuels, Abate Weeds — and Look Super Cute

Cattle are a fairly regular sight around the UC Merced campus. They graze along the 6,500-acre Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve and the 40-acre Experimental Smart Farm, and an annual student...

Photo depicts concrete supports lining a canal in Keyes, California.

Solar Canal Project Earns Environmental Award as Construction Begins

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...

UC Merced student Josh Ren is pictured in an economics class.

Students Find Inspiration, Success at UC Merced

Coming out of high school in San Jose, Josh Ren found himself with limited options for college. He wasn't sold on UC Merced at first, but eventually jumped at the opportunity to attend a...

An orchard is depicted with a blue sky and clouds.

Paper Highlights How Climate Change Challenges, Transforms Agriculture

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...

A graphic depicts a book, a light bulb, a computer and a mug of Jesus Silva.

Bobcat Looks to Leave His Mark at 'Freshly Made' UC Merced

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...

NSF-Funded Project Promotes Reuse of 'Greywater' in Households Integrating AI Toward Equity

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...