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Research

From Soil to Climate Solutions: Berhe Leads Sierra Nevada Research Institute into its Next Chapter

September 11, 2025

Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California’s Central Valley. It was a leap of faith — one made easier by the Sierra Nevada Research...
Students show off one of their projects for Innovate the Grow audiences.

Register Ahead for Fall Innovate to Grow; Event Highlights Experiential Learning

More than 40 student teams from the School of Engineering will show off the projects they’ve been designing and assembling for community partners — from data analysis and food processing...
Professor Sarah Kurtz, center, poses with graduate students Aaron Wheeler and Dalia Martinez behind a solar panel.

Kurtz’s Latest Publication Examines Renewable Energy Expansion

Finding creative solutions to lessen humans’ impact on the environment and reduce reliance on fossil fuels is a core tenet of the renewable energy field, something engineering Professor Sarah...
UC Merced student Sofia Andom is seen in a film poster image.

Shakespeare in Yosemite Film "Imogen in the Wild" Addresses Environmental Justice

After a monthslong collaboration between dozens of UC Merced students, professional artists, National Park Service staff and Merced community members, Shakespeare in Yosemite's first feature-...

Honduras Elects First Female President; Study Shows How Protests Affect Change

Hondurans cast their votes in the presidential election over the weekend, and the majority decided to elect opposition candidate Xiomara Castro to lead the Central American country. Nasry Asfura, the...
Professor David Strubbe

Physicist’s Exploration of 2D Materials Earns a CAREER Award

Professor David Strubbe has become the eighth faculty member of the 21-member Department of Physics to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for his research into improving the...
Student Cathryn Flores poses in front of a University of California, Merced sign.

From Shakespeare to Music Awards Shows: UC Merced Undergrad Hits the Right Notes

This time around, what happened in Las Vegas will not stay there — at least for Cathryn Flores. The fourth-year undergraduate, who's working on a major in English and minor in writing,...
A 10 kW array on location at UC Merced. This is one of the two innovative technologies in the Department of Energy's desalination contest.

Winston Cone Optics' Innovative Technology Garners State, National Attention

When people hear the word “solar,” many think of solar panels on a house, which generate electricity. But there is another way to use energy harnessed by the sun: heat. Founding...
Fourth-graders at a Merced elementary school are introduced to agriculture-related sciences by undergrads in the FARMERS program.

USDA Grant Supports Diverse Ag-related Learning and Training for Students

Students at UC Merced and those who might someday become Bobcats are the focus of FARMERS, Professor Rudy M. Ortiz’s training program funded again for $1 million by the U.S. Department of...
Professor John Abatzoglou

Study Shows Climate-Driven Forest Fires on the Rise

An upside of the increase in forest fires in the West is that they reduce the amount of fuel available for other burns. That might provide a buffering effect on western fires for the next few decades...

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