Civil and Environmental Engineering

Innovative Solutions Turn Rural Energy Challenges Into Opportunities

January 21, 2026

Photo depicts an attendee speaking into a microphone to ask a question at the Rural Energy Summit at UC Merced.

One of the biggest hurdles facing local farmers is the rising cost of doing business. However, some innovative solutions are in the works, as highlighted at the Central Valley Rural Energy Systems Workshop at UC Merced in early December. Hosted by the UC Merced Energy Center and the...

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...

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...

Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara is heading up a new study of drought's effects on agricultural communities.

Researchers to Study, Report on Impacts of Drought on Agriculture and Communities

Just because there has been rain lately doesn’t mean California is drought-free. A new $1.5 million research grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture is supporting School...

Professor’s COVID-tracking Earns Her a Spot in New Center of Excellence

School of Engineering Professor Colleen Naughton has been selected to be part of a Center of Excellence, along with colleagues at UC Davis, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant. Ceres...

UC Merced received a generous donation to establish an endowed scholarship from OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies, a global leader in intelligent robotic systems based in Pleasanton.

OMRON Endowed Scholarship to Help Engineering Students in the Robotics Field

Many UC Merced students are first-generation college students, meaning they are the first in their families to pursue college degrees and the types of careers having a degree affords. UC Merced...

From left, professors Tom Harmon, David Strubbe, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Michael Scheibner, Sayantani Ghosh and Mehmet Baykara

NSF Grant to Help Grad Students Find Solutions to Environmental Challenges

Graduate students and a convergence of physics, engineering and environmental science could result in not only the next generation of solutions to pressing environmental challenges, but a new group...

NSF-CREST Center members, including faculty, staff and students, as well as center contributors and affiliates.

NSF Awards CCBM Center $5 Million to Continue STEM Research

UC Merced’s NSF-CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) has been awarded an additional $5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue its mission. In total...

Professor Stephen Hart, left, Professor Martha Conklin, right, and researcher Jian Lin, seated.

Researchers Investigate Land Management Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Sequestration

A group of UC Merced researchers are working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to find out how much greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced just through land-management strategies....

Professor Colleen Naughton is taking students to Morocco to study argan oil production.

Research Program Offers Students a Moroccan Summer Field Experience

Students will soon be able to apply for a unique opportunity to go to Morocco — when travel is safe again — to study the environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the production of argan...