Energy

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

September 11, 2025

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...

Student Teams Win Cash Prizes at Innovate to Grow

The winners of this year’s Innovate to Grow competition have been announced. The event includes three components: The Mobile App Challenge, the Capstone competition for senior Innovation and Design...

Innovate to Grow Promises Exciting Developments

Innovate to Grow, the annual showcase of UC Merced student creativity, features some amazing teamwork this year, from medical and agricultural devices to mobile applications for saving energy and ...

Campus Celebrates Earth Day in a Big Way

With a carnival, movie and other events, this year’s Earth Day festivities are shaping up to be bigger, more fun and more educational than ever. UC Merced’s annual celebration of the 45-year-old day...

Three Students Chosen to Further Carbon Neutrality Efforts

Three UC Merced undergraduates are the recipients of a new fellowship under University of California President Janet Napolitano’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative. Through the President’s Sustainability...

Campus Adds Two More LEED Certifications

UC Merced’s sustainable practices have earned the campus its 15th Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for new construction and its first LEED certification for building...

‘Smart’ Plugs Could Help Campus Reduce Carbon Footprint

When you plug in an appliance, chances are you don’t think of the plug as being particularly intelligent. But WattTime, a startup nonprofit developed through the Center for Information Technology...

$100,000 Wells Fargo Gift Supports Engineering Capstone Program

Longtime campus contributor Wells Fargo is giving a $100,000 grant to help students at the University of California, Merced, design technologies that address some of the Central Valley’s water,...

Solar Power Purchase Positions Campus for Total Renewable Energy Use

The University of California, Merced, will get 75 percent of its power from renewable sources by the end of 2016, and is on its way to being 100 percent renewably powered by then. The University of...

UC Solar Working to Meet State’s Renewable Energy Goals

MERCED, Calif. — The solar energy industry is emerging as a key player in the multi-pronged approach California will take in leading the nation in renewable energy, experts say. And the University of...