Environment

September 15, 2026

Members of the Earth Institute posed next to a branded sign
UC Merced is deepening its investment in the fight against climate change, uniting scientific expertise across campus to help confront the effects of a changing planet.  Leading that effort is the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI), UC Merced's first Organized...
UC Merced researchers extract sewage samples from university system
Key points: Researchers successfully tested a technique that uses human sewage to measure the use of nicotine products such as cigarettes and vaping pens in a selected community....
Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe and 'Groundswell' co-Director Joshua Tickell
A leading expert in soil biogeochemistry and environmental engineering, UC Merced Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, brings her research and perspective to a global conversation about the future of our...
Depicted is the UC Merced campus in the foreground, with smoke from a distant wildfire seen behind it on a blue sky.
Key points: • Researchers found that heat waves are a critical enabler and driver of wildfire-burned areas across the western U.S. • The findings suggest that heat waves...
A group of African elephants
Key Points: Elephants function as a keystone species, producing large amounts of nutrient-rich dung that sustain diverse dung beetle populations and support wider ecosystem health...
Headshots of five UC Merced professors who won early career award
Five UC Merced faculty members are among the first awardees of a UC-wide honor given for exemplary research in budding academic careers. The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards,...
Leah Stokes, a political scientist, energy expert and climate communicator from UC Santa Barbara, speaks from the stage at UC Merced.
It's time to think bigger about mitigating climate change. Measures such as recycling, turning off lights and reducing energy use are great, but making a real impact is going to take systemic...
Depicted is a poster describing solar-over-canal Project Nexus in front of the actual structure.
What started as a premise in a UC Merced lab culminated with a commemoration of Project Nexus, California's first solar canal project. On Wednesday, state leaders gathered at the Project Nexus...
Depicted is César Armando Puente Garza of Tecnológico de Monterrey, speaking at a podium at UC Merced on Main.
As crops go, agave holds a lot of promise for the northern San Joaquin Valley. The succulents thrive in hot sun, don't require much water and can be grown in the region's sandy soils. And...
The sign reads University of California, Merced
Professors Asmeret Asefaw Berhe and Ming-Hsuan Yang have been named 2025 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and...

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