Environment

AI-Powered Irrigation System Offers Opportunities for Communications as well as Farming

September 24, 2025

An almond orchard in Parlier provides a look into the future of farming. Researchers at UC Merced and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources installed an irrigation system powered by artificial intelligence to deliver the precise amount of water needed and measure the...

The students are in New South Wales as part of a research collaborative.

Chemistry Students in Australia for Summer Research Experience

Chemistry Professor Aurora Pribram-Jones is looking for undergrads to help her get the lead out — out of drinking-water pipes. She and a colleague at Harvey Mudd College (HMC) in Claremont...

Photo of bio manufacturing research courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory © The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

UC Merced-Led Project Wins $1 Million NSF Engines Development Award

The Circular Bioeconomy Innovation Collaborative (CBIO Collaborative) has been awarded $1 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines program for "...

The team was EvapoInspiration won the recent Water Hack Challenge. It included five UC Merced students: Yulin Lin, Luis Fujarte, Carolyn Cui, Joshua Tapia, and Ryan Milstrey

Teams Compete in 48-Hour Water Hack Challenge

Teams of students from throughout California converged on UC Merced the weekend of April 21-23 to spend 48 hours tackling issues surrounding a precious resource: water. The Water Hack Challenge,...

Graduate student Di An uses drones to assess soil carbon.

UC Merced Invests in the Next Generation of Ag-Tech Leadership

The new UC Merced Farms Food Future innovation initiative is investing in 10 graduate researchers to solve climate and community challenges. Their work is the start of a concerted focus in climate-...

UC Merced Professor Tom Harmon introduces a panel discussion of the university's Experimental Smart Farm at a symposium on the Future of Agriculture.

What's The Future of Agriculture? It's Everyone Working Together, Summit Speakers Say

While UC Merced's Experimental Smart Farm is focused on technology and automation, it's also about machine-human collaboration. That was among the messages UC Merced's...

Erin Hestir, a professor in environmental engineering, is attending a global water conference.

UC Merced Researcher Taking Part in United Nations Water Conference

A UC Merced researcher has a prominent role at a worldwide conference on water taking place at the United Nations this week. Erin Hestir, a professor in environmental engineering and associate...

The future of agriculture will be discussed at a summit March 30.

What's the Future of Agriculture? Summit Looks Ahead

UC Merced researchers will discuss the campus's Experimental Smart Farm, as well as pressing agricultural issues, at a one-day summit later this month at California State University, Fresno....

A team of researchers published a paper on the varying needs for storing renewable energy.

Research Paper Explores how the Type of Renewable Energy Affects the Needs for Energy Storage

As more renewable energy projects take hold in California, there is more need for effective ways to store that energy. A paper published by a UC Merced research team examines how the need for...

Student Researchers Working with National Lab on Mercury Remediation

At UC Merced, mercury is a regional challenge that student and faculty researchers have been tackling for several years. Mercury was used to extract gold during the Gold Rush in California, and the...

Research