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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...
Professor Erin Hestir (Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced)

Professor Hestir Turns NASA Technology Toward Earth’s Biodiversity

Half a world away from California’s Central Valley is a place with similar climate but an unparalleled diversity of plants, marine animals and ecosystems. From deserts to shrubland to montane...
Professor John Abatzoglou coauthored a piece in The Conversation on the risk of high mountain areas subject to burning.

Western Fires Are Burning Higher in the Mountains at Unprecedented Rates, Professor Finds

The Western U.S. appears headed for another dangerous fire season, and a new study shows that even high mountain areas once considered too wet to burn are at increasing risk as the climate warms...
I2G will be virtual for the third time, meaning students and community partners can engage from the comfort of their own homes.

Engineering Ag Tech Solutions Just One Element of Annual Innovate to Grow Expo

You can’t avoid seeing grazing cattle in California’s Central Valley, where UC Merced has its own pastured cows on campus. Now imagine if those cows were kept secluded without the use of...
Professor Colleen Naughton (center) poses with first-year doctoral student Ana Grace Alvarado (left) and fourth-year undergraduate student Fernando Adali Roman, Jr (right). Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced

Naughton Lab Creates Dashboard to Track Global Wastewater Testing for Covid-19

After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, scientists across the globe realized they could track the virus by testing sewage water. School of Engineering Professor Colleen Naughton pioneered a dashboard to...

Energize UC Merced 2021 Offers Students, Community Inspiration on Renewable Energy

The campus community and its partners can learn more about the importance of renewable energy at this year’s Energize Merced conference, an annual event hosted by UC Merced’s Solar Energy...
The U.S. News & World Report Rankings included the debut of two UC Merced graduate programs, Political Science was ranked No. 63 and history discipline of the Interdisciplinary Humanities program was ranked No.127.

U.S. News & World Report Rankings Showcase Growing Engineering Program, Debuts Interdisciplinary Humanities and Political Science

For the first time, UC Merced’s Political Science and Interdisciplinary Humanities (history discipline) graduate groups made national rankings. US News & World Report’s annual...
Engineering Professor Marie-Odile Fortier stands among the solar array that helps power the campus.

CAREER Award will Support Enhanced Renewable Energy Assessments

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Marie-Odile Fortier’s plan to make more accurate assessments of renewable energy systems’ carbon footprints has made her the fifth UC Merced...
Covering California's canals in solar panels could save 63 billion gallons of water annually, which is comparable to the amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland.

Solar Panels Over Canals Can Save Money, Energy and Water, Study Shows

Covering the 4,000 miles of California’s water canals could save billions of gallons of water and generate renewable power for the state every year, according to a new study. The study...
An aerial view of Camanche Reservoir.

Mercury Control and Mitigation Research Earns Professor and Student Honors

Professor Marc Beutel and his graduate student Mark Seelos have been recognized for papers and a presentation on toxic mercury mitigation by the North American Lake Management Society. Beutel, an...

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