Environmental Engineering

Students, Alums Awarded Prestigious NSF Graduate Fellowship

April 12, 2024

Four current or incoming UC Merced graduate students and an undergraduate alumnus were recently offered fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). UC Merced’s 2024 NSF GRFP recipients are: Anthony Alfaro, who graduated with...

Kimber Moreland with the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) instrument. Photo courtesy of Lawrence Livermore National Lab: LLNL-PHOTO-769483.

Three Environmental Systems Graduate Students Receive Department of Energy Fellowships

Under the leadership of Professors Asmeret Berhe and Stephen Hart, three UC Merced Environmental Systems (ES) graduate students have been awarded fellowships from the U.S. Department of Energy (...

Waterbirds take flight over a large wetland area along the Pacific Flyway.

Climate Change is Negatively Affecting Waterbirds in the American West

Climate change is having a profound effect on the millions of migrating birds that rely on annual stops along the Pacific Flyway as they head from Alaska to Patagonia each year. They are finding...

Graduate programs in engineering are included in the newest U.S. News rankings of Best Graduate Schools.

Engineering Grad Programs Ranked Among Best in the Nation

UC Merced’s graduate programs in engineering had a strong showing in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released today. Overall, UC Merced’s...

Leaf-cutter ants in the tropical rain forest of Costa Rica carry cut leaves back to their colony.

Study: Tiny ‘Ecosystem Engineers’ Are an Overlooked Source of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

It’s estimated that a leaf-cutter ant colony can strip an average tree of its foliage in a day, and that more than 17 percent of leaf production by plants surrounding a colony goes straight...

Scientists Simulate Forest, Fire Dynamics to Understand Area Burn of Future Wildfires

Climate change and wildfire make a combustible mix with deadly and costly consequences. Scientists have been trying to understand that link for many years, studying the effects of climate and...

New Project to Build Climate Resilience through Improved Land Management

A $4.6 million grant to UCs Merced and Irvine will help researchers develop new tools and methods for better managing the state’s forests, shrub lands and grasslands. The Innovation Center...

Researchers Assess Western Forests’ Ability to Survive Next Drought

UC Merced researchers have evidence that California’s forests are especially vulnerable to multi-year droughts because their health depends on water stored several feet below ground. “...

Innovative Partnership Aims to Restore Sierra Nevada Forest Health

The French Meadows Forest Restoration Project, an innovative collaboration approved this week, aligns the expertise of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced, the U.S. Forest Service, the...

Environmental Engineers Devising Plan to Save Humanity

The Earth is changing, and humans face major challenges if they hope to adapt, survive and preserve any semblance of the world as it is now. Humans will need to create sustainable food, water and...