Environmental Engineering

Idea for Powering UC Merced Smart Farm a Winner in Solar Energy Contest

June 20, 2025

Photo depicts the reservoir at the UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm.

A UC Merced team competing in a U.S. Department of Energy contest won its division with a proposal to use floating solar panels to power the campus's Experimental Smart Farm. The Solar District Cup is a collegiate competition that challenges teams to design and model distributed energy...

Wildfire Increasing in the West Because of Climate Change, Research Shows

The number, size and duration of large mountain forest fires in the Western United States has increased dramatically in the past 40 years, according to research from UC Merced Professor LeRoy...

Campus Getting Greener with New Research Growing Spaces

Everyone knows UC Merced is growing, but pretty soon, the campus will be growing lots of plant specimens for research, too. The School of Natural Sciences is buying a pair of greenhouses that will be...

Gasification Projects Could Benefit the Environment, Economy

Two overlapping research projects involving UC Merced professors could have big implications for the region’s economy and effects on renewable energy, water and wildfires. Professor Gerardo Diaz,...

Most Americans Could Eat Locally, Research Shows

MERCED, Calif. — New farmland-mapping research published today shows that up to 90 percent of Americans could be fed entirely by food grown or raised within 100 miles of their homes. Professor...

Floodplain Management Can Increase Groundwater Supply

California’s groundwater is being rapidly depleted because cities and farms extract more than is replenished naturally, compacting local aquifers and decreasing supply in some places in the Central ...

Professor Contributes to Research on Oil Spills

Researching oceanic oil spills can be difficult when you work at a landlocked university like UC Merced. But thanks to a large consortium of researchers from around the country, that’s exactly what...

Sierra Nevada Research Institute Names New Executive Director

Armando Quintero has been chosen as the new executive director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) at the University of California, Merced. Quintero has served as director of development...

Professors Share in UC Effort to Study Effects of Climate Change

Several UC Merced faculty members will play important roles in a new UC systemwide effort to study the ecological effects of climate change across varied ecosystems. Funded by a $1.9 million...

Solar, Water Research Proposals Rewarded with Competitive UC Grants

MERCED, Calif. — Research into sustainable water supplies and viable solar energy solutions won the University of California, Merced, an anticipated $5 million in prestigious and competitive grants...