Environmental Research

UC Merced's Smart Farm Abuzz with Activity

June 25, 2025

Photo depicts UC Merced student Jesse Martinez operating a robot on the Experimental Smart Farm.

At UC Merced's biggest lab, students work from before sunrise to well after dusk. They are operating the university's Experimental Smart Farm, 40 acres of dirt and plants, research and experiments. They study everything from pollinators to hydroponics, but there are more than just...

UC Merced Wraps Another Record Year

Between record enrollment and research expenditures, a massive economic impact on the San Joaquin Valley, new buildings and a visit from the new UC president, the University of California, Merced,...

Federally Funded Research to Provide Clarity in State Water Supply

Research in the Sierra Nevada central to addressing challenges to California’s water security and its link to the health of Sierra Nevada ecosystems will continue into 2018. The National Science...

UC Merced Hopes to Use Rooftops to Generate Electricity

UC Merced is doubling down on its solar commitment. The campus is looking at installing rooftop solar systems on up to 11 main campus buildings and the chancellor’s residence, moving the campus...

Graduate Student Finds Work in Sierra Rewarding

Graduate student Ryan Lucas is living a mountain-lover’s dream through his research. As part of engineering Professor Martha Conklin’s meadows-hydrology lab, he gets to spend a lot of time in the...

UC Merced's First Ph.D. Grad Now Leading the Class

UC Merced’s first Ph.D. graduate is back on campus. But this time, Ricardo Cisneros isn’t enrolled as a student; he’s a professor instead. Cisneros, who earned his doctorate in Environmental Systems...

UC Solar Extends UC Merced’s Reach Across the Pacific

Professor Roland Winston’s work has helped take UC Merced and UC Solar global – this time it’s to Singapore. The small city-nation is experiencing a building boom, and developers have plans to use...

Well-known Technology Sees New Use in Solar Collection

Adapting technology that has become the standard in the automotive, aerospace and air-conditioning industries, Professor Gerardo Diaz has designed and is testing the next generation of solar-...

UC Merced Alumnus’s Rim Fire Map Generates Lots of Attention

As the Rim Fire continues to burn in and around Yosemite National Park, a former UC Merced student’s work related to the fire burned up the Internet this week. Paul Doherty, the first Yosemite park...

Summer Scholars Learn by Doing

UC Merced has made a name for itself by giving undergraduates the opportunity to engage in research early in their academic careers. Nothing showcases that commitment better than the campus’s...