School of Engineering

Forest Carbon: Store it or Burn it? Actually, Both is Best

September 25, 2025

Photo depicts smoke over a wildfire burning through a forest.

Storing carbon in forests is an essential, nature-based buffer against climate change. Yet forests packed with too many trees increase the threat of severe wildfires, which are becoming all too common in warmer, drier conditions. A team of UC Merced and collaborating researchers evaluated the...

UC Merced has been ranked in the top 100 national universities by U.S. News & World Report

Campus Named Among Top 100 National Universities by U.S. News Three Years Running

UC Merced continues to build a national reputation for its academic distinction and research excellence. For three consecutive years, UC Merced has been ranked in the top 100 national universities...

Members of the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition pose for a photo on Sept. 2, 2022.

F3 Coalition Awarded $65 Million in Build Back Better Funds

The White House announced today (Sept. 2) a $65.1 million award — the largest federal grant ever awarded to the Central Valley — to the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (...

Hrant P. Hratchian now leads UC Merced's Graduate Division.

Hratchian Takes the Helm as Graduate Dean, Shares Vision for Division

July was a transition month for UC Merced’s Graduate Division as interim Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Chris Kello passed the baton to Professor Hrant P. Hratchian — an Armenian name...

Campus Names New Dean for the School of Engineering

After a nationwide search, Rakesh Goel was selected as UC Merced’s next dean of the School of Engineering. Goel is a seasoned academic leader who currently serves as executive associate dean...

A photo shows the Tahoe National Forest.

Study Shows How Restoring California's Overstocked Forests Yields Multiple and Diverse Benefits

Mechanical thinning of overstocked forests, prescribed burning and managed wildfire now being carried out to enhance fire protection of California's forests provide many benefits, or ecosystem...

Professor Ashlie Martini has been awarded the Monya Lane and Robert Bryant Presidential Chair in Excellence in Engineering.

Martini Named to Excellence in Engineering Chair

Mechanical engineering Professor Ashlie Martini has been awarded the Monya Lane and Robert Bryant Presidential Chair in Excellence in Engineering. She is one of two women to be appointed to endowed...

UC Merced Professor Sarah Kurtz is seen in a photo.

Kurtz Appointed to Endowed Chair; Establishing New Electrical Engineering Major

Engineering Professor Sarah Kurtz has been awarded the Reno Ferrero Family Chair in Electrical Engineering, making her the second woman to hold an endowed chair in the School of Engineering....

Modest’s Work in Radiative Heat Transfer Earns Prestigious Award

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Michael Modest has earned the 2021 Max Jakob Memorial Award, given by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Chemical...

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development at the Fore of Chuang’s International Research

Green energy solutions are critical to meet current and future power demands, and while solar and wind power are great, they are also site-specific and intermittent. That’s why researchers...