School of Engineering

UC Merced Breakthrough Could Transform How California Monitors Toxic Algae

July 10, 2025

Photo depicts Brittany Barreto Martinez pouring liquid into a test tube in a lab.

San Luis Reservoir in Merced County - one of California's largest artificial lakes - not only irrigates Central Valley farmland and supplies drinking water across Silicon Valley and the South Bay, but also draws swimmers, boaters and anglers year-round. Yet for months at a time, forest-green...

Stands of brown, dead trees throughout Sierra Nevada forests

Multiyear Drought Caused Massive Forest Die-off in Sierra Nevada

The most extreme drought event in hundreds of years caused a catastrophic die-off of the Sierra Nevada’s mature trees in 2015-2016. A study published today in Nature Geoscience details how...

Research Field Study Brings New Sharing Apps to UC Merced Employees

The practice of sharing our possessions is something that most of us learned in childhood. Now, UC Merced Professor Anita Bhappu is expanding that idea to the workplace through a research study...

Participating in research activities through UROC enriches their undergraduate experience and prepares them for graduate study and beyond.

Undergrad Research Fuels Opportunities for Grad School, Careers

The opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scientific research as an undergraduate is one of the most exciting aspects of a UC Merced education. One of the best preparation opportunities for...

Students take part in the Design Expo at Innovate to Grow

Showcasing Success, Innovate to Grow Highlights Student Ingenuity

Wastewater methane reclamation for the City of Merced. Odor abatement in BART Plazas. Solar collection for oxygen generation on Mars. UC Merced campus drone tour. Skin test analyzer for Valley Fever...

Researchers stand near a large solar collection panel.

UC Solar Projects Bringing Lower Costs, Renewable Energy to Industry, Commerce and Homes

Three big UC Solar projects are poised to be the next big breakthroughs in low-cost, accessible sustainable commercial and residential energy in California and far beyond. Researchers are building...

Jason Castillo ('09), now a dermatologist and surgeon in Southern California, gives the alumni speech to the schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the spring 2019 commencement.

Older and Wiser: 2009 Graduates Reflect on Instrumental UC Merced Education

A decade has passed since Sam Fong (’09) crossed the stage to get his diploma and walked through Beginnings for the first time as part of UC Merced’s inaugural graduating class, and a lot...

Largest Graduating Class in Campus History Celebrated At Commencement

Clouds loomed over the Carol Tomlinson-Keasey Quad last weekend, but nothing was going to rain on the parade of the more than 1,300 Bobcats who walked the stage at UC Merced’s commencement....

UC Merced Receives Collaborative Grant to Improve Equity in STEM Education

At UC Merced, research and education are inextricably intertwined – in the lab and in the classroom. Professors continually refine and advance their teaching methods and curriculum to convey...

Engineering Seniors Gain Career Experience Through Capstone Projects

The undergraduate engineering curriculum at UC Merced offers students professional experience by participating in the senior capstone project, the Innovation Design Clinic (IDC). The IDC culminates...