Solar

From Soil to Climate Solutions: Berhe Leads Sierra Nevada Research Institute into its Next Chapter

September 11, 2025

When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California’s Central Valley. It was a leap of faith — one made easier by the Sierra Nevada Research...

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

UC Merced's Smart Farm Abuzz with Activity

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...

Professor Winston with his research team and a solar collector.

Founding Faculty Roland Winston Remembered for Pioneering Solar Energy

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Roland Winston, a pioneer in solar energy, engineering and physics, died Feb. 8 at the age of 88 at his home in Merced. A founding faculty member in the schools of...

Five males standing in a conference room

UC Merced, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority Sign Partnership that Opens Exciting Opportunities

A new five-year pilot study to place solar panels on the water in the Delta-Mendota Canal is just the beginning of a formal working relationship between UC Merced and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota...

Lab members Zabir Mahmud and Farzan ZareAfifi are pictured on either side of electrical engineering Professor Sarah Kurtz.

As California Develops More Clean Energy, Researchers Delve Into How to Store it

As California lawmakers consider a package of bills aimed at increasing the production of clean energy, a major question arises: How would we store all this new power? Storage is a vital...

Photo depicts concrete supports lining a canal in Keyes, California.

Solar Canal Project Earns Environmental Award as Construction Begins

Construction has begun on a pilot project to install solar panels above two sections of Central Valley canals. This innovative initiative, which studies significant power and water issues, has...

Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses upcoming federal and state solar projects with other officials.

New Canal Project Expands on UC Merced Solar Research

Federal and state government officials journeyed to the western corner of Merced County on Thursday to announce a new project to place solar panels on the water in the Delta-Mendota Canal. The...

Public Radio Highlights Natural Reserves, New Program for Undergraduates

The latest installment of North State Public Radio’s Blue Dot podcast focuses on the UC Natural Reserve System and the national parks and features a segment about the UC Merced ¿field...

The annual Shakespeare in Yosemite production is just one avenue for environmental humanities students to get involved.

New Major Trains Students to Tell the Planet’s Urgent Stories

Compelling storytelling is vital to ensuring the action needed to secure a habitable planet for future generations, according to an increasing amount of research. UC Merced is recruiting students...

A rendering depicts what solar panels over canals will look like in Project Nexus.

UC Merced Researchers Describe Solar Over Canals Pilot Project

In an opinion piece published in today's Los Angeles Times, UC Merced researchers Brandi McKuin and Professor Roger Bales describe the work that led to the upcoming Project Nexus, a pilot...