Water

Future of Water in California - Bleak or Promising? A Discussion

October 12, 2023

Mark Arax and Ellen Hank discuss water at UC Merced.

Water is the most valuable resource in the world. And it's a particularly important commodity in the Central Valley, historically a desert but also home to some of the richest agricultural soil on Earth. The UC Merced Library and Secure Water Future co-hosted an event to discuss water policy...

A machine developed in Professor Reza Ehsani's lab improves almond harvests by reducing the amount of dust stirred up as the nuts are gathered from the ground.

New AI Institute Expands UC Merced’s Smart, Sustainable Agriculture Effort

With a new $20 million federal grant, UC Merced becomes part of a multi-institutional research collaborative to develop artificial intelligence — or AI — solutions to tackle some of...

Two engineering professors and a graduate student received a grant from NASA to study how wildfires alter changes in carbon and sediment along California’s coastline.

Engineering Professor Awarded NASA Grant to Study Impacts of Wildfires on California’s Coastline

California is known for its beautiful coastline, where the Pacific Ocean meets sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. While many scientists have studied the land or the ocean independently, less is known...

Rotary District Scholar to Conduct Sanitation Research in Haiti

With COVID-19 protections lifting, many people are eager to travel again. Among them is graduate student Elena Bischak, who is planning multiple trips to Haiti in the coming months to study improving...

Report Examines Methods to Monitor PFAS in Environment to Protect Public Health

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals that for decades have been used in a variety of products, including food packaging materials, nonstick cookware,...

Professor Colleen Naughton (center) poses with first-year doctoral student Ana Grace Alvarado (left) and fourth-year undergraduate student Fernando Adali Roman, Jr (right). Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced

Naughton Lab Creates Dashboard to Track Global Wastewater Testing for Covid-19

After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, scientists across the globe realized they could track the virus by testing sewage water. School of Engineering Professor Colleen Naughton pioneered a dashboard to...

Ryan Bart is a disturbance echohydrologist. Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced

Studies Find Sierra Fuel Treatments Benefit Trees and Streamflow, Though Not Together

Predicting the effects of forest fuel treatments is difficult and uncertain — it is unclear whether the treatments are more helpful to forest health or streamflow. According to new research by...

Covering California's canals in solar panels could save 63 billion gallons of water annually, which is comparable to the amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland.

Solar Panels Over Canals Can Save Money, Energy and Water, Study Shows

Covering the 4,000 miles of California’s water canals could save billions of gallons of water and generate renewable power for the state every year, according to a new study. The study...

Selina Brinkmann, who will graduate in May with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, is UC Merced’s first student to earn a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

Mechanical Engineering Student Named the Campus’s First Rhodes Scholar

UC Merced master’s student Selina Brinkmann has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for study at Oxford University — a first for the campus. “A Rhodes Scholarship being awarded to...

Mercury Control and Mitigation Research Earns Professor and Student Honors

Professor Marc Beutel and his graduate student Mark Seelos have been recognized for papers and a presentation on toxic mercury mitigation by the North American Lake Management Society. Beutel, an...