Patty Guerra

As water becomes an ever more precious and unpredictable resource, particularly in the Central Valley, finding ways to precisely irrigate crops is a valuable tool in the fight against climate change.

Climate shifts have triggered more frequent and more severe droughts that have reduced the amount of water available for farming in key agricultural regions. Current methods to check the water needs of crops are costly and inefficient, making it difficult to use precision irrigation techniques that can save water while maintaining or improving crop yield.

Mushrooms are pretty amazing. They are light and porous yet have a high strength-to-weight ratio. They are absorbent. They can serve as filters.

Manufacturing a material that mimics mushrooms and other fungal structures could provide opportunities in any number of areas, ranging from aerospace engineering to clothing production.

A new program aimed at training people to be community health workers has already gotten an important boost: a grant to cover scholarships for some attendees.

The first four faculty members named to UC Merced's Agricultural Experiment Station look to make a big impact on farming in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.

Between 70% and 80% of students who start classes at community colleges plan to transfer to four-year universities. But only between 20% and 30% do.

In California, that number is closer to the lower end of that spectrum, a University of Wisconsin researcher told a room full of higher education representatives.

When it comes to jobs in engineering, the possibilities are growing exponentially. And UC Merced is meeting the challenge by growing its engineering majors to produce the skilled workforce needed for the current and future job markets.

Engineers solve problems and create devices, systems, processes and structures to solve problems and improve society. UC Merced prides itself on providing comprehensive, hands-on instruction in the classroom, ensuring that students gain the knowledge and skills they need.

If it seems anxiety around elections is at an all-time high, then political groups have done their jobs.

"It's very conscious, it's very calculated," said UC Merced political science Professor Anil Menon, displaying a pile of negative campaign mailers during a panel discussion on campus Wednesday.

Fast-growing fires were responsible for nearly 90% of fire-related damages despite being relatively rare in the United States between 2001-2020, according to a new study.

"Fast fires," which thrust embers into the air ahead of rapidly advancing flames, can ignite homes before emergency responders can intervene. The study, published recently in Science, shows these fires are getting faster in the Western U.S., increasing the risk for millions of people.

A major study publishing Friday in Science reveals that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal forests.

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?