Patty Guerra

Temperatures in the 90s are nothing new to the northern San Joaquin Valley. But having them in March, as expected this week, is unusual and potentially dangerous.

An exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure will bring record-breaking heat to the entire region, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley are likely to reach 90 degrees by Tuesday and 95 by Friday. That's 20 to 25 degrees above normal.

Breyenne Pierce wasn't sure UC Merced was for her.

The Turlock High graduate had followed her passion for water polo to Sierra College in Rocklin. As she was concluding her community college experience, she started looking for a four-year university to complete her degree.

"Honestly, I didn't want to go back home," she said. "I enjoyed being at Sierra. Even though it was two hours away, it was far enough to really spread my wings."

Two UC Merced computer science and engineering professors will delve deep into artificial intelligence in projects with Amazon.

As technology advances and new problems present themselves, electrical engineers who can meet the needs of the modern world are in high demand, and adapting to electrical engineering education has become increasingly important. UC Merced's electrical engineering program, one of the university's newest, focuses on equipping students with the skills to solve complex engineering problems.

A semi-automated washing system for bins at a tomato-processing facility and a mobile app for hikers earned big wins at the Fall 2025 I2G, or Innovate to Grow, event at UC Merced.

I2G is a unique "experiential learning" program that engages external partner organizations with teams of students who design systems to solve real-world engineering and computer science problems.

The team "Let's Get Saucy" won the F3 Innovate Engineering Award for its project with Kagome, a Los Banos-based tomato processing and food manufacturing company.

High school students have an extraordinary opportunity to explore software development through a summer internship program at UC Merced.

Computer science and engineering Professor Ahmed Arif started the High School Internship program in the Inclusive Interaction Lab in 2018 to give young minds early exposure to research.

One of the biggest hurdles facing local farmers is the rising cost of doing business.

However, some innovative solutions are in the works, as highlighted at the Central Valley Rural Energy Systems Workshop at UC Merced in early December.

Kevin Arrieta got into robotics to avoid getting into trouble.

Arrieta said he joined the robotics club at Dominguez High School in Compton high school after Gloria Esiobu, the teacher who ran it, gave him an ultimatum.

"I had gotten in with the wrong crowd," he said. "I had a physics teacher who told me, 'Join my robotics club or I'm calling your mom.'"

In the club, Arrieta found he loved working with sensors and doing programming, and he was good at it.

"You have an engineering mind and you don't even know it," his teacher said.

The Small Farm Tech Expo brought researchers, farmers, university students and even a group from a Modesto elementary school to UC Merced to talk about agriculture technology and how it can best help those who grow the world's food.

Sponsored by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, also known as CAFF, for the fifth year, the expo featured equipment demonstrations, educational sessions on hardware and software, panel discussions, and support organizations to highlight what's available for small farmers.

An expo at UC Merced next week will bring together farmers, ranchers, researchers and community organizers to highlight what's possible when agriculture technology is designed for small farms.

The Small Farm Tech Expo, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, will include hands-on demonstrations and panel discussions about the latest in ag tech innovations. There is no admission charge. Parking will be available in the Bellevue lot.