Patty Guerra

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 already garnered recognition.

Project Nexus, a partnership between the Turlock Irrigation District (TID), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Bay Area development firm Solar AquaGrid, and UC Merced, received the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Award from the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB).

Editor's note:This is part of a series of profilesabout new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Jesus Silva graduated from Central Valley High School in Ceres after being named the school's Central California Conference male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. "I had no idea I was going to win," Silva told the Ceres Courier. "My athletic director (Greg Magni) told me. I think it's pretty cool. It's an incentive to do your best in the class and on the field."

Almost 3 billion people worldwide are projected to suffer from severe water scarcity by 2025. Thousands have already been affected in California alone, where more than 1,200 wells ran dry in 2022.

It's never been more important to find ways to make the best use of this precious resource.

When the city of Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District wanted specifics about the impacts of truck traffic on the health of some of the city's most vulnerable residents, officials turned to UC Merced's Community Labor Center (CLC) and public health Professor Sandie Ha.

National Parks are magnificent landscapes where the public can go for sightseeing and recreation. They also are research labs - gorgeous, awe-inspiring and wild research labs, to be sure. And the science conducted there can help ensure that the parks' natural beauty will be available for generations of people to come and enjoy, and also support local and national issues calling for sustainable management.

Researchers at UC Merced examined the relationship between science and the parks and how both can serve each other better.

California high-speed rail, a multibillion-dollar project designed to connect the Central Valley to Los Angeles and the Bay Area, promises swift transportation, the protection of agricultural land and contributions to a cleaner environment.

It's also providing a lot of jobs - from design to construction to, eventually, operation.

University of California and campus leaders broke ground Tuesday evening on a building to be constructed of steel, glass and Earth-friendly electronics.

But the Medical Education Building at UC Merced is also fashioned from decades of dreams and dedication of those determined to improve health access in the Central Valley.

Much of the work Yue (Jessica) Wang does at UC Merced sounds like science fiction: She creates flexible material that gets stronger the more you hit it. And it conducts electricity.

Science, yes. Fiction, no.

This work is happening. It was featured in a presentation materials scientist Di Wu from the Wang lab delivered this spring at the American Chemical Society meeting in New Orleans.

The speakers who will address graduating UC Merced students at their commencement ceremonies May 10-12 come from a variety of backgrounds and achievements, but all three are vanguards in their fields.

Sometimes public service at UC Merced looks like finding ways to grow crops with a changing water supply. Or delving into how children translate for their non-English-speaking parents.

And sometimes it looks like picking up a paintbrush and refurbishing park benches and curbs at Lake Yosemite.