As crops go, agave holds a lot of promise for the northern San Joaquin Valley. The succulents thrive in hot sun, don't require much water and can be grown in the region's sandy soils. And though agave, mainly grown in Mexico, is best known as the source of tequila and mezcal, it has other uses that range from nutritional supplements to fabrics.
It's no secret that artificial intelligence uses a lot of electricity.
A standard ChatGPT query consumes approximately 0.34 watt-hours - roughly 10 times more than a Google search. According to the Pew Research Center, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024 - more than 4% of the country's total electricity consumption - roughly equivalent to the annual electricity demand of the entire nation of Pakistan.
State Sen. Anna Caballero recently honored UC Merced bioengineering Professor Sushma Shrinivasan among the “Women Who Inspire” in 2026 for District 14.
According to the senator’s office, Shrinivasan was honored for her continued contributions to education and for serving as an inspiration to girls aspiring to careers in STEM.
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.
A company UC Merced has invested in to help build out its campus in turn is investing in the university's students. The foundation run by Turner Construction this week gave a $5,000 donation to the university's American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter.
Clint Williams, business manager for Turner's Central Valley office, said the company likes to "stay committed to the communities where we are building, particularly when we are building on a campus."
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 research panel, project demonstrations and career advice are all part of activities set for Engineers Week at UC Merced Feb. 23-27. And it all kicks off with the university's first networking expo aimed at the engineering industry.
High-risk conditions for fires are increasingly happening across countries at the same time, making wildfires even more challenging to tackle, new research reveals.
Scientists from UC Merced and the University of East Anglia found this synchronized extreme fire weather — characterized by exceptionally warm, dry and often windy conditions — has increased strongly worldwide since 1979, becoming more widespread throughout regions, not just in single locations.
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.
