Brenda Ortiz

A new five-year pilot study to place solar panels on the water in the Delta-Mendota Canal is just the beginning of a formal working relationship between UC Merced and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority.

The two entities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, agreeing to work together using science-based and data-driven decision-making on efforts to mitigate climate impacts. The partnership also aims to develop a skilled workforce in the water industry, a crucial industry to improve the socioeconomic outcomes of the people of the San Joaquin Valley.

A new five-year pilot study to place solar panels on the water in the Delta-Mendota Canal is just the beginning of a formal working relationship between UC Merced and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority.

The two entities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, agreeing to work together using science-based and data-driven decision-making on efforts to mitigate climate impacts. The partnership also aims to develop a skilled workforce in the water industry, a crucial industry to improve the socioeconomic outcomes of the people of the San Joaquin Valley.

“Raise your hands if you want to know a secret,” acclaimed author and cartoonist Jorge Cham instructed a crowd of young children. Hundreds of tiny arms shot up in unison toward the cafeteria ceiling.

“Butterflies drink with a straw,” he said. Bustling with excitement, the students expressed their astonishment with “oohs” and “wows.”

Three UC Merced graduate students and two undergraduate alumni were recently offered fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

“I am delighted that our students continue to be recognized by the National Science Foundation as some of the nation’s most promising scientists and engineers,” Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Hrant Hratchian said. “Our GRFP awardees and those named as honorable mentions have demonstrated the potential for meaningful achievements in their fields.”

Three UC Merced graduate students and two undergraduate alumni were recently offered fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

UC Merced’s 2024 NSF GRFP recipients are:

• Anthony Alfaro, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UC Merced in 2022, is a second-year Ph.D. student at UC San Diego in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Environmental Systems Ph.D. candidate Marie Buhl has been invited to join the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate (CACC).

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) has named environmental systems Ph.D. student Kate DeMarsh a recipient of the 2023 Next Generation Fellowship.

Four UC Merced graduate students can focus fully on their research and academic studies this year thanks to a generous gift from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation.

ARCS, a national organization established and operated entirely by women, is committed to the advancement of science in the United States by financially supporting distinguished graduate students in science, technology, engineering and medical research disciplines at its partner institutions.

UC Merced’s Graduate Division hosted its third National Labs Day on April 21. The goal of the day-long event is to connect graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with researchers from across the nation, including campus alumni.

Associate Graduate Dean and physics Professor Sayantani Ghosh said the Graduate Division was delighted to revive the event after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

UC Merced students Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Diane-Marie Brache-Smith, Sierra Lema and Sarif Morningstar, and alumni Diana Cruz Garcia and Anna Maria Calderon were awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support inclusive of an annual stipend of $37,000, as well as access to opportunities for professional development.