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Lorena Anderson

Ƶ campus photo of sign

Senior Writer and Public Information Representative

Office: (209) 228-4406

Mobile: (209) 201-6255

landerson4@ucmerced.edu

AI is for the Birds in a New Computer Science Project

Bird species usually are counted twice a year by wildlife surveyors: once during the breeding season and again during the .

New technology, however, is increasing the accuracy of bird population studies. A team of Ƶ researchers is developing a model to recognize bird calls.

Ƶ Brings NSF ‘Computer Science for All’ Program to Merced Schools

The technology world is punctuated by startups, and Ƶ is “starting up” its own program to invigorate computer science education in the San Joaquin Valley.

The National Science Foundation awarded a $300,000, two-year grant to support START UP SJV, which stands for “STEM Teachers Alliance for Regional Tech thinking through Underrepresented Professional development in the San Joaquin Valley.”

ACTIVATE Bringing Telehealth Services to Vulnerable Merced County Residents

Researchers at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at the University of California have launched a new public-private pilot initiative to bring telehealth services to underserved rural residents in Merced County.

Public Conference Presents COVID-19 From Different Angles

Everyone will have opportunities to learn about collaborative research at the intersections of COVID-19 and topics related to the environment, health and equity through a series of online conference sessions this fall.

Past Wildfires Offer Future Roadmap for Forest Management’s Effects on Water

Forest restoration is often associated with mitigating wildfire risk and improving ecosystem health throughout the Sierra Nevada. But restoration also dramatically affects water use within forests and the amount of runoff that flows downstream.

Professor Tracey Osborne Taking on Complex, Grand Challenges in Climate and Social Justice

The world is a complex place, and humanity faces major challenges. Climate change mitigation might be the most difficult, in large part because of the interdependency of living things and their ecosystems.

How do people transform economic systems so they are also sustainable for people and the planet?

“If we don’t consider how everything connects from a systems perspective, we’re not going to solve grand challenges such as climate change,” Professor Tracey Osborne said. “Not even close.”

Alum Develops Device to Measure and Manipulate Invisible Force

As scientists build smaller and smaller machines, they need to understand the invisible forces that make those machines work.

Thanks to research and the initiative of then-Ƶ graduate student Jake Pate, some of those forces can now be measured and manipulated.

Global Fire Outlook Not Good News, but Mitigation is Possible, Analysis Shows

Wildfire is a natural process necessary to many ecosystems. But wildfires are getting worse and more damaging, and it is our fault, according to new research.

A , published in a new Nature journal called Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, indicates the global economic and environmental damage caused by wildfire will only increase because of human-caused climate change.

However, we are also able to save ourselves, the researchers said.

New Grant More than Doubles Campus Supercomputing Power

Ƶ is rapidly gaining a strong reputation for research and scientific computing across many disciplines and a major expansion of its computing infrastructure is about to cement the campus’ status as a research computing hub.

UC Drone Center Takes on Training and Safety with State Transportation Agency

There is a growing acceptance and adoption of drones — unmanned aircraft systems — by local and state agencies across the U.S.

Advocates say there’s good reason: Drones can be a powerful tool in environmental monitoring, agriculture and even construction. But as with any new technology, there is going to be a learning curve to make drones effective, including policies and training.