Graduate student Pete Kirchner is studying mountain hydrology thanks to the gift from Southern California Edison.

Dozens of students at the University of California, Merced, will be able to research new ways of increasing energy efficiency and protecting our environmental resources thanks to a $250,000 gift to the campus from Southern California Edison (SCE).

Between two installments of $125,000, one in 2010 and one in 2011, the gift will benefit a total of 46 undergraduate and four graduate students in UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) and Solar Power Forecasting Initiative. In addition, two UC Merced students will receive internships with SCE.

"Our campus is establishing itself as a leader in renewable energy and sustainability research," Chancellor Steve Kang said. "This generous gift from Southern California Edison will help us continue to train the next generation of global leaders in these very important fields."

Les Starck, SCE's vice president of local public affairs, said the gift is an investment in future technologies that will ultimately improve energy efficiency and water resource management on a global scale.

"UC Merced is already making great strides in areas of study that are critical to our future as an energy provider and our ability as a society to deal with the extreme challenges we face," Starck said. "The work being conducted by these future engineers and scientists means so much to Californians and to the world of energy and water."

Ashley Graham is one of 46 undergraduates who received Southern California Edison scholarships.

To be eligible for the graduate fellowships, students must have an interest in the fields of hydrology modeling or energy research. For undergraduate scholarships, students must have a financial need and be majoring in environmental engineering, earth systems sciences, biology or mechanical engineering. The gift is already making a difference in students' lives.

Peter Kirchner is one graduate student who has benefited from the SCE gift. He's currently working with mountain hydrologist and SNRI Director Roger Bales, studying the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of mountain ecosystems and developing new ways to quantify and predict California's water resources.

Ashley Graham, a senior majoring in molecular and cell biology with a minor in professional writing, moved from Florida to San Diego with her family and arrived at UC Merced by way of Modesto Junior College. The SCE scholarship she received last year allowed her to continue working in the Garcia-Ojeda Immunology Laboratory, where she assists with studies on stem cells and T-lymphocyte development.

"Scholarships have helped motivate and sustain my commitment to education, as they allow me to work fewer hours outside of the classroom," Graham said. "This means I have been able to focus more on studying and spending time in the lab, both of which are important to my professional development and future success."

UC Merced opened Sept. 5, 2005, as the 10th campus in the University of California system and the first American research university of the 21st century. The campus significantly expands access to the UC system for students throughout the state, with a special mission to increase college-going rates among students in the San Joaquin Valley. It also serves as a major base of advanced research and as a stimulus to economic growth and diversification throughout the region. Situated near Yosemite National Park, the university is expected to grow rapidly, topping out at about 25,000 students within 30 years.