CITRIS and the Banatao Institute have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Yuba Water Agency and the city of Wheatland in Yuba County to pursue mutually beneficial research.
Areas of interest include reducing catastrophic wildfire risk, optimizing energy and natural resource management, and collaborating on critical infrastructure resilience.
“CITRIS has been developing sustainable energy technologies for decades and we’re excited to explore how our work can address local and regional challenges here in Yuba County and, in turn, how local needs can shape our research,” said CITRIS Director Costas Spanos.
The first efforts in the partnership will work toward installing special sensors in local levees and roads to help mitigate flood risks and improve future evacuation routes. Future development may include the construction of a research center in Wheatland.