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UC Awards Support Tackling Big Questions in Health, Physics, Agriculture and Climate

February 5, 2025
Faculty members at UC Merced are taking the lead on four Multicampus Research Program Initiatives (MRPI), working with colleagues around the University of California system to address challenges around labor and agriculture, active matter, Indigenous health and fusion energy. “The MRPI program...

Recognizing Late Professor Emeritus' Contributions

February 5, 2025
On Friday, the campus community will hold a remembrance to celebrate the life and contributions of bioengineering Professor Emeritus Ariel Escobar, who died in December. He joined UC Merced in 2008. His laboratory developed new optical, micro-mechanical and electrophysiological techniques for...

Multinational Research Project Shows How Life on Earth can be Measured from Space

February 3, 2025
Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir demonstrated that Earth's biodiversity can be monitored and...

Projects That Solve Problems Win Awards at I2G

January 31, 2025
Helping diplomats navigate new cultures, removing mircroplastics from stormwater and automating raisin processing: These are some of the projects awarded winning scores at UC Merced's fall Innovate to Grow event. Innovate to Grow, or I2G as it's known on campus, is a twice-a-year showcase for UC...

COVID Lockdown Disrupted Preschoolers’ Social Skills, Trailblazing Research Shows

January 29, 2025
Lockdowns. Social distancing. Shuttered schools and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping disruptions set off a stampede of “what it’s doing to us” research, focused largely on schoolchildren. How were students’ academics affected? Their mental health? Their social development? Left...

Sensor Provides Cheap, Smart Way to Monitor How Much Water Crops Need

January 24, 2025
As water becomes an ever more precious and unpredictable resource, particularly in the Central Valley, finding ways to precisely irrigate crops is a valuable tool in the fight against climate change. Climate shifts have triggered more frequent and more severe droughts that have reduced the amount...

Novel Research Reveals Costs, Rewards for Youth Who Serve as Emotion Interpreters

January 13, 2025
Young people whose parents or caregivers aren’t acclimated to their community’s dominant language and culture play a valuable role in bridging communication gaps, including unspoken misunderstandings triggered by a gesture or facial expression. These interpreters, who range from pre-schoolers to...

Award Supports Research into What Makes Things Stick Under Water

January 8, 2025
Understanding how bacteria and other organisms stick to surfaces in wet environments could help develop better products ranging from medical adhesives to specialized boat paint. UC Merced chemical and materials engineering Professor Roberto Andresen Eguiluz has been awarded $168,700 from the...

Speakers Set for UC Merced Fall Commencement

December 18, 2024
The head of one of the largest municipal housing authorities in the United States and the first undocumented resident to earn at Ph.D. at UC Merced will be keynote speakers at the university’s fall commencement ceremonies. Lourdes M. Castro Ramírez, president and chief executive officer of the...

Josiah Beharry Offers Unique Perspective as 50th Student Regent

December 18, 2024
First-generation doctoral student Josiah Beharry made history in 2023 when he was chosen as the first student regent from UC Merced. In addition to being the 50th student to serve on the Board of Regents that governs the University of California system, Beharry also is the first publicly identified...

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