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Statewide Coalition Forming to Bring COVID Awareness to At-Risk Communities

October 20, 2020
A new coalition of universities and community partners across the state — including UC Merced —aims to address the COVID-19 pandemic in communities that are disproportionally affected. A $4.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19...

Hard Shells and Electrosensory Gels: Lab Makes Surprising Discovery

October 19, 2020
Molecular biology Professor Chris Amemiya and his former graduate student Molly Phillips have made a discovery that upends traditional ideas about a structural polysaccharide called chitin that is found in some fish. Over the course of their studies, they collected evidence that chitin — which...

EECS Student Named ‘Rising Star’ for Computer Vision Work

October 19, 2020
UC Merced doctoral student Xueting Li was selected to participate in Rising Stars 2020 Academic Career Workshop for Women in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, which will be hosted by UC Berkeley virtually Nov. 9-10. Rising Stars is an intensive workshop for female graduate students and...

With Fire Threatening, National Parks Turn to UC Merced for Help Preserving History

October 15, 2020
Ward Eldredge warily monitored the fire’s progress. As curator of the archives of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, he deliberated what would need to be done if the nearby Castle Fire continued its approach toward the parks’ headquarters. The air around Three Rivers grew thick with smoke...

Political Scientists Study Effects of Affluence in Newest Nature Publication

October 14, 2020
How does socioeconomic inequality affect people? Seeing expensive items such as cars, which function as signs of social class, can potentially influence people’s political behavior according to a new study by political science professors Melissa Sands and Daniel de Kadt in the journal Nature. The...

Second Docuseries Installment Examines COVID-19’s Impact on the Food Supply Chain

October 13, 2020
Imagine pouring farm-fresh milk down the drain or crushing perfectly good eggs that could feed families. This has been the reality for farmers during the COVID-19 epidemic. The COVID-19 epidemic has not only created a medical crisis across the country, but it has greatly crippled the food supply...

Restoring State's Forests to Reduce Fire Risks Will Take Time, Money and Broad Commitment

October 13, 2020
School of Engineering professors Roger Bales and Martha Conklin have written a new article for The Conversation discussing the changes that need to be undertaken in land-management practices in California's mountain forests: "As California contends with its worst wildfire season in history, it’s...

New Project Focuses on Life in Soil in the Earth’s Critical Zone

October 6, 2020
Since 2007, UC Merced researchers have been extremely productive in the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), delving into investigations of hydrology, climate change, geology, biology and more. But the National Science Foundation, which funded the CZOs, is decommissioning the sites and...

AI is for the Birds in a New Computer Science Project

September 30, 2020
Bird species usually are counted twice a year by wildlife surveyors: once during the breeding season and again during the Christmas Bird Count . New technology, however, is increasing the accuracy of bird population studies. A team of UC Merced researchers is developing a model to recognize bird...

UC Merced Named Top 5 ‘Cool School’ by Sierra Club and Makes 'Green College Honor Roll'

September 29, 2020
UC Merced’s national reputation for sustainability continues to grow, with the Sierra Club naming the university No. 5 on its 2020 “Cool Schools” list and The Princeton Review placing it on its Green College Honor Roll. Sierra magazine, the national publication of the Sierra Club, released its 14th...

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