News

Multiyear Drought Caused Massive Forest Die-off in Sierra Nevada

July 1, 2019

The most extreme drought event in hundreds of years caused a catastrophic die-off of the Sierra Nevada’s mature trees in 2015-2016. A study published today in Nature Geoscience details how UC Merced Professor Roger Bales and his colleague Professor Michael Goulden from UC Irvine tracked the...

Three Ph.D. Students Receive 2019 NSF Fellowships

June 27, 2019

UC Merced doctoral student Melissa Spence and incoming graduate students Caleb Larnerd and Cristian Sarabia were awarded Graduate Research fellowships (GRFP) from the National Science Foundation. The fellowship provides multiyear support to predoctoral students in the fields of science, technology...

Sierra Seedlings Illustrate Effects of Climate Change on Next Generation of Forests

June 24, 2019

Climate change is bad news for forests, and a new study by UC Merced Professor Emily Moran demonstrates one aspect of that news. Higher summer temperatures hurt tree seedlings’ growth and survival. But whether that is entirely bad depends on the degree of change in the number of young trees. “One...

Science-Themed Living Learning Communities Enjoy Successful Debut

June 18, 2019

It started with a simple off-hand comment, one that would likely be met with a chuckle at any other institution. At UC Merced, it became a ripple that has changed the academic and social strata of an entire school. School of Natural Sciences Dean Betsy Dumont recalled the exchange that took place...

Computational Chemist Improving Modeling for Complex Processes

June 17, 2019

Professor Hrant Hratchian, with the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology in the School of Natural Sciences, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER award, the 24th recipient from UC Merced. CAREER awards are among the NSF’s most prestigious awards. They are given...

Research Field Study Brings New Sharing Apps to UC Merced Employees

June 14, 2019

The practice of sharing our possessions is something that most of us learned in childhood. Now, UC Merced Professor Anita Bhappu is expanding that idea to the workplace through a research study focused on collaborative consumption. Launched in April, the Sharing Tribes Field Study uses two new...

Undergrad Research Fuels Opportunities for Grad School, Careers

June 13, 2019

The opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scientific research as an undergraduate is one of the most exciting aspects of a UC Merced education. One of the best preparation opportunities for graduate school is to engage in research as an undergraduate, but at many universities, it’s not until...

Field Station Planned for UC Merced's Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve

June 13, 2019

At the northern tip of the UC Merced campus, an unremarkable aluminum gate leads into a field that extends, seemingly, into infinity. Perpendicular to the gate, the LeGrand Canal, drawn from Lake Yosemite, snakes around campus into the emerald pastures, through farm rows and almond orchards across...

Overdose, Suicide Among Leading Reasons for Postpartum Maternal Deaths

June 12, 2019

Overdoses and suicides were among the most common reasons for mothers dying within a year of giving birth in California, according to a new study published this week. Psychiatric epidemiology Professor Sidra Goldman-Mellor , a public health researcher with the School of Social Sciences,...

Pre-Health Advising Program Prepares Future Health Professionals

June 5, 2019

Hundreds of students join the UC Merced campus each year intent on health-related careers. What they might not know, though, is that there are resources on campus that can be critical in helping them achieve their goals. “If it weren’t for the Pre-Health Advising program, I might not be where I am...