UC Merced Ph.D. Students Receive ARCS Support for STEM Research

Five UC Merced doctoral students have earned prestigious awards from the Northern California Chapter of ARCS Foundation, joining a select group of scholars recognized for outstanding research.

“Congratulations to this year’s ARCS Scholars. You are being recognized as outstanding scientists who are breaking barriers and solving problems that will create a better world for all of us. We are proud to offer you our support,” said Heidi Huchberger, co-president of ARCS NCC.

The awards bring ARCS Northern California’s investment in UC Merced graduate students to $313,000 since 2022. 

Meet UC Merced’s 2026-2027 ARCS Scholars and learn more about the groundbreaking STEM research they are conducting:

• Physics Ph.D. student Teddy Adams’ research in Professor Sayantani Ghosh’s lab focuses on developing lead-free tin-based perovskite materials for next-generation optical technologies, including biomedical imaging and energy applications.

“Over the past two years, our research has advanced both the performance of these materials and our understanding of the fundamental processes that govern how they interact with light,” Adams said. “More recently, we’ve discovered new high-energy optical phenomena in these materials that could help guide the design of future optoelectronic and energy technologies while expanding our understanding of this emerging class of semiconductors.”

For Adams, the award means more than financial support. It also provides a connection to a community invested in the future of STEM research.

“Receiving the ARCS Scholar Award is both an incredible honor and a strong vote of confidence in my research and future as a scientist. It’s especially meaningful because the fellowship recognizes not only the scientific merit of my work, but also its potential to make a broader impact,” Adams said. “I’m deeply grateful for their investment in my education and for the opportunity to continue pursuing research that I hope will contribute to more sustainable and accessible optical technologies.”

• Cognitive and Information Sciences Ph.D. student Olivia Gawel studies how humans and artificial intelligence systems transform thoughts into language. Working with Professor Rachel Ryskin, she uses behavioral, neuroscience and computational methods to examine how language production succeeds, varies and breaks down across minds and machines.

“I am incredibly grateful to both the ARCS Foundation and UC Merced for this honor. This recognition is deeply meaningful to me because it celebrates not only the work I have accomplished thus far, but also the future potential of the scientific questions I am pursuing,” Gawel said. “Being welcomed into a community that invests in early-career researchers is an incredible affirmation of my path as a scientist and motivates me to continue pursuing ambitious, interdisciplinary research.”

• Environmental Systems Ph.D. student Adrianne Seiden studies soil biogeochemistry in Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe’s lab. Her research examines root decomposition and the persistence of root-derived compounds across soil types to improve soil carbon storage.

“It's a huge honor to receive this award, and I see it as a vote of confidence from both UC Merced and ARCS that they see my research as promising and impactful,” said Seiden, who hopes to apply soil science research to climate and soil health challenges. “I'm also really excited to be connected to the ARCS Scholar/Alumni network and meet other researchers across Northern California.”

• Chemistry and Biochemistry Ph.D. student Bridget Sprecher, a member of Professor Aurora Pribram-Jones’s lab, uses mathematical principles and physics-informed machine learning to develop new approximation techniques in ensemble density functional theory (DFT). These advances will improve the study of excited electronic systems at the center of technologies such as biomedical devices and photovoltaics.

“Having the honor of receiving the ARCS Foundation Scholar Award means that I will be able to dedicate my time to research complicated excited systems uniquely suited to ensemble DFT, which can be used to improve vital technologies and drive deeper understanding of electron-electron interactions,” Sprecher said. “Their additional support will also give me the opportunity to serve my community through organization, mentorship and outreach.”

• Physics Ph.D. student Taylor Whitney is studying the dynamics of swimming microorganisms in flowing liquids using techniques from nonlinear dynamics and statistical physics. His work with Professor Kevin Mitchell focuses on invisible transport barriers known as Swimming Invariant Manifolds (SwIMs) and how they are modified by magnetotaxis — a process where microbes behave like compass needles that align with magnetic fields. Understanding how the structure of the manifolds change may allow future researchers to control the motion of these microbes in flows, with possible applications in targeted drug delivery and waste remediation.

“It means a lot to receive this award my final year in grad school since I will be able to network and form new connections with a bunch of really smart up and coming scientists,” he said. "I feel lucky to have been given so many interesting opportunities during my time at UC Merced."

This academic year, ARCS Northern California distributed $1,175,000 in support to 73 scholars pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and medical research to students at UC Merced and six other partner universities: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco State University and Stanford University.

The awards not only recognize academic excellence, but also create opportunities for mentorship, collaboration and discovery.

“ARCS Northern California’s support provides UC Merced's scholars the flexibility to follow promising questions, explore new research directions and pursue opportunities that shape their development as scientists,” Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education Hrant Hratchian said. “We are grateful for the partnership and the chapter’s continued commitment to advancing the next generation of STEM scholars at UC Merced.”