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Research into Hidden Chemistry Shaping Future Air Quality Earns Zhang an NSF Award

September 8, 2025

Professor Xuan Zhang
As nations cut emissions that once fueled urban smog, scientists are discovering unexpected chemistry taking place in the atmosphere. UC Merced Professor Xuan Zhang is leading a project to uncover how these chemical shifts could affect the air we breathe and the climate. The project is supported...
Equipment in the Costa Rican rainforest measures the soil emissions.

Precipitation and Drainage Fuel Large CO2 ‘Burps’ from Rainforest Soils, Study Finds

It is said that rainforests are the Earth’s lungs, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, building it into lush vegetation and releasing oxygen and water back into the air. But every...
Professor Emily Moran, left, and graduate student Mengjun Shu examine seedlings in the research greenhouse.

Reforesting After Wildfires: Which Trees Are Most Likely to Thrive?

Wildfire seasons are intensifying because of climate change. That means reforestation efforts will increase, making it important for scientists and resource managers to understand how to make sure...

Ecosystem Engineers Play Crucial Role in Stabilizing Their Environments, Study Shows

When people think of engineering in nature, they tend to think of species such as beavers — the tree-felling, dam-building rodents whose machinations can shape the landscape by creating lakes...

World’s Oldest Trees Shape the Diversity of Life in Their Soils, Study Shows

There’s a whole world of activity beneath your feet. Soil holds a large proportion of Earth's biodiversity, and is the place where organisms interact with each other and with plants,...

New Partnership Offers Training for Valley Entrepreneurs

Early-stage entrepreneurs can learn how to build their businesses alongside a support network of startup and business experts through a new joint venture of the Founder Institute and UC Merced....

Merced 2020 Project Wraps; Stands as Largest Public-Private Partnership Completed in U.S.

A new chapter began at UC Merced on June 1 with the completion of the massive $1.2 billion Merced 2020 Project, an extensive expansion of the campus’ physical space and capacity. The project...

New NSF Center Intersects Chemistry and Mechanics

Scientists know the whats and whys of using light, heat and electricity to direct chemical reactions toward an end goal. What’s less well understood are the effects mechanical force can have on...

New Engineering Research Center to Focus on Agriculture Technology

By 2050, the U.S. population is estimated to grow to 400 million, and the world population to 9.1 billion, requiring a 70 percent increase in global food production. UC Merced is one of four...
UC Merced campus

Gallo Management School Proposal Moves Forward

As UC Merced welcomes its fourth chancellor and continues to build its reputation as a world-class research institution, it has also reached a milestone in planning for the campus’s first new...

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