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Writer-in-Residence Mark Arax Chronicles California's Lifeblood: Water

September 18, 2025

Mark Arax
UC Merced has debuted a writer-in-residence program with one of California’s premier chroniclers of its history, especially the titanic power plays for land and water that have shaped the state’s growth and loom over its future. Mark Arax, a Fresno native, author and former Los...
The cover of the October edition of Science is depicted in front of a UC Merced sign and palm trees.

Western US Fires Getting Faster, More Dangerous, Study Shows

Fast-growing fires were responsible for nearly 90% of fire-related damages despite being relatively rare in the United States between 2001-2020, according to a new study. "Fast fires,"...
Photo depicts drones delivering water to crops.

Research Center Aimed at New Ways to Make Natural Rubber

Natural rubber is used in a wide range of products used throughout the globe. Lab-produced rubber works for many applications but is insufficient for vital items like airplane tires and specialty...
Pooja Chopra, a former student in Professor Bin Liu’s lab, holds an example of a design fabricated on a silicon substrate using photolithography.

Grant Provides New Equipment with Diverse Applications

A new instrument that can fabricate extremely small features and devices could have a very big impact on several STEM programs at UC Merced. Parveen Kumar of the university's Office of...
Spendlove Prize winner Tsitsi Dangarembga

Zimbabwean Filmmaker, Activist Chosen for Spendlove Prize

Tsitsi Dangarembga, a renowned Zimbabwean filmmaker, novelist and cultural activist, was selected as the 16th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and...

Study: Climate Change Extends Drought Recovery by at Least Three Months

A group of researchers at UC Merced has found that climate change means it takes about three months longer for California to recover from drought, and probably longer. “Climate change has...
A forest fire in Canada is pictured.

Global CO2 emissions from forest fires increase by 60%

A major study publishing Friday in Science reveals that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-...
air quality and health conference uc merced

Valley Air Quality, Public Health the Focus of UC Merced Conference

Scientists, policymakers and concerned community members will gather at UC Merced this week to compare notes and chart new directions to improve air quality and public health in the San Joaquin...
UC Merced UpstART season mariachi

UpstART Concert Season Promises Eclectic Mix of Music

Every year, UC Merced’s UpstART music series ignites the senses by bringing far-ranging genres to the stages. In 2024-25, take a seat for acts ranging from revolutionary mariachi and hip...
UC Merced Professor Christiana Spitzmueller

UC Merced Leads $6.5 Million Initiative to Reduce Promotion and Tenure Bias Against Black and Hispanic Faculty

Black and Hispanic faculty members seeking promotion at research universities face career-damaging biases, with their scholarly production judged more harshly than that of their peers, according to a...

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