Faculty

UC Merced Scientists Among Global Elite Shaping AI, Climate and Health

January 26, 2026

UC Merced continues to demonstrate its growing influence on the global stage. Several faculty members landed on Clarivate’s 2025 list of the world’s most‑cited researchers. The honor is reserved for the top 1% of scholars whose work has shaped their fields over the last 10 years....

Professor’s Soil Research Digs Up Many More Questions

When people get near California’s giant sequoias, they usually look up. But Professor Steve Hart looks down, and what he finds beneath the trees has intrigued him. The trees, some of which could...

Professor’s Research to Examine Whether Copper Plays Role in Alzheimer’s Disease

Professor Masashi Kitazawa wants to figure out if any environmental factors increase the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease – specifically, whether elevated levels of copper in drinking water...

Student-run Journal Showcases Historical Essays, Reviews

Most UC Merced students have the desire to help shape the university — whether it’s the culture or the curriculum. Rocco Bowman was no different. Bowman is the co-founder of the Undergraduate...

Sociology a Lens That Focuses World's Events

Sociology at UC Merced is a prism that offers insight and perspective into what's happening in the world. Trying to understand how people mobilize under democracies or military dictatorships? Ask...

Study Looks at Emotion's Role in Chemotherapy Tolerance

How patients perceive and talk about their illnesses can have an impact on how they recover and heal, according to a growing area of health research being furthered by UC Merced health psychology...

UC Solar Working to Meet State’s Renewable Energy Goals

MERCED, Calif. — The solar energy industry is emerging as a key player in the multi-pronged approach California will take in leading the nation in renewable energy, experts say. And the University of...

UC Merced Workshop to Explore Bilingualism

UC Merced is hosting a bilingualism workshop that brings together scholars from psychology, linguistics, cognitive science and education. The workshop begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 in the Dr....

New Faculty Members Expand, Strengthen Research

UC Merced has hired 34 faculty members for the 2014-15 academic year, giving the campus 212 tenure-track professors who expand the depth and breadth of research expertise. Excluding student employees...

Pine Needle Bacteria Earn Professor Second NSF Grant of the Year

Professor Carolin Frank will collect $1.6 million over the next four years to continue researching the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in pine needles and to work with the Sierra Foothill Charter...