Faculty

From Soil to Climate Solutions: Berhe Leads Sierra Nevada Research Institute into its Next Chapter

September 11, 2025

When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California’s Central Valley. It was a leap of faith — one made easier by the Sierra Nevada Research...

From left, graduate student John Wilson, alumnus Qiaochu “Michael” Li and Professor Jing Xu.

Graduate Students Help Further the Understanding of Diseases such as Alzheimer's

Student researchers in experimental physics Professor Jing Xu’s lab have played a critical role in a study that will help understand Alzheimer’s and other diseases that progressively...

Demonstrators hold up United Farm Workers flags while marching.

UC Merced Library Hosts Opening Reception for Farmworker Movement Exhibit

The UC Merced Library is hosting an opening reception for a new art exhibit that showcases the farmworker movement in the Central Valley through the lens of the late photographer and labor activist...

Diversity, Community, Creativity and Self-expression are the Focuses of Pride Week 2023

A drag show, open mic night and collaborative coloring are among the fun events slated for this year’s Pride Week, April 10-14, celebrating LGBTQ+ identity and culture at UC Merced. The...

Ten finalists will compete in Grad Slam on April 10 on campus.

Cheer on Campus’s 10 Grad Slam Finalists April 10

Ten graduate UC Merced students will take the stage on April 10 to compete in the Graduate Division’s Grad Slam finals. Grad Slam is an annual University of California competition that aims...

An image depicts a tree and the Beginnings sculpture at UC Merced.

Advisory Committee Hit Hard by COVID-19 Rebuilding to Continue Supporting Women

The Chancellor's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (CACSW) has brought awareness to issues related to the campus climate for women since its founding at UC Merced in 2008. But after...

One of the 2020 Black Lives Matter marches.

Group Conflict Inspires People to Feel Morally Elevated — for Their Side — Study Shows

You know that warm, uplifting feeling you get when you see someone going out of their way to help other people? You might get goosebumps or even a tear in your eye, and something inside you might...

The Los Lobos rock band poses for a photo.

Free Tickets Available for Los Lobos Concert Hosted by UC Merced UpstART

Downtown Merced is getting ready to rock out as Los Lobos make their way to town for a concert. UC Merced students, faculty, staff and the community are invited to enjoy the show at the Art...

Students from Universidad Autónoma Chapingo in Texcoco, Mexico, visited UC Merced in March.

Campus Visit Broadens Mexican Research Collaborations

When three buses rolled onto campus on one chilly winter morning, UC Merced gave the occupants a warm Bobcat welcome. More than 100 undergraduate students and faculty members from Universidad...

Tammy Johnson, Diane Caton and Carmen Middleton are among the women who have worked at UC Merced since the beginning.

Women Make History at UC Merced

Innumerable changes have come to UC Merced since ground was broken for the campus in 2002. Some of the women who helped found the campus and remain employed by UC Merced, reflected recently on the...