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...

Leafhopper Insects Enlighten Researchers About Complex Bacterial Relationships

All complex life evolves in alliance with, in defense of or in reaction to bacteria. A new paper by UC Merced Professor Gordon Bennett demonstrates one of the novel ways the relationship can...

Environmental Engineers Devising Plan to Save Humanity

The Earth is changing, and humans face major challenges if they hope to adapt, survive and preserve any semblance of the world as it is now. Humans will need to create sustainable food, water and...

UC Merced had over 1,000 donors contribute to the Give Tue UC Merced campaign

Day of Generosity: Over 1,000 Donors Give ‘Tue’ Student Success

For the second straight year, UC Merced surpassed its goal of 1,000 donors in a single day for the Give Tue UC Merced campaign. Over $170,000 was raised — with the help of a generous...

Researcher Takes First Step Toward Improved Diagnosis for Valley Fever

Clinicians searching for a new way to identify Valley fever patients who will develop the disease’s worst symptoms will find hope in a new paper by UC Merced Professor Katrina Hoyer . A...

Anthropology Book Examines Early California and its Native Communities

A new book co-edited by Professor Kathleen Hull highlights nine studies exploring how Native people retained or reimagined their communities in California between 1769 and 1834. “Forging...

Six graduate students landed spots at Idaho National Laboratory through the National GEM Consortium (From left: Jordan Galloway, Denise Owusu, Stephanie Jones, Diana Perales, Terrence Buck (program manager), Malik Hayes, Jorge Ramirez.) Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory.

Graduate Student Spends Summer as GEM Fellow at Idaho National Lab

As a graduate student at UC Merced, Jordan Galloway looks for ways to push himself forward and lead by example. The third-year Chemistry and Chemical Biology student forged a new path...

New Consortium Seeks to Expose Students to a Galaxy of Opportunities

Imagine exploring the cores of stars to understand — and ultimately control — the type of fusion that’s taking place. High-energy density (HED) science is the study of properties...

Ancient Genomes from the Andes Highlands Reveal Novel Adaptations

The genomes of ancient Andean settlers reveal a complex picture of human adaptation, including when they became able to digest starches and how evolutionary modifications allowed them to live at such...

Extension Training Future Teachers and Child-Care Workers

The California Teachers Association (CTA) indicates the state faces a massive shortage of highly qualified teachers – especially those who can teach math, science and special education —...