NASA

Researchers Take New Approach to Quantify Water Use

September 21, 2022

Like many other researchers, environmental engineering professors Erin Hestir and Joshua Viers are trying to quantify water use in California’s Central Valley. The difference is, they are doing it from the sky. Through NASA's applied sciences program, their team will leverage...

Professors Sarah Loebman, left, and Anna Nierenberg, right

Space Telescope Time and Data Analysis Boosting Astrophysics Studies This Fall

Dark matter and the life cycles of star clusters will come into focus as UC Merced’s astrophysicists get resources from the two space telescopes soon to be exploring the universe. NASA...

Two engineering professors and a graduate student received a grant from NASA to study how wildfires alter changes in carbon and sediment along California’s coastline.

Engineering Professor Awarded NASA Grant to Study Impacts of Wildfires on California’s Coastline

California is known for its beautiful coastline, where the Pacific Ocean meets sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. While many scientists have studied the land or the ocean independently, less is known...

From Earth to Space and Back Again: Solar Samples Show Surprising Results

When physics graduate student William Delmas made samples of solar energy harvesting perovskite films two years ago, he had no idea that this summer, he’d be analyzing those same samples after...

Professor Erin Hestir (Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced)

Professor Hestir Turns NASA Technology Toward Earth’s Biodiversity

Half a world away from California’s Central Valley is a place with similar climate but an unparalleled diversity of plants, marine animals and ecosystems. From deserts to shrubland to montane...

Two New Faculty Members Expand Physics Department and Bring the Cosmos to Campus

UC Merced occupies just one small corner of the world. But through the research, teaching, experience, and connections of two new Department of Physics faculty members, students can access and begin...

UC Merced Engineers Help Test Perseverance Rover

2020 brought a wealth of challenges, but once again the Bobcat community proved its resilience, coming together to ensure the university’s mission of teaching, research and service would continue. Photo Credit: Dave Burk © SOM

UC Merced: Looking Back on 2020

There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth...

AI is for the Birds in a New Computer Science Project

Bird species usually are counted twice a year by wildlife surveyors: once during the breeding season and again during the Christmas Bird Count . New technology, however, is increasing the...

UC Merced’s Fundamental Tribology Lab has played a critical role in NASA's Mars 2020 mission scheduled to launch between July 30 and Aug. 15.

UC Merced Grad Student, Alumnus Play Significant Role in Mars 2020 Mission

NASA’s fifth exploratory rover is scheduled to head for Mars later this month to try and answer key questions about the potential for life on the red planet. Before the rover leaves...