Physics

UC Merced's Smart Farm Abuzz with Activity

June 25, 2025

Photo depicts UC Merced student Jesse Martinez operating a robot on the Experimental Smart Farm.

At UC Merced's biggest lab, students work from before sunrise to well after dusk. They are operating the university's Experimental Smart Farm, 40 acres of dirt and plants, research and experiments. They study everything from pollinators to hydroponics, but there are more than just...

From left, professors Linda Hirst, Chris Amemiya and Valerie Leppert.

Researchers Unraveling Mysteries of Electrosensory Gel in Sharks, Skates

Cartilaginous fishes such as sharks and skates have a sixth sense, but it’s not ESP — it’s electrosense. Such fishes use hundreds or thousands of specialized organs to sense prey...

Hands-on, Handmade Instruments Boost Engagement for Remote Physics Class

With her students spread to the four winds by COVID-19, a UC Merced professor discovered she could build engagement in a virtual classroom with cardboard, painter’s tape and a child’s toy...

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...

Male Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate student Ivan G. Soto

UC Merced Alums, Students Earn Prestigious Fellowships

A half-dozen UC Merced students and alumni are recipients of significant fellowships to help support their graduate education. “We’re extremely proud of our undergraduate and graduate...

$2.2M NIH Grant Designed to Produce Highly Trained, Diverse Ph.D. Workforce

A five-year, $2.2 million training grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will assist UC Merced with the development of diverse cohorts of doctoral students in interdisciplinary...

Five Years in, CCBM Looking to Expand Research and Student Opportunities

From graduate student Jose Zamora’s perspective, the CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) has been a spectacular success. “There is so much value to being part...

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...

Physics Professor Dustin Kleckner studies structure in fluid and soft matter systems.

With Kleckner’s Award, Physics Department Nabs its Third CAREER Grant This Year

Physics Professor Dustin Kleckner has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award for his research — the third in his department this year. He studies how optical and...

Physics Professor Daniel Beller is investigating how biological matter is able to self-organize.

Active Matter Organization Earns Beller a CAREER Award

Physics Professor Daniel Beller has received a CAREER award for his research into how complex organization arises from simple physical interactions for biological cells or polymers assembled in...