Physics

Innovative Research Secures Coveted Fellowships for Ph.D. Students

January 14, 2026

graphic with five individuals higlighted; three females and two males with UC Merced and ARCS logos on blue background

The ARCS Foundation Northern California awarded five UC Merced graduate students with 2025-26 fellowships. ARCS advances science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to exceptional graduate-level scholars in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. In...

Hard Shells and Electrosensory Gels: Lab Makes Surprising Discovery

Molecular biology Professor Chris Amemiya and his former graduate student Molly Phillips have made a discovery that upends traditional ideas about a structural polysaccharide called chitin that is...

Gopinathan Named Fellow of Leading Physics Organization

Physics Professor Ajay Gopinathan has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). This prestigious recognition is for physicists who have made exceptional contributions in physics...

Physics Projects Designed to Expand Quantum Knowledge

Physics Professor Lin Tian looks to tiny quantum objects to answer very big questions. Her research group is pursuing quantum computing and technology project that are helping to expand her...

Alum Develops Device to Measure and Manipulate Invisible Force

As scientists build smaller and smaller machines, they need to understand the invisible forces that make those machines work. Thanks to research and the initiative of then-UC Merced graduate...

NASA Renews Campus Research Center for Another Two Years

The Merced nAnomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing (MACES) —UC Merced’s NASA-funded center for nanomaterials-based research and education — has received a two-year, $1.8 ...

Bacteria Use the Physics of Twist to Measure Their Own Size and Shape

Theoretical physics Professor Ajay Gopinathan has been working over the past decade to model a submicroscopic mystery. Now, he and a team of colleagues have verified an important piece of the puzzle...

Bobcats Help Shape Future of NASA, SPACEX Missions

As the SPACEX Crew Dragon spacecraft left Earth today to ferry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, many Bobcats were watching the live stream with keen anticipation. It’s...

Graduate student Boe Mendewala is UC Merced's 2020 Grad Slam champion.

Physics Ph.D. Student Named Grad Slam Campus Champion

UC Merced’s Graduate Division wrapped up its annual Grad Slam competition this week, announcing Physics doctoral candidate Boe Mendewala as its campus champion. The judges awarded two...

Babies Forage for Sounds That Contribute to Language Acquisition, Study Shows

Most people wouldn’t think physics has anything to do with baby babble and human language development. But most people aren’t Ritwika Vallomparambath PanikkasserySugasree. The...