Research Excellence

Gift Creates UC Merced’s First Endowed Chair in Agricultural Technology

May 21, 2025

A new endowed chair will significantly enhance UC Merced’s work to advance research and innovation in the agricultural technology sector. Housed in the School of Engineering, the Christine Nemec Long Endowed Chair in Agricultural Technology was created through a generous gift from longtime...

A dust storm rises near Owens Lake. Photo Courtesy of UC San Diego

Dust is a Danger to Central Valley Health and Will Likely Get Worse, Researchers Find

People don't think about dust much until it's time to clean the house, but a new report by UC researchers could raise awareness of the growing threat of dust and dust storms. Dust affects...

Photo depicts a firefighter and flames from the 2020 Apple fire in California.

How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Fuel Record-Breaking Wildfires in 2020? New Study Explains

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many facets of life, including health care, schools and the work environment. A new study by UC Merced researchers shows evidence that the pandemic...

NSF Award Supports Young Faculty Member’s Research into Building Blocks of the Universe

Cosmology Professor Anna Nierenberg has received a CAREER award for a project that will vastly improve the study of the nature of dark matter in the universe. She is the 42nd researcher from UC...

For the First Time, All Avian Evolutionary Relationships Revealed Through Collaboration

Professor Emily Jane McTavish and colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have mapped the evolution of every known bird species. They created a complete evolutionary tree of bird species by...

Flames, the beach and the ocean are depicted in a scene from the January 2025 Palisades fire.

Researchers Look Ahead to Fire Season 2025

Pictures accompanying Professor John Abatzoglou's presentation on the 2025 fire season were blurry. That was intentional, he said, because so much about wildfire is unpredictable. "There...

Students Zeyi Moo, back left, and Yaying Wang, right, work with Professor Xuan Zhang, center, on her Alzheimer's-related research. Photo courtesy of Kate Marsh.

Link Between Dementia and Air Pollution Drives Research Collaboration

California’s Central Valley, famous for producing much of the food Americans eat, is also infamous for its inferior air quality and its high rates of poverty, housing insecurity and at-risk...

Sameen Yunus, left, and her faculty advisor, physics Professor David Strubbe

Graduate Student Earns Fellowship to Study Fusion at Livermore Lab

UC Merced physics graduate student Sameen Yunus has been awarded a prestigious fellowship allowing her to spend the next three years working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, conducting...

Address Stigma, Build Strength: UC Merced Co-leads Project to Lower LGBTQ2S+ Use of Nicotine

LGBTQ2S+ individuals use tobacco and nicotine products at significantly higher rates than straight and cisgender people, research shows. Reasons can include stress and other health problems brought...

A mugshot of Pengfei Su is depicted on a blue and gold striped background.

Machine Learning Research Earns CAREER award

Electrical engineering and computer science Professor Pengfei Su has received a CAREER award for his research on cross-layer performance tuning to enhance deep learning model efficiency. He...

All News