Research Excellence

Astronomers Reveal Hidden Activity in the Early Universe’s Most Massive Galaxies

January 5, 2026

Spectroscopy at the UC's W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii helped the researchers interpret complex data about ultramassive galaxies. Photo courtesy of the W.M. Keck Observatory.

An international team of astronomers has studied ultramassive galaxies - galaxies containing more than 100 billion stars - as they existed when the universe was less than 2 billion years old. The results show that while some of these ultramassive galaxies, or UMGs, had already shut down star...

Illustration of hands reach out to each other.

Psychological Bias Links Good Deeds with Religious Belief, UC Merced Research Says

Experiments conducted by UC Merced researchers find that people who perform good deeds are far more likely to be thought of as religious believers than atheists. Moreover, the psychological bias...

Researcher's Work Aimed at Helping People Live Better Lives

"I like research on the Internet of Things because it solves problems in people's lives," said Shijia Pan , a professor of computer science and engineering at UC Merced and a...

Ecologists’ Meeting Showcases UC Merced Student Researchers and Faculty

Students and faculty are converging on Long Beach this week for the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Seven students will present their research and Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe...

Photo depicts UC Merced environmental engineering Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara.

Climate Change is Transforming California Agriculture — But There are Ways to Adapt

California's agriculture faces challenges from a highly variable climate with temperatures that will increase over the next several decades. Droughts are worsening and the Sierra snowpack,...

Photo depicts concrete supports lining a canal in Keyes, California.

Solar Canal Project Earns Environmental Award as Construction Begins

Construction has begun on a pilot project to install solar panels above two sections of Central Valley canals. This innovative initiative, which studies significant power and water issues, has...

A female farmer is depicted holding a laptop computer in a field with the sun behind her.

New Paper Shows Best Practices for Inclusive Innovation in Agtech

Farmhand Ventures announces the publication of its research paper, "Inclusive Innovation in Agriculture: Redesigning Agtech Ecosystems for All," funded by UC Merced's Valley...

Hellman Awards Deepening Research into Genomes, Health and Computer Science

Three faculty members have joined the prestigious ranks of Hellman Fellowship recipients this year. Applied mathematics Professor Tomas Rube, who studies mathematical biology, Professor Andrea...

An orchard is depicted with a blue sky and clouds.

Paper Highlights How Climate Change Challenges, Transforms Agriculture

As the climate continues to change, the risks to farming are only going to increase. That's the key takeaway from a recent paper published by a team that included UC Merced researchers. The...

NSF-Funded Project Promotes Reuse of 'Greywater' in Households Integrating AI Toward Equity

Almost 3 billion people worldwide are projected to suffer from severe water scarcity by 2025. Thousands have already been affected in California alone, where more than 1,200 wells ran dry in...

All News