Skip to content

Research Excellence

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

May 5, 2025

Photo depicts a firefighter and flames from the 2020 Apple fire in California.
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 also fueled an elevated number of wildfires in the United States that year. How? With schools...
Professor Martha Conklin

Founding Faculty Member Martha Conklin Bids Farewell to Campus Community

Professor Martha Conklin started her career at UC Merced at the Castle Research Facility, and it began with a frightening surprise. “I had a baby rattlesnake in my office,” she said....
The UC Merced astrophysicists with the Keck Observatory behind them

Astrophysics Researchers Present their Work at Hawaiian Observatory

A delegation of dignitaries from the University of California Office of the President, UC Merced and UCLA were recently treated to a presentation that included the astrophysicists from UC Merced at...
Planning for emergency evacuations using electric vehicles is the subject of one of the grants awarded to UC Merced.

University Awards over $80 million in State-funded Grants to Spur Climate Action

Four UC Merced researchers will share in the new California Climate Action Seed Grants and Matching Grants, which are the result of an historic partnership between the University of California and...
Professor Eva de Alba, Eduardo A. Gaspar-Morales and Ayomide J. Adeoye display a hydrogel.

NIH Grant Funds Research into Reducing Inflammation

Bioengineering Professor Eva de Alba has been awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study a potential process to reduce inflammation. The $405,375 grant will fund de Alba...
A rendering depicts what solar panels over canals will look like in Project Nexus.

UC Merced Researchers Describe Solar Over Canals Pilot Project

In an opinion piece published in today's Los Angeles Times, UC Merced researchers Brandi McKuin and Professor Roger Bales describe the work that led to the upcoming Project Nexus, a pilot...
Professor Adeyemi Adebiyi

Researcher Studies Effects of Dust on Climate Change

Being able to accurately predict how the climate will change in the future is one of the most important quests of our lifetimes. A key to better prediction is the fundamental understanding of how...
Ashlie Martini is the associate director for the Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry.

UC Merced Among Institutions Awarded $20 Million NSF Investment for Mechanical Chemistry

Understanding the atomic-scale mysteries of "crushing" chemistry is the goal of an expanding research center with a newly awarded $20 million investment from the U.S. National Science...

UROC Summer Symposium (Slideshow)

Research conducted over the summer was on display at the 2023 UROC Summer Symposium. The research showcase marks the end of the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI), a nine-week...

Students to Present Wide Array of Research at Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

UC Merced students will present research conducted over the summer at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The research presentations...

Pages

Subscribe to Research Excellence