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...

Event Focuses on Artificial Intelligence History, Debates

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become part of people's daily lives. From facial recognition to smart assistants and self-driving cars, it's difficult to not be impacted by AI at work,...

A multi-disciplinary team from UC Merced, Michigan State University and Resilient Oceans will look at how climate change will impact ecosystems through a symbiotic lens.

UC Merced Lands $12.5M NSF Grant to Predict the Impact of Climate Change on Symbiotic Systems

UC Merced has received a $12.5 million grant funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop the Biology Integration Institute (BII): INSITE — the INstitute for Symbiotic...

Sociology Professor Contributes Research to Mexican Journal of Foreign Policy

Department of Sociology Professor Paul Almeida is one of the coordinators, along with Professor Jorge Cadena-Roa of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), of a recent issue of the...

Professor Maggie Sogin's research interests in the Molecular Cell Biology Department at UC Merced are understanding host-microbial interactions across marine ecosystems.

Sogin Receives Inaugural NSF Grant to Further Microbial Interactions Research

Professor Maggie Sogin is one of 20 faculty members nationwide to receive the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) inaugural Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO) award...

Campus Hosts Governor’s Strategic Growth Council

As one of the leaders for sustainability and equity, UC Merced hosted the first offsite meeting for the Governor’s Strategic Growth Council (SGC) last week. The mission of the council is to...

A new four-student cohort will be formed each spring, and each cohort spends two years in the program.

New Bioinformatics Training Opportunity Opening for Undergraduates

Starting this fall, undergraduates interested in the biomedical sciences will have an opportunity to take part in a new and innovative training program that will give them strong foundations in...

A photo shows the Tahoe National Forest.

Study Shows How Restoring California's Overstocked Forests Yields Multiple and Diverse Benefits

Mechanical thinning of overstocked forests, prescribed burning and managed wildfire now being carried out to enhance fire protection of California's forests provide many benefits, or ecosystem...

Palmer Headed for Capitol Hill as Campus’s First Congressional Science Fellow

UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow Hannah Palmer, Ph.D., was named as the 2022-23 Congressional Science Fellow by the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS...

Modest’s Work in Radiative Heat Transfer Earns Prestigious Award

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Michael Modest has earned the 2021 Max Jakob Memorial Award, given by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Chemical...

All News