Research Excellence

Research into Hidden Chemistry Shaping Future Air Quality Earns Zhang an NSF Award

September 8, 2025

As nations cut emissions that once fueled urban smog, scientists are discovering unexpected chemistry taking place in the atmosphere. UC Merced Professor Xuan Zhang is leading a project to uncover how these chemical shifts could affect the air we breathe and the climate. The project is supported...

Applied Mathematics Professor Suzanne Sindi, Postdoctoral scholar Lihong Zhao and immunology Professor Katrina Hoyer

Postdoc Awarded Fellowship to Support Computation and Immunology Cross-training

Postdoctoral scholar Lihong Zhao was one of 10 researchers named a 2022 Intersect Fellow by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) — a first for UC Merced. The AAI Intersect...

Professor Yang and colleagues at a 2016 conference

Largest Computing Organization Elevates Computer Vision Researcher

Engineering Professor Ming-Hsuan Yang has been elected one of the 71 new fellows recognized by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) ─ the world’s largest educational and scientific...

Solar-paneled Canals Getting a Test Run in San Joaquin Valley

A research project conducted by a UC Merced graduate student is becoming a reality as the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) approved piloting the first-in-the-nation construction of solar panels over...

NSF Award Goes to Research into Brain Formation and What Leads to Developmental Disorders

Professor Xuecai Ge, a developmental neurobiologist, has received a CAREER award for research to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that direct brain formation, and how errors in cell...

Professor Goyal, front, with several of his students.

Mechanical Engineer Receives Prestigious CAREER Award

Mechanical engineering Professor Sachin Goyal has received a CAREER award for his research into how the arrangements of atoms and interatomic bonds affect the deformability of biological...

A new Regional Climate Change Assessment by a team of UC Merced and affiliated researchers illustrates problems and possible solutions facing California’s biomes and communities.

Faculty Report IDs Top Climate Challenges Facing Valley

California’s Central Valley is on the front lines of climate change. The Fourth Regional Climate Change Assessment, by a team of UC Merced and affiliated researchers, illustrates the biggest...

Workshops Train Researchers in the Art of Getting Grants

It’s one thing to push the frontiers of discovery through research into complex subjects. It’s quite another to align your work with the funding priorities of numerous federal programs,...

UC Merced Leaps Up in Nature Index’s Young University Rankings

UC Merced has earned the distinction of ranking No. 20 among the world's Rising Young Universities, according to the just-released Nature Index 2021 Young Universities — the only U.S...

Microorganisms Consume Last Bits of Oxygen from Low-oxygen Ocean Zones, Study Shows

Even the tiniest organisms have a surprisingly huge effect on life in the oceans, eating up the last bits of oxygen in certain areas, preventing larger marine life from surviving there, a new study...

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