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...

Professor Sarah Kurtz, center, poses with graduate students Aaron Wheeler and Dalia Martinez behind a solar panel.

Kurtz’s Latest Publication Examines Renewable Energy Expansion

Finding creative solutions to lessen humans’ impact on the environment and reduce reliance on fossil fuels is a core tenet of the renewable energy field, something engineering Professor Sarah...

Honduras Elects First Female President; Study Shows How Protests Affect Change

Hondurans cast their votes in the presidential election over the weekend, and the majority decided to elect opposition candidate Xiomara Castro to lead the Central American country. Nasry Asfura, the...

Physicist’s Exploration of 2D Materials Earns a CAREER Award

Professor David Strubbe has become the eighth faculty member of the 21-member Department of Physics to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for his research into improving the...

A 10 kW array on location at UC Merced. This is one of the two innovative technologies in the Department of Energy's desalination contest.

Winston Cone Optics' Innovative Technology Garners State, National Attention

When people hear the word “solar,” many think of solar panels on a house, which generate electricity. But there is another way to use energy harnessed by the sun: heat. Founding...

Study Shows Climate-Driven Forest Fires on the Rise

An upside of the increase in forest fires in the West is that they reduce the amount of fuel available for other burns. That might provide a buffering effect on western fires for the next few decades...

Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara is heading up a new study of drought's effects on agricultural communities.

Researchers to Study, Report on Impacts of Drought on Agriculture and Communities

Just because there has been rain lately doesn’t mean California is drought-free. A new $1.5 million research grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture is supporting School...

Professor’s COVID-tracking Earns Her a Spot in New Center of Excellence

School of Engineering Professor Colleen Naughton has been selected to be part of a Center of Excellence, along with colleagues at UC Davis, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant. Ceres...

Researcher Studies Cloud Formation as a Key to Climate Change Modeling

Lots of people look at clouds and think about flying, floating or the shapes they see. When atmospheric chemistry Professor Xuan Zhang looks at clouds, she thinks about tiny particles in the air....

Study: Many Immigrants Perceive Racial Discrimination at Work, in Health Care

In recently published reports, Department of Public Health Professor Maria-Elena Young, Public Health doctoral student Sharon Tafolla and colleagues at UCLA discovered that Latino and Asian...

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