Research

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...

A machine developed in Professor Reza Ehsani's lab improves almond harvests by reducing the amount of dust stirred up as the nuts are gathered from the ground.

New AI Institute Expands UC Merced’s Smart, Sustainable Agriculture Effort

With a new $20 million federal grant, UC Merced becomes part of a multi-institutional research collaborative to develop artificial intelligence — or AI — solutions to tackle some of...

Computer science and engineering Professor Florin Rusu (left) and his third-year graduate students Asoke Datta and Yesdaulet Izenov.

Computer Science and Engineering Professor, Students Improve Database Query Results with NSF Grant

Every time you surf the web, check your credit card balance, or even sign up for a class at UC Merced, you’re using a relational database. Relational databases are basically the back end of...

Interdisciplinary Humanities Ph.D. student Sabrina Rawson

Incoming Grad Students Awarded Inaugural Inclusive Excellence Fellowship

As part of its commitment to inclusive excellence in graduate research and education, UC Merced has awarded its new Chancellor’s Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence to four incoming Ph.D....

100 Sociology Undergraduate Students Trained in Survey Research

More than 100 sociology undergraduate students got the opportunity to conduct research about social movements and civic engagement in Central America. A UC Merced professor, along with...

Professor Colleen Naughton with the 2021 FACTS Summer Bridge Program students.

Students Conduct Ag Tech Research on Campus for USDA Internships

While many are preparing to head off to college after an unprecedented year, a handful of students are already on UC Merced’s campus and working away in research labs. They’re part of the...

Two engineering professors and a graduate student received a grant from NASA to study how wildfires alter changes in carbon and sediment along California’s coastline.

Engineering Professor Awarded NASA Grant to Study Impacts of Wildfires on California’s Coastline

California is known for its beautiful coastline, where the Pacific Ocean meets sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. While many scientists have studied the land or the ocean independently, less is known...

Cows are Udderly Useful for Healthy Vegetation Management on Nature Reserve

Today is National Cow Appreciation Day, a “holiday” invented by a fast-food chain that sells a lot of "chikn." But it’s still a good opportunity to celebrate our neighbors...

From Earth to Space and Back Again: Solar Samples Show Surprising Results

When physics graduate student William Delmas made samples of solar energy harvesting perovskite films two years ago, he had no idea that this summer, he’d be analyzing those same samples after...

Rotary District Scholar to Conduct Sanitation Research in Haiti

With COVID-19 protections lifting, many people are eager to travel again. Among them is graduate student Elena Bischak, who is planning multiple trips to Haiti in the coming months to study improving...