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...

Study: In China, Misinformation Skews Views of Government

Chinese people who have overly rosy views of socioeconomic conditions in the western world tend to have more negative views of their own government — but when their misconceptions of foreign...

Study: Smoke-Free Zones, Higher Taxes Deter Youth Smoking

Banning smoking in the workplace and increasing taxes on cigarettes have discouraged teens and young adults from taking up smoking, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC ...

New Supercomputer Can Advance Diverse Array of Research

A new supercomputer assembled on campus this summer is the first step toward making UC Merced a computational training ground for researchers throughout the Central Valley. “We can do extraordinarily...

Students Recognized for Important MESA Lab Projects

Professor YangQuan Chen has many reasons to be proud of his Mechatronics, Embedded Systems and Automation (MESA) Lab. Besides being extremely popular — so popular the lab has to turn away applicants...

Student Examines Role of Gender in Perception of Political Scandals

With the 2016 presidential race already in full swing, political science graduate student Kayla Canelo’s research is particularly timely. This spring and summer, Canelo designed and carried out a...

Literature Professor Wins Latino Book Award

UC Merced Professor Manuel M. Martín-Rodríguez recently won a 2015 International Latino Book Award for “With a Book in Their Hands: Chicano/a Readers and Readerships,” which beat six other finalists...

SSHA Professors Conducting Summer Research Projects

Like their colleagues in science and engineering, researchers in UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts are keeping busy this summer with a wide variety of projects. Among them...

Science and Engineering Researchers Stay Busy in Summer

The summer might mean an extended break for some in the campus community, but UC Merced researchers are busier than ever. Whether here or abroad, many professors and students are taking advantage of...

Climate Scientist Aims to Change National Dialogue, One Story at a Time

Climate scientist Emmanuel Vincent noticed climate change discussions in Europe had become somewhat politically polarized before he left France a few years ago, and found the same situation on a...