Research

From Soil to Climate Solutions: Berhe Leads Sierra Nevada Research Institute into its Next Chapter

September 11, 2025

When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California’s Central Valley. It was a leap of faith — one made easier by the Sierra Nevada Research...

Seals Attracted Grad Student to California

Born in central Mexico, the sea has long fascinated graduate student Jose Pablo Vazquez-Medina. Now, he’s hoping to figure out some of its secrets. Vazquez-Medina this year earned his doctorate in...

Researchers Studying Valley Fever to Help Region

In an effort to combat a debilitating disease commonly found in the region, UC Merced researchers are collaborating with area medical leaders to better understand valley fever. Through the campus’s...

Researcher Brings Billions of Years of Information to UC Merced

From the microbes in the guts of living things to the idea of life elsewhere in the universe, Professor Marilyn Fogel is pondering some of life’s deepest questions. When and how did life originate on...

Mobile App Challenge Reproduces the Entrepreneurial Experience

After six months of intense planning and programming, the winning team of the Mobile App Challenge at the University of California, Merced, will be announced during a showcase finale April 26. The...

Summer Research Program for Undergrads Aims for the Experience of a Lifetime

Many universities offer the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, but they don’t have what UC Merced has to offer. “Yosemite really draws people in,” said Professor Stephen Hart, one...

Emotional Flexibility of Infant Sounds Proves Critical to Language Development

The squeals, vowel-like sounds and growls made by infants are critical to the development of human language, according a recent paper coauthored by a cognitive scientist at the University of...

Book Reveals Sobering Consequences of the Party Pathway

Many large state universities fail in their mission to create social mobility, instead perpetuating inequality by catering to privileged students rather than focusing on student success, according...

Applied Math Professors Expanding Knowledge About Biology

Professor Suzanne Sindi found her calling in seventh grade, while reading “Jurassic Park.” “I liked the idea that math is a tool for understanding the whole world,” she said. Her School of Natural...

Professor and Students Study Deformations to Increase Health

People don’t often think of deformation as a good thing. But when it comes to biofilaments – such as strands of DNA – it’s not only good, it’s necessary for the biofilament to complete its functions...