Research

UC Merced Leads National Effort to Unlock Quantum Secrets of Twisty Molecules

October 27, 2025

An example showing a chiral molecule and 'handedness.'

A team of scientists led by UC Merced is embarking on a project to understand how the twisted shapes of specific molecules can influence the spin of electrons — a phenomenon that could revolutionize solar energy, electronics and quantum computing. The research, funded by the U.S....

Psychological Sciences Grad Group Provides Diverse Research Opportunities

Graduate students Kristynn Sullivan and Chris Fradkin took distinctly different routes to UC Merced. Sullivan left northern Virginia for the University of California’s newest campus after...

Acclaimed Authors to Speak at Symposium, Conference

A pioneering American novelist and a former California Poet Laureate will be the keynote speakers at two April events being organized by graduate students and faculty in World Cultures. John Rechy...

Research Week Highlights Cutting-Edge Work

Researchers at the university in your backyard are delving into issues of great importance to the San Joaquin Valley, the state, the nation and the world. You can learn more about their work at the...

Graduate Student Bringing UC Merced to Western Pacific

Graduate student Sharon Patris likes spending time at a lake in the middle of the forest on an uninhabited island in the western Pacific. The marine lake named Ongiem’l Tketau and informally known as...

Professor’s Design Could Win $50,000 Grant

A UC Merced professor is one of five finalists in an international challenge that could win him a $50,000 research grant and free access to a record-setting, ocean-going robot. Professor Michael...

Undergraduate Applications to UC Merced Surge 14 Percent

Editor’s Note: As of mid-February, UC Merced’s graduate student applications increased by 6.6 percent over last year. This press release reports a 41 percent increase, which at the time (Jan. 18) was...

Professor Awarded National Grant for Research on Moroccan Literature

University of California, Merced, literature Professor Cristián H. Ricci has received a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities award to write an in-depth analysis of Moroccan literature....

Parents' Financial Help Linked to Lower GPAs, Higher Graduation Rates

College students who aren’t studying hard may have their parents’ financial support to blame. A new study by University of California, Merced, sociology Professor Laura T. Hamilton found that...

Historian Uses 'Big Data' to Study World History

The path from ancient China to information science might seem like a long one, but Ruth Mostern is walking it. Mostern, a history professor in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, is...