School of Natural Sciences

UC Merced Receives $1 Million Award to Support Postdoctoral Fellows

March 11, 2026

UC Merced has received a $1 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to strengthen postdoctoral fellowships and expand research in the natural sciences. Awarded through the foundation’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Commitment, this distinction places UC Merced...

Group of individuals attending event with grads student presenting on stage

Ready, Set, Slam: 10 UC Merced Scholars Battle for Champion Title

Ten UC Merced graduate researchers are gearing up to deliver the most intense three minutes of their academic careers. Each spring, master’s and Ph.D. students across the campus’s...

Blue-green algae in flasks are used by researchers at UC Merced and UC San Diego to further the understanding of circadian clocks. Image courtesy of UC San Diego.

Researchers Rebuild Microscopic Circadian Clock That Can Control Genes

Our circadian clocks play a crucial role in our health and well-being, keeping our 24-hour biological cycles in sync with light and dark exposure. Disruptions in the rhythms of these clocks, as with...

Unlocking the Secrets of Tiny, Living Clocks Could Revolutionize Science

Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang has spent much of his career studying how life keeps time. His work on the circadian clock of cyanobacteria — tiny, ancient organisms that share the planet...

UC Merced Scientists Among Global Elite Shaping AI, Climate and Health

UC Merced continues to demonstrate its growing influence on the global stage. Several faculty members landed on Clarivate’s 2025 list of the world’s most‑cited researchers. The honor...

graphic with five individuals higlighted; three females and two males with UC Merced and ARCS logos on blue background

Innovative Research Secures Coveted Fellowships for Ph.D. Students

The ARCS Foundation Northern California awarded five UC Merced graduate students with 2025-26 fellowships. ARCS advances science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to...

New Major Teaches How to Tackle Questions of Ethics in Science, Tech

Should a scientist who sees signs of global catastrophe sound an early alarm or wait until more conclusive evidence is in? Does going public lead to swifter action or give naysayers more time to...

Spectroscopy at the UC's W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii helped the researchers interpret complex data about ultramassive galaxies. Photo courtesy of the W.M. Keck Observatory.

Astronomers Reveal Hidden Activity in the Early Universe’s Most Massive Galaxies

An international team of astronomers has studied ultramassive galaxies - galaxies containing more than 100 billion stars - as they existed when the universe was less than 2 billion years old. The...

Student speaker at 2024 UC Merced Fall Commencement

Fall Commencement Graduates Urged to Write Their Own Story

A beaming Jesus Cevon-Gonzalez stood on Merced’s Main Street, surrounded by his mom and dad, grandparents, sister and other loved ones. He clutched the proof of a freshly bestowed...

High school students will have a wider array of research opportunities through COSMOS starting next summer.

COSMOS Expands to UC Merced, Opening Doors for California’s Brightest Young Scientists

Starting next summer, UC Merced will join an elite group of University of California campuses hosting COSMOS — the California State Summer School for Math and Science — giving some of the...