School of Natural Sciences

UC Merced to Host Stargazing Night with Director of UC Observatories

October 7, 2025

UC Merced invites the public to an evening of cosmic discovery on Thursday, Oct. 23, featuring a free lecture by Bruce Macintosh, director of the University of California Observatories, followed by telescope viewing with the campus Astronomy Club. Macintosh, a leading expert in the search for...

UC Merced is commemorating the tremendous accomplishments of its graduates with a virtual ceremony streamed at 10 a.m. May 16.

Virtual Commencement Promises Surprises for Grads, Families

While the COVID-19 pandemic has altered many things this spring on the UC Merced campus — from classes and research to events — UC Merced is making sure the Class of 2020 has a forum to...

At the Intersection of Math and Biology, Sindi Lab Sees a Breakthrough in Prion Disease

A UC Merced researcher and her lab have unlocked one of the mysteries that could lead to treatments — or even cures — for prion diseases in mammals. Prion diseases are a family of rare...

Babies Forage for Sounds That Contribute to Language Acquisition, Study Shows

Most people wouldn’t think physics has anything to do with baby babble and human language development. But most people aren’t Ritwika Vallomparambath PanikkasserySugasree. The...

Graduate student Jackie Shay has stepped up for the campus and students during the COVID-19 crisis.

Grad Student Aids Campus’s Move to Remote Teaching

When UC Merced began transitioning to emergency remote instruction in late March, hoping to lessen the spread of COVID-19, Jackie Shay didn’t waste any time jumping in to help her fellow...

Top 10 Finalists Advance in UC Merced’s Grad Slam

Although COVID-19 has changed everyone’s plans this spring, Graduate Division staff members rallied to make sure the campus’s annual Grad Slam competition — showcasing graduate...

CalTeach helps address the shortage of math and science teachers through innovative programming.

CalTeach Program Helps Fill Teacher Shortage Gap

When you add UC Merced students majoring in math and science with a mentor teacher it equals real-life experience teaching in local schools. That’s one of the many goals of UC Merced’s...

Research Reveals Collective Dynamics of Active Matter Systems

Flocks of starlings producing dazzling patterns across the sky are natural examples of active matter — groups of individual agents coming together to create collective dynamics. In a study...

Strubbe Recognized for Research, Teaching and Service to Department

Strubbe Recognized for Research, Teaching and Service to Department Physics Professor David Strubbe has been named a Cottrell Scholar, winning one of only 25 of the prestigious $100,000 grants...

Researchers Forge a New Weapon to Fight Parasites and Other Infections

Breakthrough collaborative science by an interdisciplinary team of researchers brought together by computational biology Professor David Ardell promises a new approach for treating all types of...