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...

Scholarship Supports Student Magician’s Visit to Help Chinese Earthquake Orphans

When a deadly earthquake shook the Sichuan province of his native China in May 2008, John Li watched from Los Angeles and immediately made a connection. He knew his passion for performing magic could...

Professor Studies Alcohol's Neurological Effects

Professor Fred Wolf’s research brings new meaning to the term barfly. In an effort to better understand the neurological effects of alcohol abuse, Wolf gives fruit flies alcohol and studies how their...

Park Leaders Collaborate, Learn at UC Merced Institute

At a time when Californians are dismayed about closures of state parks, and protected lands around the globe are under increasing stress from reduced government resources, an innovative institute is...

Research Lends Insight into Controlling Cells, Addressing Diseases

A discovery by a UC Merced biophysicist has moved science a step closer toward fine-tuning cell functions and combating certain diseases. Professor Jing Xu found that a cell’s nanomotor can be...

Study: Bone Density May Affect Immune System

Researchers at the University of California, Merced, have discovered a new way in which bone health impacts a person’s immune system. The discovery could impact how scientists try to combat bone-...

UC Merced Celebrates Largest Graduating Class

A joyous throng of 776 degree candidates of the University of California, Merced, today marched through the Beginnings Sculpture and onto the campus’ South Bowl to receive their prized degrees,...

Senior Earns Prestigious Study Opportunities

UC Merced senior Jesse Anaya answered his phone one day to hear an unfamiliar voice ask, “Are you ready to change the world?” “Yes,” he replied. “Now, who is this?” A representative from the Harvard...

Racing Team Puts Classroom Lessons to the Test

UC Merced’s Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team built its first racecar and exhibited it at a national competition last June. The student club has crafted a more advanced machine this...

Campus' Annual Celebration of Research Continues to Grow

From the campus’ own undergraduate and graduate students to distinguished faculty members from here and abroad, Research Week at the University of California, Merced, will offer a wide range of...