School of Natural Sciences

Postdoc Leads Study to Turn Cotton Waste into Climate-Smart Compost

November 12, 2025

three stages of cotton textile composting

UC Merced researchers are collaborating on a two-year research project to develop effective composting methods for cotton textiles. The project explores manufacturing cotton waste scraps from clothing into compost to demonstrate efficient composting with the right recipe, and the compost’s...

Graduate students from UC Merced’s three schools will take the stage to compete in the Graduate Division’s 10th Grad Slam finals on April 8.

Graduate Division Hosts 10th Grad Slam Competition

Who will UC Merced’s Grad Slam champion be? Cheer on the finalists on April 8 and find out. Graduate students from UC Merced’s three schools will take the stage to compete in the...

Provost Betsy Dumont. Quote: What can we do to set up UC Merced for where it wants to be in 20 years?

Curiosity and Care: Betsy Dumont's Path to UC Merced Provost

In a thick rainforest in Papua New Guinea, they're tracking bats. Researchers glue radio transmitters to the creatures’ little, furry bodies, then wait. And wait. When a bat flits...

Women honored at Womyn Luncheon at UC Merced

7 Women Honored for Impact on UC Merced Community

Seven extraordinary women from UC Merced were honored Monday at the Womyn’s Luncheon, an event hosted by the Division of Equity, Justice, & Inclusive Excellence. The event, held during...

SICB Awarded Funding for Major Cultural Change Initiative

The National Science Foundation recently awarded nearly $500,000 to the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) to help develop an internal culture that fosters inclusion, diversity...

Fellowship Expands Quantum, AI Training to Fill Industry Demand

UC Merced graduate students Anuvetha Govindarajan and Jocelyn Ornelas-Munoz have each received a $25,000 fellowship from SandboxAQ, which creates solutions at the nexus of artificial...

Professor Shahar Sukenik studies intrinsically disordered proteins.

Sukenik Named Sloan Research Fellow for Pioneering Research in Protein Chemistry

Professor Shahar Sukenik has been a faculty member for only 5 1/2 years, but he has already built an impressive resume, becoming a leader in his research field, an innovator and an exceptional...

Active-matter Researcher will Further Modeling, Education with NSF CAREER Award

Department of Physics Professor Kinjal Dasbiswas has received a CAREER award for his work on the theory and modeling of shape-changing active solids. He is the 38th researcher from UC Merced to...

Professor Claire Lukens, right, and recent graduate Kolleen Peyakov measure the geochemistry of a rock using an XRF spectrometer.

Lukens’ Latest Research Tracks Sediment’s Journey in the Eastern Sierra

Rocks, from ponderous boulders to tiny grains of sand, are subject to the whims of moisture, weather and time as they tumble from surrounding slopes into rivers, pools and lakes. UC Merced...

Researcher Among the World's Most Highly Cited for the Fourth Straight Year

Distinguished Professor Martin Hagger from the Department of Psychological Sciences has been awarded one of this year’s Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher awards. He is one of four...