Science

Alumna Laura Showalter, Foundation Diplomat Jane Binger Create Chemical Sciences Scholarship

June 10, 2025

UC Merced students pursuing degrees in chemical sciences now have access to a new source of financial support, thanks to a gift from two of the university’s most dedicated advocates. Alumna Laura Showalter ’16, ’18 and UC Merced Foundation Diplomat Dr. Jane Binger have...

Bobcats Help Shape Future of NASA, SPACEX Missions

As the SPACEX Crew Dragon spacecraft left Earth today to ferry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, many Bobcats were watching the live stream with keen anticipation. It’s...

UC Merced Part of CITRIS’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants

UC Merced professors are leading or participating in four technology projects designed to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis. The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (...

Changing Snowmelt Threatens Valley Ag, Way of Life

The San Joaquin Valley — with all its agriculture and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that go with it — is one of the places most at risk because of changing snowmelt patterns, a new...

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...

Senior Becomes Fourth Bobcat to Win Prestigious Scholarship

Sam Schroeder, a fourth-year undergraduate student working with Professor Valerie Leppert in materials sciences, has been awarded a highly competitive Materials Engineering Scholarship — one...

How 'Bout Them Apples? Engineers Correlate Friction to Texture

Think about biting into a fresh apple. What do you perceive? Is it juicy? Sweet? Tart? Crisp? Now remember how unpleasant it is to bite into mealy apple flesh. Vineland Research and Innovation...

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...

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...