Staff & Faculty News

Two Weeks, One Challenge, Lifelong Impact: Bobcats Dive into Data Science Challenge

October 6, 2025

This summer's cohort of Data Science Challenge students and Professor Suzanne Sindi (red scarf)

Kathy Chau believed she knew what her future would look like. The first in her family to attend college, she had long been advised to aim for a safe and stable job — one that might not light a fire in her soul but would pay the bills. “I resigned myself to working a corporate job. I...

Photo depicts a firefighter battling a blaze at a Southern California home during the Palisades fire in January 2025.

Wildfire Disasters Surged in the Past 10 Years, Study Shows

Nearly half of the world’s worst wildfire disasters have occurred in just the past decade, new research from UC Merced’s Fire Resilience Center shows. A study published Thursday in the...

Photo depicts smoke over a wildfire burning through a forest.

Forest Carbon: Store it or Burn it? Actually, Both is Best

Storing carbon in forests is an essential, nature-based buffer against climate change. Yet forests packed with too many trees increase the threat of severe wildfires, which are becoming all too...

From Soil to Climate Solutions: Berhe Leads Sierra Nevada Research Institute into its Next Chapter

When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California...

Research into Hidden Chemistry Shaping Future Air Quality Earns Zhang an NSF Award

As nations cut emissions that once fueled urban smog, scientists are discovering unexpected chemistry taking place in the atmosphere. UC Merced Professor Xuan Zhang is leading a project to uncover...

This year's Hellman Fellows: Adeyemi Adebiyi, Qian Wang and Meredith Van Natta

Hellman Fellowships Welcome Three New Members from UC Merced

As the Hellman Fellowships celebrate their 30th year, three more researchers, one from each of UC Merced’s schools, have joined the prestigious ranks of recipients. Electrical engineering...

Photo depicts a silhouette of California firefighters battling a lightning-caused fire in 2020.

Damaging Lightning-Caused Wildfires Likely to Increase in a Few Years, Researchers Find

Lightning from thunderstorms rolling through Central California on Sept. 2 ignited numerous wildfires, including several large fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills that had burned more than 19 square...

Photo depicts mugshots of professors Andrea Joyce, Josh Garcia and Crystal Kolden on a background of the Beginnings sculpture at UC Merced.

UC Merced Agricultural Experiment Station Adds Fire, Insect and Soil Researchers

Three professors are joining UC Merced’s Agricultural Experiment Station this fall, bringing more expertise and resources to the 3-year-old research center. Management of complex systems...

A collage of photos depicting Tamela Adkins and other staff during the past 20 years.

Founding UC Merced Staffer Wraps Up 45 Years in Law Enforcement

On Aug. 12, 2005, less than one month before UC Merced opened its doors to undergraduate students, Tamela Adkins joined the campus’s Police Department as support services manager. Intially,...

Simple Chemical Treatment Makes Next-Gen Electronics More Reliable

A team of international researchers has discovered that a simple chemical treatment can enhance the strength and reliability of one of the world’s thinnest materials for use in future...

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