Staff & Faculty News

Astronomers Reveal Hidden Activity in the Early Universe’s Most Massive Galaxies

January 5, 2026

Spectroscopy at the UC's W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii helped the researchers interpret complex data about ultramassive galaxies. Photo courtesy of the W.M. Keck Observatory.

An international team of astronomers has studied ultramassive galaxies - galaxies containing more than 100 billion stars - as they existed when the universe was less than 2 billion years old. The results show that while some of these ultramassive galaxies, or UMGs, had already shut down star...

Tenure-Track Faculty Merit Reviews Go Paperless Thanks to New System

A new electronic workflow system for tenure-track faculty merit reviews is modernizing and eventually replacing a tedious, time-consuming and paper-heavy process at UC Merced. After a two-year...

Lab Works to Understand Molecular Motors and Cholesterol’s Relation to Alzheimer’s

Professor Jing Xu and her students study extremely tiny motor proteins, but their work could make a huge contribution to the growing body of knowledge about Alzheimer’s and other diseases that...

Political Science Professor Jessica Trounstine is the first faculty member to receive the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees Presidential Chair.

Political Scientist Trounstine Appointed Inaugural Endowed Presidential Chair

Political science Professor Jessica Trounstine has been awarded the inaugural UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees Presidential Chair. This chair was created to recognize the excellent...

The Faculty and Staff Open Enrollment Benefits & Wellness Fair will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the Yablokoff-Wallace Dining Center.

Open Enrollment Period Offers New Options for Staff, Faculty

A new supplemental health insurance option and a realignment of prescription medications covered under PPOs are among the featured changes in benefits for UC Merced staff and faculty members as the...

Professor Kevin Dawson receives the Harriet Tubman Prize for his book "Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora" during an Oct. 10, 2019, ceremony at the Lapidus Center in New York.

Dawson Wins Harriet Tubman Prize for Book on Aquatic Culture of African Diaspora

As a child, Kevin Dawson traveled from California to visit his grandmother in Harlem, where he recalls playing in Jackie Robinson Park. Dawson, an avid swimmer and surfer, would peer through a fence...

Berhe Named to Endowed Chair in Recognition of Her Work in Soil Sciences

Soil biogeochemistry Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe has been named the Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology. “The Falasco family is engaged in construction and...

Aldenderfer Discusses Humans’ Deep History at International Mountain Conference

Archaeology Professor Mark Aldenderfer ventured to the Austrian Alps recently to deliver a keynote address at the International Mountain Conference in Innsbruck. Aldenderfer’s...

Campus Honors Staff Excellence

When it comes to campus icons, Guillermo Rivas is at the top of the list. The arches of the Beginnings sculpture might grace campus photos and brochures, but Rivas graces everyone he meets with his...

Biodiversity Study Indicates Large and Small Organisms React Similarly to Environment

Bacteria and starfish have more in common than people might think. A new study published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences shows that both single-celled (...

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