Research Excellence

Report Reviews How California's Water Projects Balance Needs of People and Endangered Species

December 9, 2025

Photo is a mugshot of Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara depicted on a blue and gold background.

A National Academies committee that includes a UC Merced researcher recently released its findings from a review of the science behind the operations of two massive California water projects. Civil and environmental engineering Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara is a member of an ad hoc committee...

UC Merced Professor Ma Vang and print of painting that is on the cover of her book "History on the Run"

Untangling Hmong History with UC Merced’s Ma Vang

Exploring sources of historical narratives can take you to places where walls seem to move and truth feels fluid and interchangeable. Ma Vang’s research has focused on how people narrate their...

UC President Michael Drake signs a white coat to celebrate an important milestone for UC Merced's Medical Education Building.

Following the Mission to Improve Valley Health Care

It was a groundbreaking Tuesday night so there were shovels. Many shovels. Full sized, posterized, miniaturized (in a gift box). All to mark a symbolic turning of earth for UC Merced’s Medical...

Scholar Workshop Studies Genocide from Several Angles

An online workshop this week aims to deconstruct one of humanity’s most destructive traits: genocide. UC Merced’s Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences is bringing together...

AI illustration of rural dangers of tobacco use

Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center Gets $3.9 Million Extension

UC Merced’s Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center has earned multiyear funding to continue its mission to embolden community partners and share policy-influencing data in the long battle...

A flexible material that gets stronger the more it is hit and conducts electricity is shown.

Stretchy Material That Gets Stronger When Hit Has Exciting Potential

Much of the work Yue (Jessica) Wang does at UC Merced sounds like science fiction: She creates flexible material that gets stronger the more you hit it. And it conducts electricity. Science, yes....

Researchers Find Unexpected Cellular Residence for Protein Vital in Neurodevelopment

In Professor Xuecai Ge ’s lab, where UC Merced researchers study how cells talk to each other to develop and differentiate, a recent surprise discovery is lending insight as to how erroneous...

Artist Mine Okubo painting exhibition in Riverside

UC Merced Professor Curates a California Woman’s 7 Decades of Artistic Accomplishment

An exhibit curated by a UC Merced professor reintroduces the seven-decade career of an American artist of Japanese descent who defied systemic racism and created a body of artwork true to her unique...

Professor Ajay Gopinathan and CCBM Executive Director Carrie Kouadio

New Summer Research Opportunities for Undergraduates from Across U.S.

The National Science Foundation awarded a team, led by principal investigators Professor Ajay Gopinathan and Carrie Kouadio, funding to establish a summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (...

UC Merced's Professor Valerie Leppert at Bobcat Day

Thousands Enjoy a Big ‘Welcome’ at Bobcat Day

Fernando Malagon and his mom stood at the head of a line for guided tours of the university he plans to attend this fall. The informational stroll around UC Merced would be more for her than for him...

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