Research Excellence

May 12, 2026

Headshots of five UC Merced professors who won early career award
Five UC Merced faculty members are among the first awardees of a UC-wide honor given for exemplary research in budding academic careers. The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards, launched last fall, support commitment to scholarship and creative activity across the 10-campus system....
AI-rendered of hand emerging from a box, holding a pen pressed against paper
Written words can do more than communicate. They can also unlock the writer’s ability to process distress, identify hurtful feelings and take control of personal conflict. Emily Johnston, a...
Blue-green algae in flasks are used by researchers at UC Merced and UC San Diego to further the understanding of circadian clocks. Image courtesy of UC San Diego.
Our circadian clocks play a crucial role in our health and well-being, keeping our 24-hour biological cycles in sync with light and dark exposure. Disruptions in the rhythms of these clocks, as with...
Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang
Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang has spent much of his career studying how life keeps time. His work on the circadian clock of cyanobacteria — tiny, ancient organisms that share the planet...
UC Merced continues to demonstrate its growing influence on the global stage. Several faculty members landed on Clarivate’s 2025 list of the world’s most‑cited researchers. The honor...
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...
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....
Two UC Merced students smiling at the camera
When UC Merced launches Give to UC Merced 2025 on Dec. 2, it won’t just be about one day of giving; the month-long campaign will be about hope, opportunity and community impact. For the 12th...
husband and pregnant wife
A husband’s optimism and confidence might play a crucial, if often unseen, role in helping babies arrive healthy and on time. A new study from UC Merced psychology researchers found...
Illustration of worker threatened by robot
As debates rage about artificial intelligence's impact on jobs, new research suggests that even warnings that AI could disrupt workers' employment soon do little to shake their...

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