Staff & Faculty News

For the First Time, All Avian Evolutionary Relationships Revealed Through Collaboration

April 29, 2025

Professor Emily Jane McTavish and colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have mapped the evolution of every known bird species. They created a complete evolutionary tree of bird species by combining data on 9,239 species published in nearly 300 studies between 1990 and 2024 and...

Researchers Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez, Stephen Hart and Roger Bales.

Grant Funds Research into Wildfire Behavior and Ecological Effects of Fuel Treatments

A grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will fund a project led by a UC Merced researcher looking into predicting behavior of wildfires. Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez is leading a team...

New Collaborations Designed to Increase Access to Data Science for All Students

UC Merced is part of several new initiatives aimed at increasing the accessibility and inclusivity of data science studies and opening new opportunities for historically underserved students after...

A male waterbuck antelope stands knee-deep in receding floodwaters three months after Cyclone Idai made landfall. Three months before this photo being taken, a waterbuck standing in this spot would be totally submerged by Cyclone Idai induced flooding.

Research Team Explores the Effects of Climate Catastrophes on Different Species

How different species of animals respond to extreme weather events — which are increasing because of climate change — appears to be related to body size and habitat preference, a new...

Officers Brian Carbaugh and Enrique Rodriguez receive awards from UC Merced Police Chief Chou Her.

UC Merced Officers Awarded for Lifesaving Efforts

UC Merced police officers Enrique Rodriguez and Brian Carbaugh were on routine patrol July 26. Carbaugh had recently joined the department and was undergoing field training with Rodriguez. At 6:22...

Cognitive Science Professor’s First Book Released by Princeton University Press

Cognitive science Professor Paul Smaldino has astronomically high hopes for his first book. “I hope literally everyone reads this book,” Smaldino said. “Modeling Social...

Labor, Community-based Groups Key to Addressing Climate Challenge, Study Shows

One of the major challenges of this century is democratically engaging institutions and large numbers of people with strategies to mitigate global warming by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. A...

Sharim's father's hands, damaged fieldwork.

Film, Poetry, Philosophy the Subjects of Three Foundry Pieces by Humanities Community

The new issue of Foundry, a digital platform similar to a magazine, assembled by the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI), features works by three members of the UC Merced...

Sharim’s Films Honored at More than 80 Festivals Worldwide

Professor Yehuda Sharim 's film entitled “El Ojo Comienza En La Mano,” which he calls a tribute to campesino histories in rural California told through the art of local farm worker...

UC Merced Project Scientist Rosa Manzo, Ph.D. (center) with Camarena Health’s Claudia Fabian Chavez (left) and Maria Meraz (right)

Genentech Grant Supports New UC Merced Center for Health Equity

UC Merced was recently awarded a significant grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche group, to create the UC Merced Center for Health Equity. The initiative will focus on eliminating health...

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