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...

New Partnership Offers Ph.D. Students a Path to Pedagogical Excellence

Graduate student Samuel Leventini comes from a long line of educators, and the tribology researcher thinks he might want to follow in those footsteps. Thanks to a new supplemental grant from the...

Climate Change to Drive Surge in Insects that Attack Almonds, Peaches, Walnuts

As a result of climate change, the Golden State's farms are expected to face a surge in agricultural pests, which poses a threat to California's specialty crops industry. Populations of...

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...

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