Staff & Faculty News

Championing the Transition to Clean Energy

June 11, 2025

Image depicts UC Merced mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro talking to students near a small robot.

Mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro has turned a penchant for systems-level thinking and a longtime love of cars into a climate-resilient research mission. From electric vehicles (EVs) traversing San Francisco's busiest streets to electric appliances such as...

Study Finds No Gender Discrimination When Leaders Use Confident Language

People tend to listen to big talkers, whether they are women or men. Still, more women prefer not to use assertive language, according to a new study by economics Professor Ketki Sheth. The study...

Rosa Manzo is heading up an asthma intervention project in the Valley.

Asthma Intervention Project Gets Green Light from Genentech

A new community health project addressing asthma issues in the San Joaquin Valley is underway thanks to a collaboration between UC Merced, UCSF and Camarena Health, supported by a grant from...

Sociology Professor Nella Van Dyke is an expert on social movements in relation to hate crimes and has studied far right-wing movements.

Q&A: Sociologist with Specialty in Right-Wing Movements on Free Speech and the First Amendment

Social justice movements and conspiracy theories have become a hallmark of our time, but how do we know which inflammatory statements are legally protected and which are not? Sociology Professor...

Matlock Earns Prestigious Athena Award for Academic Leadership

Vice Provost for Academic Personnel Teenie Matlock has been honored with the Athena Award for Academic Leadership by the Women in Technology Initiative at the University of California. Matlock was...

Life and Environmental Sciences Professor Sora Kim studies climate change by examining the isotopes in fossilized shark teeth.

Paleoecology Professor's Research and Teaching Earns Recognition

Professor Sora Kim has been named one of this year’s Emerging Scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. Only 15 researchers, out of hundreds of nominees, have been selected...

Chemistry Professor Tao Ye and his students gathered on campus.

Chemical Biology Lab Creating DNA-based Nanomachines that can Self Assemble

Professor Tao Ye and colleagues have received a $1.18 million grant from the Department of Energy to study how DNA molecules can arrange themselves into nanostructures that could form the basis of...

Professor’s Latest Film Examines Latinx Women’s Experience in a Divided America

Global Arts Studies Professor Yehuda Sharim has released his latest project, a short film titled “Red Line Lullaby” or “Cancion de Cuna Colorada,” which examines the varied...

Breast Milk Shows Promise for Treating COVID-19 and Protecting Babies

Health psychology Professor Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook and incoming grad student Jessica Marino have a new study suggesting that the breastmilk of mothers who have recovered from COVID-19 contains...

Solar panels atop campus buildings are just one factor in the campus's carbon neutrality.

Campus Reaches Carbon Neutrality Ahead of Schedule

After a lengthy and rigorous review by independent auditors, UC Merced can proudly announce it is the first public research university in the country to achieve carbon neutrality, two years ahead of...

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