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...

Hands-on, Handmade Instruments Boost Engagement for Remote Physics Class

With her students spread to the four winds by COVID-19, a UC Merced professor discovered she could build engagement in a virtual classroom with cardboard, painter’s tape and a child’s toy...

"Central Valley Portraits" Exhibit Showcases Everyday Life, Including Grief and Hope, in Merced

There's no doubt that it's been a tough year. A global pandemic, political division, social unrest, wildfires and more have inundated people's lives. Now, a local exhibit created by a UC...

Professor’s Drive to Help the Community Gets Underway for 13th Year

To help Merced people in need, Professor Patti LiWang has been leading a diaper and toilet paper drive for the past 12 years. “When we moved here, the recession hit. It was hard for us, a...

From Earth to Space and Back Again: Solar Samples Show Surprising Results

When physics graduate student William Delmas made samples of solar energy harvesting perovskite films two years ago, he had no idea that this summer, he’d be analyzing those same samples after...

Archiving National Agony: Sharim’s Short Film Being Featured in International Film Festivals

A UC Merced professor's latest work has been selected for a pair of international film festivals this year. Global Arts, Media, and Writing Studies Professor Yehuda Sharim is having his...

A computer-generated image depicts the coronavirus.

UC Merced Professor Studies How Best to Speed COVID-19 Recovery at Home

A UC Merced professor is collaborating with faculty from UCLA and the University of Illinois in a study that aims to find how people might best deal with COVID-19 at home. Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a...

Annual Faculty Agency Trip Is Held Virtually

Every year, the Office of Research Development (ORD) a unit within the Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED) facilitates a Faculty Agency Trip to Washington, D.C. The trips consist of...

Improved Molecular Tool Deepens Study of Gene-Cell Interaction

A group of researchers harnessing the power of light to control gene expression has dramatically improved its method, optimizing speed and precision, and opening new research avenues for scientists...

Beyond Cinema: Reviews Shared for Professor's Films on Immigrants and Refugees

Global arts Professor Yehuda Sharim's 2019 documentary "Songs That Never End" continues to garner attention both on and off the screen. The film, along with two of his previous works...

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