School of Natural Sciences

COSMOS Expands to UC Merced, Opening Doors for California’s Brightest Young Scientists

December 11, 2025

High school students will have a wider array of research opportunities through COSMOS starting next summer.

Starting next summer, UC Merced will join an elite group of University of California campuses hosting COSMOS — the California State Summer School for Math and Science — giving some of the state’s most talented high school students a new destination for exploring advanced STEM...

2020 brought a wealth of challenges, but once again the Bobcat community proved its resilience, coming together to ensure the university’s mission of teaching, research and service would continue. Photo Credit: Dave Burk © SOM

UC Merced: Looking Back on 2020

There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth...

UC Merced is planning for a return to primarily in-person instruction starting in the fall.

UC Plans for Fall 2021 In-person Instruction Across Its 10 Campuses

The University of California announced today that it is planning for a return to primarily in-person instruction systemwide starting in fall 2021. The announcement is intended to provide prospective...

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...

UC Merced's three schools will have their own fall commencement ceremonies broadcast simultaneously, complete with closed captioning in English and Spanish.

Virtual Fall Commencement Customized for Grads

UC Merced will host its second virtual ceremony for the Fall 2020 Commencement on Dec. 19, with a host of changes meant to confer upon students the distinct importance of the achievement. New this...

Physicist Liu Receives NSF CAREER Award to Create ‘Bacteria Treadmill’

Physics Professor Bin Liu has received a CAREER award for his research into a new micromanipulation technique to virtually hold freely moving microorganisms, essentially creating a “bacterial...

Pandemic Inspires Chemist to Open New Avenues of Research

Professor Michael Thompson doesn’t usually work in immunology or drug development. But his use of X-ray crystallography — research that visualizes the structures of protein molecules to...

Researcher Examining CBD Effects on Metabolic Syndrome

About 35 percent of Americans have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death in the United States. If you have...

Berhe Honored with Prestigious AGU Medal and Fellowship

Soil biogeochemistry Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe has been recognized by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as one of this year’s recipients of the Joanne Simpson Medal for Mid-...

Meza Named First AMS Fellow from UC Merced

Professor Juan Meza, former dean of the School of Natural Sciences, has become the first Fellow of the American Mathematical Society from UC Merced. He is one of 46 Fellows inducted as part of...