Faculty

Dust is a Danger to Central Valley Health and Will Likely Get Worse, Researchers Find

May 12, 2025

A dust storm rises near Owens Lake. Photo Courtesy of UC San Diego

People don't think about dust much until it's time to clean the house, but a new report by UC researchers could raise awareness of the growing threat of dust and dust storms. Dust affects everything from cardiovascular and brain health to traffic collisions and agricultural yield....

Study Looks at Emotion's Role in Chemotherapy Tolerance

How patients perceive and talk about their illnesses can have an impact on how they recover and heal, according to a growing area of health research being furthered by UC Merced health psychology...

UC Solar Working to Meet State’s Renewable Energy Goals

MERCED, Calif. — The solar energy industry is emerging as a key player in the multi-pronged approach California will take in leading the nation in renewable energy, experts say. And the University of...

UC Merced Workshop to Explore Bilingualism

UC Merced is hosting a bilingualism workshop that brings together scholars from psychology, linguistics, cognitive science and education. The workshop begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 in the Dr....

New Faculty Members Expand, Strengthen Research

UC Merced has hired 34 faculty members for the 2014-15 academic year, giving the campus 212 tenure-track professors who expand the depth and breadth of research expertise. Excluding student employees...

Pine Needle Bacteria Earn Professor Second NSF Grant of the Year

Professor Carolin Frank will collect $1.6 million over the next four years to continue researching the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in pine needles and to work with the Sierra Foothill Charter...

Extreme Changes in Seasonality Affect Soils’ Ability to Store Water and Carbon, Research Shows

Extreme changes in seasonality in the Sierra Nevada can have lasting impacts on meadow health and could mean less water and carbon storage in high elevation wetlands, according to research conducted...

Climate Change Influencing Freshwater Mountain Runoff, Research Shows

As the climate warms, sources of the water so critical to life everywhere on Earth are drying up. By the end of this century, communities dependent on freshwater from mountain-fed rivers could see...

Rare Flower Variant Discovered by Professor Offers Insight into Evolution

The discovery of a new, rare species of monkey flower by Professor Jason Sexton provides clues as to how new species are born. Sexton, who researches the monkey flowers that grow wild throughout...

California Overspends Water Rights by 300 Million Acre Feet

California is deficit-spending its water and has been for a century, according to state data analyzed recently by researchers from the University of California. UC Merced Professor Joshua Viers and...