News

Alumna Tackles Eco-Evolutionary Research on the California Coast

September 26, 2019

Lauren Schiebelhut credits the support and opportunities afforded to her at UC Merced with opening the door to her research career. Schiebelhut — a first-generation transfer student from Fresno — earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from UC Merced in May 2009 but was uncertain about...

Physicists Revealing Mysteries of Biological Fluids

September 26, 2019

A group of physics researchers from UC Merced have revealed that a fluid made from biological molecules found in human cells behaves much like ordinary fluids that are mixed externally, such as paint. Except in the case of the biological fluids, no external mixing is required — it’s mixing itself....

Applied Math — an ‘Oddity’ in its Field — Continues to Evolve at UC Merced

September 23, 2019

Math at UC Merced isn’t exactly like math at most other universities. Sure, there are parabolas and equations, orders of operations and cosines, but at this campus, those lead into topics such as Mad Cow Disease, coral photosynthesis and a crab’s sense of smell. The Department of Applied...

UC Merced Reaches for Stars with Solar Cells

September 18, 2019

Two UC Merced physics groups are totally spacing out this year. Professors Sayantani Ghosh and David Strubbe and their students in the Department of Physics are working on a NASA initiative to fabricate solar cells in space and turn sunlight into electricity. “One of the big challenges with solar...

Visiting Behavioral Economist Honored with Distinguished Cognitive Scientist Award

September 17, 2019

Imagine blending economics, psychology, and neuroscience to pioneer new ways to think about human behavior. Behavioral economist Colin Camerer does just that and was honored as the recipient of the 12th annual Distinguished Cognitive Scientist award on Monday. Bestowed by UC Merced’s Cognitive and...

Celebrate Hispanic Culture, Heritage and Education

September 16, 2019

Mid-September through mid-October is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and today marks the start of Hispanic Serving Institutions Week, too. UC Merced offers free events and programming to observe Hispanic and Latinx heritage and culture while promoting opportunities. Grab free pizza and learn more...

Cognitive Scientist Shows How Culture Shapes Personality Traits

September 16, 2019

Complex societies produce people with more varied personalities. That’s the surprising finding of a cognitive science study that attempts to understand how people develop into who they are: social and ecological environments in which we develop have a lot to do with it. “The way scientists think of...

Blood Cell Research Taking Groundbreaking Turns in Biology Lab

September 11, 2019

Developmental biologist Professor Anna Beaudin and her lab are making breakthrough discoveries in a growing field of research that could lead to exciting developments in such medical puzzles as cancer treatments, regenerative medicine and the cause of autism. She examines the mechanisms of how...

TED Audiences get the Dirt on Soil and Climate Change from Berhe

September 3, 2019

Soil is one of the foundations of life on Earth and could be an important part of the solution to climate change, if only we can stop treating it like dirt. That’s the message Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe shared with a global audience when she became the only current UC Merced researcher to...

Hellman Family Recognizes Young UC Merced Faculty Projects and Careers

August 30, 2019

Six faculty members have been named this year’s Hellman Fellows — two from each of UC Merced’s schools. The 2019-20 winners are: • Professor Anna E. Beaudin, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, School of Natural Sciences; • Professor Chih-Wen Ni, Department of Bioengineering, School of...