News

NSF Awards CCBM Center $5 Million to Continue STEM Research

October 27, 2021

UC Merced’s NSF-CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) has been awarded an additional $5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue its mission. In total, the NSF has invested $10 million in the center, an indicator of the importance of the Center’s work and...

Professor’s Side-Blotched Lizards Become Latest Campus Inhabitants

October 26, 2021

Every faculty member has to set up their lab when they join a new campus. But Professor Danielle Edwards literally built a key component of hers from the ground up. The outdoor component of El Huevo — the Edwards Lab of Herpetology Uta Evolution Vivarium and Ovipositorium — is set on 1.2 acres...

Governor Announces State Funding for UC Merced’s Medical Education Building

October 25, 2021

Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking at UC Merced on Monday, announced that the state will support the building of the university’s new medical education building. The Health, Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education Building will support a B.S.-to-M.D. joint degree program with UCSF-Fresno, starting in...

Trounstine to Speak on Race and Regulation in University of Pennsylvania Lecture Series

October 20, 2021

Department of Political Science Chair and Professor Jessica Trounstine will deliver remarks on race and regulation as part of a lecture series hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Trounstine will speak about her research on racial inequalities related to housing and land use...

HIV Preventative Developed in LiWang Lab Takes One Big Step Forward

October 20, 2021

An HIV-inhibiting silk film designed to advance prevention and help end the AIDS epidemic in countries in Africa, developed by UC Merced Professor Patti LiWang, has met recent success at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis. “They show complete protection,” LiWang said. “The...

Arif Lab Studies Throat Patterns to Give a Voice to the Speechless

October 19, 2021

Not being able to communicate with loved ones is an unfortunate reality for some, such as recent stroke patients or mute individuals. Vocal imaging research performed by Professor Ahmed Sabbir Arif’s lab is contributing to a new form of communication that could help these afflicted populations...

Researchers Investigate Land Management Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Sequestration

October 18, 2021

A group of UC Merced researchers are working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to find out how much greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced just through land-management strategies. Professors Stephen Hart and Martha Conklin and postdoctoral researcher Jian Lin are analyzing 1,445...

Spendlove Prize to Be Presented to Human Rights Activist and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Nadia Murad

October 14, 2021

Human rights activist Nadia Murad has been selected as the 14th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize recipient will be honored during a virtual ceremony on Nov. 3. Murad is an advocate for survivors of genocide...

Research Program Offers Students a Moroccan Summer Field Experience

October 13, 2021

Students will soon be able to apply for a unique opportunity to go to Morocco — when travel is safe again — to study the environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the production of argan oil. The oil is commonly seen in cosmetics in the United States, but it is also edible and in high demand...

Space Telescope Time and Data Analysis Boosting Astrophysics Studies This Fall

October 12, 2021

Dark matter and the life cycles of star clusters will come into focus as UC Merced’s astrophysicists get resources from the two space telescopes soon to be exploring the universe. NASA has granted Professor Anna Nierenberg observational time with the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) when it’...