Chemical Sciences

Imagine exploring the cores of stars to understand — and ultimately control — the type of fusion that’s taking place.

High-energy density (HED) science is the study of properties and behavior of matter and radiation in extreme temperatures and pressures common to the deep interiors of the largest planets. It’s also the foundation of understanding fusion energy and high-energy astrophysical phenomena, and it’s happening at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, just 75 miles from UC Merced.

It’s a startling statistic: Nearly 30 percent of UC Merced students who start their college careers in the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) switch to majors outside the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by their second year.

For the first time, UC Merced’s doctoral programs in the sciences have been ranked among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 edition of Best Graduate Schools.

On Sept. 22, MacArthur "Genius" Award winner and Stanford University bioengineering Professor Manu Prakash will deliver the keynote lecture at the first annual open house for UC Merced’s Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM), a National Science Foundation Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (NSF-CREST).

Patricia LiWang was at an impasse.

Researchers at UC Merced are playing key roles in the new UC Valley Fever Research Initiative, studying ho

Graduate students at the University of California, Merced, will benefit from extensive new research, funding and training opportunities, thanks to two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling more than $3.25 million.

Interdisciplinary groups of computational sciences researchers won two of the 30 NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program grants the agency is giving out this year. The grants will fund 50 doctoral students and train another 100 graduate students over the course of five years.

Faculty members from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Mechanical Engineering

This weekend, more than 900 degree candidates are expected to take part in the 11th commencement ceremonies at University of California, Merced, and commemorate the hard work that led to their momentous day.

“Commencement marks a significant milestone in a student's life,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said. “It signifies the beginning of a new journey and the start of a lifelong affiliation with UC Merced as an alumnus.”

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the spring 2016 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Laura Showalter will represent the schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering as student speaker at this Sunday’s commencement ceremony.