Faculty

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$5 Million Cal-Bridge Grant Aims to Boost Physics, Astronomy Ph.D. Diversity

UC Merced is part of a concerted effort to dramatically increase diversity in physics and astronomy over the next five years.

The campus is one of nine University of California campuses and 15 California State University campuses awarded a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation through the Cal-Bridge North program.

The Poetry of Science Sparks International Collaboration

Writing poetry can lead to increased innovation in science, according to a new article in BioScience that came about because of a Twitter connection between UC Merced and Swansea University in Wales.

Andrew W. Mellon Grant Helps Campus Expand Diversity in the Humanities Faculty

A new grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will help UC Merced further diversify its community of graduate students and faculty, beginning with the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Emergence, Extinction of Massive Ancient Shark to be Explored with NSF Grant

Forty million years after dinosaurs went extinct, one of the largest predators that ever prowled Earth’s oceans emerged, feeding the imaginations of modern scientists and the nightmares of modern movie audiences.

Megalodon — the name means ‘giant tooth’ — appeared some 23 million years ago and reigned the seas for about 21 million years. In 400 million years of shark evolution, megalodon is the most massive shark species that ever lived, growing to 60 feet long, or three times the size of the largest of today’s great whites.

Five “20 Under 40” Honorees Hail From UC Merced

The Merced Sun-Star announced its 20 Under 40 honorees in 2018 and for the second consecutive year, numerous UC Merced alumni, staff and faculty members were chosen for their efforts to make the community a great place to live, work and learn.

Professor’s Novel Mercury-Mapping Project Wins State Grant

Civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir’s proposal for a unique system of mapping mercury in the waters of the San Francisco Delta has won her and her team of collaborators a $1.7 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

Postdoc Earns Prestigious NIH Award to Study Health Disparities

Jaapna Dhillon had no idea that studying how almonds affect health would win her a huge advantage in securing a tenure-track position.

But Dhillon just became UC Merced’s first postdoctoral researcher to receive a Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Frustration and Compromise in Flocking Cells Produce New Migration Patterns

Even if some members of a goal-driven group don’t seem to work well with others — even if the whole group is extremely frustrated — the group can still compromise and find new ways to produce a successful outcome.

UC Climate-Change Research is One Focus of Global Summit, New Reports

California aims to lead the nation — and the globe — in climate change research, policy and action — in large part through climate-focused research conducted at University of California campuses and labs.

Some of that research, including from UC Merced, will be on display this week as climate-change scientists, policymakers and trailblazers from around the globe gather in San Francisco for the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit .

$1.5M Grant Will Transform Chemistry Curriculum, Improve Access to STEM Careers

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.