Research Excellence

Paleoecology Professor Jessica Blois recently became the campus’s 19th recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award.

The NSF describes as the CAREER as its “most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their organizations.”

The award provides Blois with $782,449 over the next five years to pursue an agenda that includes research and outreach.

UC Merced has been awarded a $3.8 million grant to establish the UC Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC), positioning UC Merced and the San Joaquin Valley region as a leading center for the study of public health and policy matters related to tobacco and marijuana.

“Awarding of this center grant to UC Merced and its partners is a clear sign of the commitment, expertise and leadership of our faculty in addressing issues critical to both the Valley and the world,” Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development Sam Traina said.

Soils are carbon sinks, storing more planet-warming carbon than the atmosphere and all animal and plant life combined.

But they can also release massive amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Given carbon’s central role in climate change, understanding the forces that govern how soils absorb and release carbon is crucial.

In 1998, scientists studying rheumatoid arthritis observed a population of immune cells that weren’t behaving the way they were supposed to. Immunologists noted the strange phenomenon, but decided not to pursue the subject further, and the cells were soon forgotten.

But interest in these cells has swelled over the past few years as they’ve been found in patients with chronic viral infections and cancer.

In 2012, Environmental Systems graduate student Lauren Schiebelhut was collecting DNA from ochre sea stars living along the Northern California coast — part of an effort to study genetic diversity in various marine species that serve as indicators of habitat health. She had no idea that just one year later, most of the sea stars would be dead.

A new Pew Research survey shows that one-third of Americans have trust in a higher power or spiritual force, whether they call it “god” or not, and two new studies show that people who think they have that force in their corner feel empowered in battle.

Neurons keep time. These brain cells – which are responsible for the brain’s “heavy lifting,” from information processing to memory formation – seem to "know" how long they’ve been exposed to sensory stimulation. Now, scientists are starting to understand how they do this.

It reads like a mashup of Greek mythology and H.G. Wells. “The Odyssey of Doctor Moreau,” perhaps. Explorers find their way to a remote Aegean island and discover it’s inhabited by reptilian cannibals. They describe one encounter as follows:

“[I]t began to run away, with the dead lizard torso and head still in its mouth. The cannibal continuously ran along the top of a wall and paused intermittently to thrash the corpse against the cement.”

The dynamics of blood coagulation, evolution of language and carnivore foraging strategies were just a few of the many topics discussed at the third annual Central Valley Regional Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Student Chapter Conference held on the UC Merced campus April 27.

The idea for a year-end event showcasing School of Engineering students’ original designs started as a scribble on the back of a cocktail napkin and culminated in the exhibition of 12 teams’ work.

Now, six years later, Innovate to Grow (I2G) has become a premier event on campus highlighting dozens of projects and drawing audiences from across campus and throughout the community to UC Merced.