Research

The youngest University of California campus is now the steward of some ancient remains.

It has been four years since Mike Oliveira earned his bachelor’s degree in bioengineering at UC Merced, but the campus still feels like home to him.

Not everyone can go out into the Sierra Nevada and experience snowpack research or wildlife conservation firsthand.

That’s why Robin Milford, access services librarian and exhibits coordinator for the UC Merced library, has brought the experiences to campus.

“We have a lot of really great exhibit spaces, and I think they are best used when we’re showing what’s really going on on the campus,” Milford said.

Just because it’s summertime doesn’t mean research at UC Merced comes to a halt.

Just the opposite.

This summer, professors and students at all levels are conducting a variety of research projects on campus, off campus, in the oceans and forests and around the world.

Up in Yosemite National Park, for example, nine undergraduate students are getting a summer experience to last them a lifetime, conducting research with faculty researchers from UC Merced, scientists from the U.S. Geologic Survey and from the park.

In a move that will save the campus money, improve campus safety and help save the environment, Professor Jason Hein set up a new solvent purification system.

This project is similar to his previous efforts to reduce hazardous waste generated by his lab by capturing and recycling acetone.

Nation-states, as we know them, have been built and rebuilt since the 18th century.

Graphic cigarette warning labels are better at discouraging smoking in young adults than text-only labels, according to research recently published by a UC Merced professor.

Like many faculty members, Professor Katrina Hoyer is busy running a lab, teaching and researching. This year, she adds another item to her to-do list – learning how public policy is implemented and how she can advocate for policy that affects her research.