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Gopinathan Chosen for Leadership Role in American Physical Society

December 21, 2021
Professor Ajay Gopinathan has been elected the next vice-chair of the Division of Biological Physics (DBIO) of the American Physical Society (APS), the world's largest organization of physicists. He will serve as vice-chair in March 2023, then move into the positions of chair-elect, chair and past...

UC Merced Leaps Up in Nature Index’s Young University Rankings

December 9, 2021
UC Merced has earned the distinction of ranking No. 20 among the world's Rising Young Universities, according to the just-released Nature Index 2021 Young Universities — the only U.S. institution to place in the top 25. Among the leading 150 Young Universities, UC Merced ranks No. 80, and for...

Physicist’s Exploration of 2D Materials Earns a CAREER Award

November 29, 2021
Professor David Strubbe has become the eighth faculty member of the 21-member Department of Physics to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for his research into improving the fundamental understanding of the interaction of light and vibrations in materials. He is the 29th...

Winston Cone Optics' Innovative Technology Garners State, National Attention

November 22, 2021
When people hear the word “solar,” many think of solar panels on a house, which generate electricity. But there is another way to use energy harnessed by the sun: heat. Founding faculty member and Director of the University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar)...

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...

Hirst Selected for Prestigious Fellowship in the American Physical Society

October 25, 2021
Physics Professor Linda Hirst has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) by the APS Council of Representatives at its most recent meeting. This is the second consecutive year the Department of Physics has had a faculty member elevated to an APS fellowship. The number of APS...

Scientists Assemble a Biological Clock in a Test Tube to Study How It Works

October 7, 2021
Daily cycles in virtually every aspect of our physiology are driven by biological clocks (also called circadian clocks) in our cells. The cyclical interactions of clock proteins keep the biological rhythms of life in tune with the daily cycle of night and day, and this happens not only in humans...

Chemistry Lab Receives NSF Funding to Study How Proteins Protect from Dehydration

August 26, 2021
Like many people this summer, Professor Shahar Sukenik has dehydration on his mind. But it’s not the soaring outside temperatures prompting this focus. Dehydration has been a theme of his lab’s work for the past year, from understanding how seeds know when to germinate to a new grant to further...

From Earth to Space and Back Again: Solar Samples Show Surprising Results

June 17, 2021
When physics graduate student William Delmas made samples of solar energy harvesting perovskite films two years ago, he had no idea that this summer, he’d be analyzing those same samples after they made a round trip to the International Space Station (ISS). “It’s really cool to see this come full...

Engineering Professor Awarded $1 Million NSF Award to Study Protein Folding

June 16, 2021
Proteins operate like biological machines, regulating nearly every major function and organ in our bodies through a still-mysterious shape-shifting process. Bioengineering graduate group chair Professor Victor Muñoz has a new $1,082,356 award from the National Science Foundation to unlock those...

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