Mushrooms are pretty amazing. They are light and porous yet have a high strength-to-weight ratio. They are absorbent. They can serve as filters.
Manufacturing a material that mimics mushrooms and other fungal structures could provide opportunities in any number of areas, ranging from aerospace engineering to clothing production.
The first four faculty members named to UC Merced's Agricultural Experiment Station look to make a big impact on farming in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.
As wildfires grow in intensity and frequency, it's vital that agencies and local stakeholders work together to rehabilitate and restore resilience to wildlands in California.
This finding is underscored in a paper in the journal Restoration Ecology published in October by UC Merced researchers.
Between 70% and 80% of students who start classes at community colleges plan to transfer to four-year universities. But only between 20% and 30% do.
In California, that number is closer to the lower end of that spectrum, a University of Wisconsin researcher told a room full of higher education representatives.
When it comes to jobs in engineering, the possibilities are growing exponentially. And UC Merced is meeting the challenge by growing its engineering majors to produce the skilled workforce needed for the current and future job markets.
Engineers solve problems and create devices, systems, processes and structures to solve problems and improve society. UC Merced prides itself on providing comprehensive, hands-on instruction in the classroom, ensuring that students gain the knowledge and skills they need.
Fast-growing fires were responsible for nearly 90% of fire-related damages despite being relatively rare in the United States between 2001-2020, according to a new study.
"Fast fires," which thrust embers into the air ahead of rapidly advancing flames, can ignite homes before emergency responders can intervene. The study, published recently in Science, shows these fires are getting faster in the Western U.S., increasing the risk for millions of people.
Natural rubber is used in a wide range of products used throughout the globe. Lab-produced rubber works for many applications but is insufficient for vital items like airplane tires and specialty medical products.
Natural rubber also is a precious resource; 90% of the plants that serve as its source for are grown in a tiny area of Southeast Asia.
A new instrument that can fabricate extremely small features and devices could have a very big impact on several STEM programs at UC Merced.
Parveen Kumar of the university's Office of Research and Economic Development leads a team that secured a grant from the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to buy a semi-automatic mask aligner/nanoimprint lithography module.
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program provides some of the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards to higher education faculty. According to the NSF website, these awards are given "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 department or organization."
UC Merced's computer science and engineering faculty has been remarkably successful in attaining these prestigious awards.
California high-speed rail, a multibillion-dollar project designed to connect the Central Valley to Los Angeles and the Bay Area, promises swift transportation, the protection of agricultural land and contributions to a cleaner environment.
It's also providing a lot of jobs - from design to construction to, eventually, operation.
