Extreme Science Leads the Way

UC Merced's extreme science almost defies the imagination. It's supersmall, ultacold and hyperfast.

Researchers in the School of Natural Sciences are pushing boundaries in hopes of yielding results that could change the world. Their research – in photons, artificial atoms and molecules – is only a sampling of UC Merced’s cutting-edge interdisciplinary research that could impact renewable energy, health and communication.

Physics Professor Sayantani Ghosh studies how artificial atoms, known as quantum dots, react to light and temperature because the rules of physics change at the quantum scale. Physics Professor Jay Sharping uses lasers that pulse at intervals of 50 femtoseconds, far faster than what’s visible to the human eye. One femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second.

Chemistry Professor Tao Ye studies the ways artificial molecular machines can be used to perform many interesting tasks, such as combating devastating diseases like cancer. Molecules moving around the body like tiny robots are what make a person’s arms swing and retinas dilate. One of the goals is to create artificial molecules – or nanostructures – that can be dispatched to deliver medicine and attack disease cells.

UC Merced Humanities Center Creates Conversations on Research

Most humanities scholars’ research involves reading a book, article or poem, analyzing it and relaying the conclusions. Basically solitary, it leaves little time for talk about what they’re discovering.

“We don’t go into labs,” UC Merced Professor Susan Amussen said. “(The research) is great, but it’s easy to feel isolated.”

In an effort to bridge that gap and create more conversations about research, the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts established the Center for Research in the Humanities and Arts. The center was formed in fall 2008 and continues to expand its activities, with several events planned this year.

The center, one of many through out the University of California system, serves as a place where students and faculty can have open discussions about their interests and expand their knowledge into other fields. It represents the university’s commitment to collaboration.

Amussen, a British history professor, serves as the center’s director. The center has helped faculty members pay to fly to conferences, libraries and other places for research. In return, the person must give a brown bag lunch lecture on what was learned.

UC Merced Professor Lured from Princeton by Opportunities, Faculty

UC Merced political science Professor Jessica Trounstine, while she was interviewing for the position last year, said she discovered the campus had the "perfect intellectual synergy" for her interests.

She had fascinating conversations with every faculty member she met and learned that she shared research interests with many of them.

“The quality of faculty blew me away,” she said. “My fit (here) was overwhelming.”

City and county governments are where Trounstine digs to find answers to larger political questions, such as why incumbents win reelection and what factors affect community investment. Her research touches on other disciplines, such as economics and sociology.

Trounstine joined the university after spending five years at Princeton University as an assistant professor.

She was encouraged by political science Professor Nathan W. Monroe to consider applying for an open position in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. She knew little of the campus, only that it was in the works when she was working for Gov. Gray Davis.

Trounstine's book, “Political Monopolies in American Cities: The Rise and Fall of Bosses and Reformers,” compares Richard J. Daley’s political machine in Chicago with Anthony “Dutch” Hamman’s reform government in San Jose. She finds that machine and reform governments share more than people previously thought.

Ph.D. Student Studies “Survivalist” Fish Species

Jason Baumsteiger knew he wouldn't be a fish out of water when he decided to persue his Ph.D. at UC Merced.

"I didn't mind the start-up feel that I knew I would experience," said Baumsteiger, a population geneticist and conservation biologist who is studying fresh water sculpin, a type of fish.

Most sculpin are marine based, he said, but there is a whole group that is thriving in freshwater environments. By studying its genetic makeup, scientists can gain insight on how freshwater sculpin has been able to adapt and evolve.

"We want to learn why it's a good survivalist," he said.

Before he joined the School of Natural Science's Quantitative and Systems Biology program in fall 2008, Baumsteiger had experience as a teaching assistant and laboratory manager. That training, he said, helped him hit the ground running at UC Merced.

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UC Merced's Fraternities and Sororities Show Their Value During Spring Recruitment

From Jan. 21 through Feb. 1, UC Merced students can explore the advantages of joining the campus’ Greek community with events hosted by each fraternity and sorority.

At UC Merced, fraternities and sororities constitute one of the largest student groups with more than 185 members collectively. The campus recognizes four fraternities -- Omega Delta Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi and newly recognized Kappa Sigma -- and three sororities -- Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma and Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Students considering joining a fraternity or sorority must register online at the Office of Student Life Web site and attend the week’s events.

UC Merced Applications Hit 12,000 for Fall 2010

UC Merced has received a record number of freshman and transfer applications – 12,366 – for the 2010 fall semester. That's an increase of 21 percent from last year.

Since the university opened in the fall of 2005, applications have increased 39 percent.

Fulfilling UC Merced's mission, the UC system received the highest percentage increase in freshman (5.6 percent) and transfer (31.6 percent) applications from the five-county Fresno region. Since the fall of 2004, the year before UC Merced opened, applications to UC campuses from Central Valley residents have increased 51 percent and admissions have risen 47 percent (as of 2009).

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UC Merced Professor Receives Esteemed Research Award for Interdisciplinary Work

UC Merced Professor Michael Spivey has been awarded the 2010 William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement because of his cutting-edge research in cognitive science.

He joins the ranks of many other researchers who have received the prestigious national award, including premiere scholars Benoit Mandelbrot, Stephen Jay Gould, Herbert Simon, Jane Goodall, Margaret Mead and Vannevar Bush. The award is given by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to scientific research and has successfully communicated its value and significance to scholars in various disciplines.

“I am simultaneously humbled and honored to be on the same list as these luminaries,” Spivey said. “These are people who have made really awe-inspiring contributions to their sciences.”

Using innovative eye-tracking and reach-tracking equipment, Spivey studies how humans perceive and respond to what they hear and see. The equipment records people’s actual responses, but also reveals what options they considered in making their decision.

This research has revolutionized the way people think about how the brain works. Older models approached the brain as a computer that would move through modular processes, one by one. Spivey’s research shows that different brain regions simultaneously communicate with each other in what’s called a continuous loop.

Publication Highlights UC Merced Researchers' Inventions

The University of California, Merced has published a report that highlights more than 40 market-ready inventions created by campus researchers.

The report, “Inventions of the Research Enterprise,” was compiled by UC Merced’s Office of Technology Transfer, which is within the campus’ Office of Research. The 50-page document catalogues inventions created at the university from January 2007 to June 2009. The technologies listed in the report have the potential to transform the fields of natural sciences, engineering and beyond.

“This report illustrates that UC Merced is on track to fulfill its mission to become a premiere research institution,” said Samuel J. Traina, vice chancellor for research. “Our talented researchers have used the campus’ laboratories and classrooms to produce technologies that have the potential to change lives, benefit industries and help improve communities throughout California, the nation and the world.”

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Media Contact: Donna Birch Trahan

UC Merced Alumni Return for Stimulating Graduate Research

After graduating from UC Merced in May, Anley “T” Tefera, Bernardo Zepeda and Heather Orrell, three aspiring bioengineers, decided to pursue advanced studies at UC Merced.

Although each is focusing on a different aspect, all are studying muscle contractions of the heart in professor Ariel Escobar’s lab. Tefera and Zepeda had the privilege of taking classes and working on research projects as undergraduates with Escobar.

Their research is stimulating and the potential applications of their work is inspiring.

“My experience in learning as much as I have has played a role in wanting to pass it on,” said Zepeda, who is working toward a Ph.D. so that he can become a professor, a choice he attributes to UC Merced. “It has been such a positive thing in my life. I want to help others eager to succeed, to aid their success.”

UC Professor Hopes to Use Flatworms to Fight Cancer

Professor Néstor J. Oviedo was lured to UC Merced in July 2009, by the opportunity to research stem cells, help build a university and improve the San Joaquin Valley.

Oviedo runs one of about 10 laboratories, affiliated with some of the nation’s leading schools, who study tiny flatworms -- known as planaria -- to learn how their regenerative systems work.

Long relegated as a scientific oddity, the planarian has become among the species that could be crucial in understanding the role of stem cells. Their body’s ability to repair itself is unparalleled and its secrets could help combat cancer and degenerative diseases.

Besides looking at the regenerative nature of planaria, Oviedo is trying to understand why, as science suggests, stem cells may cause some cancer.

Understanding the early indicators of problems, what goes wrong and how to keep stem cells from attending bad signals could help researchers find ways to keep humans from developing cancers and other diseases.

New Dean Ready to Lead Fastest-Growing School at UC Merced

Mark S. Aldenderfer has begun his appointment as dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts at UC Merced with a list of priorities for his first semester.

Aldenderfer plans to meet with faculty members, relearn the budget process and create a robust strategic plan for SSHA, which is the campus’ largest and fastest-growing school with more than 1,100 students enrolled in the fall. He also wants to foster an academic environment that encourages interdisciplinary research and maintains high standards within each program.

“We really just can’t solve problems that confront and confuse us as a society within a single discipline,” he said. “In the field of archaeology, I have to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master in none. You solve problems by bringing different people into the mix.”

Aldenderfer is the first person to permanently hold the leadership position since founding Dean Kenji Hakuta left in 2006. Hans Bjornssön had served on an interim basis. The appointment of Aldenderfer in September capped an exhaustive, nationwide search. Aldenderfer comes from the University of Arizona, where he was an anthropological archaeologist. He also spent 15 years at UC Santa Barbara as both a faculty member and an administrator.

He plans to keep researching while serving as SSHA’s dean. One project studies the early occupation of the Tibetan plateau. He recently submitted a National Science Foundation grant to look at the ancient migrations in Upper Mustang, Nepal.