Skip to content

Research in physics at UC Merced

UC Merced features interdisciplinary research, connecting physics research to chemistry, life sciences and engineering. Our collaborative faculty work with students on a broad range of research topics.

For a list of which faculty are recruiting PhD students, see our Graduate Studies page

Atomic Molecular &
Optical Physics

Biological and Soft Matter Physics

Biological &
Soft Matter Physics

Nanoscience and Condensed Matter Physics

Nanoscience &
Condensed Matter Physics

Solar and Energy Sciences

Solar & Energy Sciences

Astrophysics and Astronomy

Astrophysics & Astronomy

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Emeritus faculty

Prof. Brian Utter performs experimental soft matter research, but does not advise graduate students.

Affiliate Faculty

The physics group also includes affiliate faculty from other UC Merced graduate groups. Physics students may also carry out their physics graduate research with these groups.
 
Experimental:
  • Mehmet Z. Baykara: atomic force microscopy and surface physics (Mechanical Engineering)
  • Sarah Kurtz: solar energy (Materials and Biomaterials Science and Engineering)
  • Jennifer Lu: functional material synthesis (Materials and Biomaterials Science and Engineering)
  • Victor Muñoz: biophysics (Bioengineering)
  • Alex Noy: biomaterials (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
  • Anand Bala Subramaniam: biomaterials (Bioengineering)
  • Tao Ye: bio/nano interfaces (Chemistry and Biochemistry)
Theory (primarily):
For some recent research highlights see our homepage (older research highlights here).