Just like at other UC campuses, academic research is a critical part of UC Merced's mission. The process of discovery provides our students with a deeper understanding of the world and its cultural, social, natural and engineered systems, but more, it solves issues and challenges that are critical to the growth, health and overall well-being of the region, the state, nation and world.Our researchers are conducting groundbreaking work in diabetes, cancer, bacterial diseases, antibiotic resistance, solar energy, climate change, water quality and availability, ecology, engineering, archeology, cultures, history, political science, computer science and much, much more.