Students

A wave of blue and gold covered the recreation fields at UC Merced as more than 2,400 students walked the stage during the first in-person spring commencement in three years.

The three-day ceremony weekend started by welcoming back 1,000 alumni from the classes of 2020 and 2021 — who were previously honored with a virtual ceremony because of COVID-19.

In front of more than 1,400 fellow Bobcats, Cathryn Flores and Maya Morris, the student commencement speakers for the Class of 2022 will share their words of congratulations and encouragement with their fellow graduates.

Flores will speak to the graduates of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the university’s Recreation Field. The Fremont native is majoring in English and minoring in writing. She said her four years at UC Merced have molded her into the person she is today.

Two undergraduate students who will receive their bachelor’s degrees later this month have been selected for a unique opportunity to attend a meeting of some of the greatest minds in the world.

For the first time since spring 2019, UC Merced will honor the achievements of spring graduates with a traditional in-person commencement weekend this month.

“We are proud of all these young people who worked so diligently, with the support of their families, their friends and our outstanding faculty and staff, to earn their degrees,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz. “This on-campus weekend will be a grand celebration of their accomplishments and a fitting start to the lives of success upon which they will embark.”

Undergraduates will have a new, one-of-a-kind class they can sign up for this fall — Climate Justice — a hybrid course that features lectures by faculty from all 10 UC campuses.

Innovate to Grow (I2G), the biannual showcase of innovative engineering design projects developed in partnership with industry and nonprofit partners, continues in-person and virtually this spring 2022 semester.

“We are excited to have everyone back in person to share in this amazing event,” said Engineering Service Learning Director Chris Butler. “This will be our largest event ever. We have 66 teams and more than 300 students showcasing their projects.”

UC Merced continues to pave the way to success for students of color to thrive at a four-year college. To continue to support these efforts, the campus, in collaboration with Stanislaus State, announced the expansion of the 1300 Campaign, an initiative aimed to send an additional 1,300 young people of color into the UC and California State University (CSU) systems by 2030

The 1300 Campaign will focus on high school students in the Northern Central Valley, including the areas of Modesto, Merced and San Joaquin counties.

Physics undergraduate student Elsa Vazquez and her faculty mentor Professor David Strubbe have won a prestigious Cottrell Postbaccalaureate award that allows Vazquez to continue her research into 2D materials for another year after she graduates with her bachelor's in May.

The May 1 deadline is fast approaching for students to apply for the San Joaquin Valley Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics Tools and Science (FACTS) bridge program, a paid summer research program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

A new five-year collaboration has presented Professor Christine Isborn the opportunity to be part of the emerging field of polariton chemistry, the results of which could change the face of chemistry.