Faculty

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ARCS Scholars Work to Advance STEM Research

Four UC Merced graduate students can focus fully on their research and academic studies this year thanks to a generous gift from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation.

ARCS, a national organization established and operated entirely by women, is committed to the advancement of science in the United States by financially supporting distinguished graduate students in science, technology, engineering and medical research disciplines at its partner institutions.

Labor, Community-based Groups Key to Addressing Climate Challenge, Study Shows

One of the major challenges of this century is democratically engaging institutions and large numbers of people with strategies to mitigate global warming by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

Film, Poetry, Philosophy the Subjects of Three Foundry Pieces by Humanities Community

The new issue of Foundry, a digital platform similar to a magazine, assembled by the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI), features works by three members of the UC Merced campus community.

New Project Focuses on Women of Color in the Geosciences Throughout the UC

Although there has been a lot of talk this summer about paleoecology Professor Sora Kim’s research on the now-extinct megalodon shark, there is another focus to her work: BAJEDI, or belonging, access, justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded Kim and collaborators at UCLA and UC Davis a grant to assess and improve how and where the UC system supports women of color in the geosciences (WinG).

Martín-Rodríguez Recognized for Eminent Scholarship

Founding faculty member and distinguished literature Professor Manuel M. Martín-Rodríguez is being honored for his contributions to Chicano/Latino studies with the Don Luis Leal award, considered the most important in the area of literary studies.

Martín-Rodríguez is the youngest scholar to receive the award, the first of his generation and the only one of the six awardees who is not Latinx; he is Spanish.

Aguirre-Muñoz Brings Biliteracy Education Resources to Livingston

Cognitive Science Professor Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz has a passion for biliteracy that has driven her to improve the quality of learning in both English and Spanish at schools in Texas and Central California.

A $3 million National Professional Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education funded her work in the small Merced County town of Livingston. This summer, she worked with Livingston Unified School District teachers interested in developing their biliteracy knowledge and teaching practices.

UC Merced Launches First Writing Studies Major Cohort

Writing is still the most important, and most-used, form of communication in the world.

"Writing is crucial in that it's both a product and a process. It's in the fabric of what we do," said Paul Gibbons, teaching professor of writing studies at UC Merced. "Writing is a way of doing things in the world, of asking for things. It's still a major coin of the realm."

New Major Trains Students to Tell the Planet’s Urgent Stories

Compelling storytelling is vital to ensuring the action needed to secure a habitable planet for future generations, according to an increasing amount of research.

UC Merced is recruiting students now to become the next environmental storytellers.

Students who are interested in creatively conveying the urgency of environmental issues can make that mission the focus of their studies when the new environmental humanities (EH) major begins at UC Merced in fall 2024.

UC Merced Alum Drives Innovation in Drug Manufacturing

You could almost say Edwin Shen was destined to become a bioengineer. His mother, a medical doctor, practices pathology in Northern California, and his father retired from a career as a mechanical engineer for medical device companies.

“I guess what I do is right in the middle of my parents’ occupations,” he said. “Bioengineering was something my dad recommended I try. I thought research might be something that aligned well with my personality. It turned out to be a perfect fit.”

HACU Leadership Cohort an ‘Exciting Opportunity to Learn,’ Ortiz Says

Physiology Professor Rudy M.Ortiz has been named a Fellow in this year's cohort of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ Leadership Academy (La Academia de Liderazgo).

The program is designed to increase diverse representation in executive and senior-level positions in higher education.