Outreach

For the first time, UC Merced has partnered with local higher education institutions for a two-day symposium dedicated to education research findings from the Central Valley.

UC Merced’s Office of Sustainability’s Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program, in partnership with United Way of Merced, Community Initiatives 4 Collective Impact and the 18th St. People’s Garden, has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle.)

The UC Merced Community and Labor Center (CLC) has received a historic multimillion-dollar award to continue its mission of conducting research and educating the public about low-wage work, immigrant and workers' rights, workplace health and safety, among other issues.

After a three-year delay due to the pandemic, Bobcat Day is back at UC Merced. The day is dedicated to first-year students, transfer students and their families to explore all the campus has to offer.

On Saturday, April 23, incoming students can take campus tours, meet with faculty, attend presentations from each of the academic schools, talk to Financial Aid and Admissions staff, discover student clubs and organizations, and much more.

A team of UC Merced engineering students brought hands-on lessons on drones and robotics to hundreds of children and families at the recent Tri-Valley Innovation Fair.

“Drones and robots are a gateway, a spark for young people to explore STEM,” said Leigh Bernacchi, program director of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at UC Merced, who led the students in the all-day demonstrations at the March 19 fair.

Last year, UC Merced received the largest research grant in its history. The $10 million Secure Water Future (SWF) award, led by Professor Joshua Viers in cooperation with other UC campuses and other partners, is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and aims to improve agricultural and environmental water resilience.

The new UC Merced Bobcat STEM Scholars Program, funded by a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), will provide four years of scholarship support for up to 10 eligible incoming students per year who declare majors within the university’s School of Natural Sciences (SNS).

UC Merced is committing to provide Los Angeles high school students the tools and guidance to attend college.

The university is embarking on a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to increase the number of low-income students who graduate from high school prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and lifelong learning.

Professor Xuecai Ge, a developmental neurobiologist, has received a CAREER award for research to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that direct brain formation, and how errors in cell signaling lead to developmental disorders.

Ge is the 31st number researcher from UC Merced to earn a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

As part of the 2021-22 Governor’s California Comeback Plan, UC Merced students will get the opportunity to serve their community while receiving financial support for college through the new program #CaliforniaForAll College Fellowship.