http://youtu.be/AVZS22SFLVgGraduate student Alexandra Paxton finds opinionated students, puts them in a room together and tells them to argue about a hot-button issue.
Then she records what happens.
Paxton, who is earning her doctoral degree in cognitive science, studies interpersonal synchrony — the phenomenon of how people in a conversation subconsciously synchronize their movements, such as nodding or gesturing. Specifically, she is seeking to understand what happens to that synchrony when people are at odds.
"Ugh the Duck," a retelling of the classic tale, "The Ugly Duckling," will be performed at UC Merced in May as part of an effort to expose Merced County youth to opera and theater.
A joyous throng of 776 degree candidates of the University of California, Merced, today marched through the Beginnings Sculpture and onto the campus' South Bowl to receive their prized degrees, marking the culmination of the newest UC’s seventh academic year.
UC Merced celebrated its largest graduating class — 81 percent larger than last year’s graduating class of 428 — with some 7,000 family members and friends present. The total number of UC Merced students with degrees is just above 2,000.
Grecia Sanchez and Blaine Hartsock know they’re more than lucky. Out of dozens of UC Merced seniors, they were chosen to speak and sing, respectively, at the 2012 Commencement ceremony.
Like many others, 38-year-old Micah Chandler of Merced found himself laid off and without options after the economy nosedived in 2007.
When he couldn't find work, Chandler's wife suggested he consider returning to school. He decided to base a new goal on his lifelong love for history and mythology.
When Trevor Albertson (’09) started as the California deputy secretary for veterans services last summer, his longtime focus on higher education came in handy right away.
Considering his department’s goal to help veterans achieve stability, he quickly saw that higher education was the key to the jobs that would underpin that life.
From the campus’ own undergraduate and graduate students to distinguished faculty members from here and abroad, Research Week at the University of California, Merced, will offer a wide range of events and information from April 16 to 19.
Fidel Cervantes found the right fit for his university education 25 miles down the road from home.
"Ugh the Duck," a retelling of the classic tale, "The Ugly Duckling," will be performed at UC Merced in May as part of an effort to expose Merced County youth to opera and theater.
Grecia Sanchez and Blaine Hartsock know they’re more than lucky. Out of dozens of UC Merced seniors, they were chosen to speak and sing, respectively, at the 2012 
When Alma Fausto first arrived at UC Merced in 2008, she felt pangs of doubt common to many freshmen.
Like many others, 38-year-old Micah Chandler of Merced found himself laid off and without options after the economy nosedived in 2007.
When Trevor Albertson (’09) started as the California deputy secretary for veterans services last summer, his longtime focus on higher education came in handy right away.
UC Merced’s Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team built its first racecar and exhibited it at a national competition last June.
