Distinguished Professor Roland Winston was among the first eight faculty members at UC Merced in 2003, two years before the campus opened. When he retires July 1, at age 86, he will be the first of those eight to leave — but his work on solar energy applications will continue.

It's not hyperbolic to say Winston is a really big deal in the worlds of physics and solar energy.

The biannual School of Engineering showcase event, Innovate to Grow (I2G), continued in-person and virtually this spring. The event highlighted innovative engineering design projects that were developed by undergraduates in partnership with 36 industry and nonprofit clients.

The event began with a poster and prototype session that included 66 teams and 330 students showcasing their projects in the Joseph E. Gallo Recreation & Wellness Center.

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.

Bioengineering Professor Changqing Li is building a high-resolution CT imaging scanner that will allow scientists to study and understand how oxygen plays a role in cancer therapy and stem cells growing in deep tissue such as bone marrow, and possibly develop new advances to culture stem cells outside the body and therapeutics to control tumor growth.

Professor Maria-Elena Zoghbi and her lab are taking a closer look at a human transporter protein that acts as a cellular protector by relocating a molecule that has important antioxidant properties in the cells, preventing oxidative damage in several tissues, including the heart.

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.