All Stories

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Innovate to Grow Awards 10 Winners from Virtual Expo
May 28, 2020
Despite the challenges of making an in-person event into a remote one, students in this year’s Innovate to Grow spring showcase displayed the determination, passion and innovation Bobcats are known for. Student teams highlighted more than... Read More
Physics Ph.D. Student Named Grad Slam Campus Champion
May 21, 2020
UC Merced’s Graduate Division wrapped up its annual Grad Slam competition this week, announcing Physics doctoral candidate Boe Mendewala as its campus champion. The judges awarded two runners-up, Shayna Bennett, a third-year Ph.D. student... Read More
UC Alum Juan Sánchez Muñoz Named UC Merced’s Fourth Chancellor
May 20, 2020
The University of California Board of Regents approved today Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz’s appointment as UC Merced’s fourth chancellor. Muñoz comes to UC from the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), where he has served as president since... Read More
First Virtual Commencement Honors Class of 2020
May 18, 2020
The Class of 2020 has officially graduated and while students didn’t cross the stage in typical commencement fashion, the celebration was memorable. In the first virtual commencement for a University of California campus, UC Merced honored... Read More
Mayor Murphy and Dr. Lakireddy Named 2020 Chancellor’s Medals Recipients
May 15, 2020
Merced Mayor Michael Murphy and cardiologist Hanimireddy Lakireddy will be awarded the prestigious UC Merced Chancellor’s Medal. Established in 2005, the Chancellor’s Medal is the highest honor of accomplishment given to an... Read More
Changing Snowmelt Threatens Valley Ag, Way of Life
May 12, 2020
The San Joaquin Valley — with all its agriculture and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that go with it — is one of the places most at risk because of changing snowmelt patterns, a new study shows. California is the No. 1 producer of food... Read More
Virtual Commencement Promises Surprises for Grads, Families
May 11, 2020
While the COVID-19 pandemic has altered many things this spring on the UC Merced campus — from classes and research to events — UC Merced is making sure the Class of 2020 has a forum to commemorate students’ achievements and successes. UC... Read More
Innovate to Grow Goes Virtual
May 7, 2020
Innovation is nothing new at UC Merced, but this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, everyone on campus has had to reimagine nearly everything they do. But leave it up to the School of Engineering to wholly reinvent its annual... Read More
Professor’s Documentary Film about Refugee Family Honored at Vienna International Festival
May 7, 2020
“Songs that Never End,” Professor Yehuda Sharim’s intimate film about a family transitioning from Iran to life in Texas, is a finalist contender in the International Documentary Film Festival Vienna and will stream on the festival’s site... Read More
Students Can Go Online for Wide Range of Leadership, Service and Career Support Services
May 5, 2020
UC Merced’s support for students who are building leadership skills, engaging in community outreach or searching for careers is going strong during the campus’s move to remote instruction, with the Office of Leadership, Service and Career... Read More
At the Intersection of Math and Biology, Sindi Lab Sees a Breakthrough in Prion Disease
May 4, 2020
A UC Merced researcher and her lab have unlocked one of the mysteries that could lead to treatments — or even cures — for prion diseases in mammals. Prion diseases are a family of rare, progressive neurodegenerative disorders that affect... Read More
First-Generation Student Pursues Anti-Racism Research, Joins Cal-Poly Pomona this Fall
April 27, 2020
Kathryn “Katie” Daniels was a teen when she attended the celebration of the opening of UC Merced. As a child growing up in Merced, Daniels had heard her parents stress the importance of education. “My mom always talked about the University... Read More
Q&A with Economist Greg Wright: COVID-19’s Impact on the Economy
April 23, 2020
Since the onset of many governors’ stay-at-home orders, there are fewer cars on the road as fewer people are driving to work. While some people can work from home, sadly, some are not working at all. The global pandemic has caused record... Read More
How 'Bout Them Apples? Engineers Correlate Friction to Texture
April 20, 2020
Think about biting into a fresh apple. What do you perceive? Is it juicy? Sweet? Tart? Crisp? Now remember how unpleasant it is to bite into mealy apple flesh. Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, a horticulture science and technology... Read More
Grad Students Take on Big Roles to Promote Campus Diversity
April 17, 2020
Dania Matos has been at UC Merced for less than a year but is making a big impact as the university’s first chief diversity officer. Now two graduate students with small-town roots are helping Matos amplify her message of equity and... Read More
Babies Forage for Sounds That Contribute to Language Acquisition, Study Shows
April 16, 2020
Most people wouldn’t think physics has anything to do with baby babble and human language development. But most people aren’t Ritwika Vallomparambath PanikkasserySugasree. The graduate student, who prefers to go by her first name,... Read More
Grad Student Aids Campus’s Move to Remote Teaching
April 15, 2020
When UC Merced began transitioning to emergency remote instruction in late March, hoping to lessen the spread of COVID-19, Jackie Shay didn’t waste any time jumping in to help her fellow teaching assistants (TA) make the shift. Teaching... Read More
UC Merced Professor Arias Wins Guggenheim Fellowship
April 10, 2020
Arturo Arias, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation professor in the Humanities at UC Merced, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his ground-breaking study of contemporary indigenous novels from Guatemala and Mexico.... Read More
Q&A with Donald Barclay on Fake News in the Time of COVID-19
April 6, 2020
COVID-19 may have brought the world to a stand-still, but one thing that is still moving is information. Every day, new information is spread on television, social media and in print. But how can you be sure what you’re seeing is true when... Read More
COVID-19 More Likely to Impact Smokers and People Exposed to Secondhand Smoke, Report Finds
April 2, 2020
Smokers and former smokers are not only more susceptible to COVID-19, they are far more likely to see their conditions worsen over time and to require intensive respiratory assistance, according to a review released Thursday by the UC... Read More