All Stories

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Campus Voices: Serving Community Brings Benefits to Students
November 7, 2017
When it came time to apply for college, so many of us scrambled to compile those lists of community service hours to bolster our resumes. Was there enough? Could I explain in my personal statement what this service meant to me?  From the... Read More
Shavone Charles is First Alum Chosen for Commencement Keynote
November 7, 2017
UC Merced is welcoming back its first alumni keynote speaker, Shavone Charles, to address December 2017 graduates at its first Fall Commencement ceremony on Dec. 16. Charles received her bachelor’s degree from UC Merced in literature in... Read More
Computer Scientists Aid in Major Astronomical Discovery
November 1, 2017
In a major advance in astronomy, scientists announced last month that they had observed two neutron stars colliding, a never-before-seen cosmic event that made headlines the world over — and two UC Merced computer scientists were... Read More
NASA Interns Return With New Prospects, Realized Dreams
October 30, 2017
Zach Petrek, a second-year doctoral student in chemistry and chemical biology, can usually be found running experiments in the laboratory of his advisor, Professor Tao Ye. But this summer, he did something different — he went to NASA.... Read More
UC Merced Joins Effort to Help Make Research Accessible to All
October 24, 2017
Open access is a publishing model premised on the idea that scholarly research should be freely accessible to anyone with internet access. UC Merced has staked its claim as a member of the open access vanguard, as one of just five of... Read More
Homecoming Unites Campus With Community
October 24, 2017
Traditional UC Merced events — Homecoming, Preview Day and Family Weekend, plus the Chancellor’s Scholars recognition ceremony — came together for a first-of-its-kind bundle of activities that highlighted the campus for current and... Read More
New Center, Conference Focus on Mesoamerican Studies
October 23, 2017
Topics ranging from ethnobotany, public health and feminism to agriculture, urban growth and social movements are among the highlights of the Mesoamerican Studies Center’s upcoming conference at UC Merced. “Mesoamericans in California:... Read More
Grad Student Researches Biology Behind Political Views
October 18, 2017
If you’ve ever wondered why people stand where they do on the political spectrum, science might have at least part of the answer: People can be biologically predisposed to certain feelings toward politics and society. A new paper lead-... Read More
Crumpled Nanosheets Could Help Produce Clean Energy
October 16, 2017
A new paper from School of Engineering Professor Vincent Tung has made the cover of Advanced Materials, one of the top journals in materials science and engineering, and the research could one day lead to new sources of clean energy.... Read More
Campus Celebrates Community at Homecoming
October 11, 2017
UC Merced’s Homecoming Oct. 20-22 will draw students, staff, faculty, alumni, family and friends together for a weekend of activities that highlight the campus and the community. For the first time, three major campus events are being... Read More
Cognitive Scientists Find Links Between Jazz, Speech and Whale Songs
October 11, 2017
Jazz musicians riffing with each other, humans talking to each other and pods of killer whales all have interactive conversations that are remarkably similar to each other, new research reveals. Cognitive science researchers at UC Merced... Read More
Another First for Nobile: NIH Outstanding Investigator Award
October 10, 2017
Professor Clarissa Nobile is changing the way we look at microbes. She wants to understand them as they’re found in nature, not as they exist in the laboratory. And she was just awarded a five-year, $1.89 million grant from the National... Read More
Interdisciplinary Collaborations Broaden Archaeology Research
October 9, 2017
Archaeologists have been asking where high-elevation populations came from for decades; how they are going about answering the question, however, is new. “Fifty years ago, I would have consulted other archaeologists,” UC Merced Professor... Read More
Conference Boosts Students’ Leadership Skills, Confidence
October 5, 2017
UC Merced students had the chance to gain knowledge and leadership skills for their personal and academic careers at the 2017 Leadership Conference, hosted by the campus’s Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center on Sept. 23. Now in its... Read More
Fall Grads Get a Commencement Ceremony All Their Own
October 4, 2017
Beginning this year, UC Merced’s fall graduates will have an earlier occasion to celebrate their outstanding accomplishments. UC Merced is launching a new tradition with its first Fall Commencement. The intimate ceremony, which will be... Read More
Beyond the Basics: Training Better Teachers
October 3, 2017
It was only after graduate school, while working as a professor, that James Zimmerman realized something had been missing from his education. Trained as a nuclear scientist, Zimmerman was well-prepared for a life in the laboratory, where... Read More
Publishing Research a Rite of Passage for Grad Students
October 3, 2017
Like anyone starting a Ph.D. program, Anna Ankirskaia had her doubts. But, like anyone who ultimately completes their Ph.D., Ankirskaia had to conduct her own research and get it published. With support from Professor Patricia LiWang in... Read More
High Achievers Find Aid in Regents Scholarships
October 3, 2017
More than 22,000 students applied to UC Merced for the Fall 2017 semester, and about 2,300 are now beginning their educational journeys on campus. Among those, 24 rose to the top of the class to be named Regents Scholars, recipients of the... Read More
‘Vernal Pool’ Journal Showcases Students’ Creativity
October 3, 2017
UC Merced’s Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve has become a hallmark of the campus — acres of preserved lands that contribute to the university’s mission of environmental conservation and while offering unique research opportunities to... Read More
Campus Voices: To Reach Potential, Students Need a Personal Touch
October 3, 2017
It’s not easy to be a college student these days. Rising tuition has made obtaining a degree feel like more of a dream than reality for many students. Yet, now more than ever, a college degree is a prerequisite for even entry-level jobs —... Read More