Professor Nicola Lercari is leading his students on a tour of Palenque, the ancient Mesoamerican city that flourished at the peak of Maya civilization. They’re exploring the altar atop the Temple of the Cross, inspecting it from all angles and scrutinizing every detail. But they’re not in Mexico

It’s been five years since Shavone Charles walked across the stage at commencement. On Saturday (Dec. 16), she will return as UC Merced’s first alumni keynote speaker at Fall Commencement. Charles graduated with a bachelor’s degree in literature. During her time on campus, she served as a peer

The American Public Health Association (APHA) presented public health Professor Susana Ramirez with the 2017 Early Career Award at its annual meeting last month. The award is handed out every year to an early career public health professional — someone active in the field who received their

Professor Chris Amemiya is new to UC Merced, but he’s a veteran scientist with a long list of breakthroughs to his name. Amemiya’s discoveries have changed the way scientists understand vertebrate genomes and their evolution, and he was recently elected a fellow of the American Association for the

As a teenager in Merced, Marcus Shaw lived a life marked by poverty, poor choices and indifference to education. The idea of college — especially at the new UC Merced campus — seemed like an opportunity for someone else. Yet on Dec. 16, Shaw will participate in the university’s first Fall

Jason Sexton traveled to research sites to learn more about the evolution of monkey flowers. Teamrat Ghezzehei installed soil sensors in the Sierra. Asmeret Berhe laid the foundation for a large collaborative soil-science project. And Emily Ritter is employing a graduate student to conduct research

Scientists have long known that cells originating from an animal’s anterior — the body’s upper half — tend to grow, divide and survive better than those from the posterior. Studies show this to be true in cancer as well, with anterior cancers metastasizing more aggressively. Now scientists are

With race, immigration, rising inequality, gender discrimination and collective mobilization grabbing current headlines, the work of the UC Merced sociology unit — always relevant locally — is gaining wider recognition across the country. “The unit is already making contributions to the national

For the past three years, members of the UC Merced community and friends have made the Tuesday after Thanksgiving a showstopper for our campus. Give Tue UC Merced (#GiveTueUCM), the annual 24-hour campaign to rally financial support around campus initiatives, has made a big impact over the years. To

Professor Laura Giuliano isn’t the only female economics faculty member at UC Merced, but she is the only faculty member who worked in the Obama administration before joining the campus. As a senior labor economist supporting the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, Giuliano and her colleagues