This year isn’t the first time Maxine Umeh-Garcia has walked across the commencement stage at the University of California, Merced. She was part of the campus's graduating class in 2010.

But this time will be markedly different. Umeh-Garcia is receiving a master’s degree in quantitative and systems biology, and she will represent the Class of 2013 at one of two commencement ceremonies scheduled for May 18 and 19.

Born in central Mexico, the sea has long fascinated graduate student Jose Pablo Vazquez-Medina.

Now, he's hoping to figure out some of its secrets.

Stephanie Toledo didn't want anything to get in the way of her academic success when she arrived at UC Merced.

The shy freshman wasn’t ready to consider clubs, social activities or other campus opportunities. But Toledo soon realized that she needed more than classwork to get the most from her college experience.

Tyler Shaddix’s house looks like most of the other houses on his block in a subdivision not far from the UC Merced campus.

It’s what’s inside that’s different – the home office of a startup company offering a web service that has, in less than a year, become very popular with government agencies, large companies and universities across the country and around the world.

From the microbes in the guts of living things to the idea of life elsewhere in the universe, Professor Marilyn Fogel is pondering some of life’s deepest questions.

When and how did life originate on Earth? What does the future hold for our planet? Are we alone in the universe?

“When you go back through time, there are bits and scraps of life everywhere,” Fogel said. “It’s ubiquitous.”

After six months of intense planning and programming, the winning team of the Mobile App Challenge at the University of California, Merced, will be announced during a showcase finale April 26.

Spurred by a gift from a prominent dairy woman, the University of California, Merced, announced plans today for a center to promote leadership qualities among its diverse student population.

Margo Souza, former president and CEO of Turlock’s Circle H Dairy Ranch Inc., has pledged $1 million to establish The Margo F. Souza Leadership Center — a multi-faceted leadership program — housed within UC Merced’s Office of Student Life.

Students Leanne McKenzie and Mustafa Nawabzada are getting an up-close look at the legislative process as the first-ever UC Merced interns in the California State Assembly chief clerk’s office.

Sustainability being a campus hallmark, it’s no surprise the UC Merced campus takes Earth Day very seriously, even though the events planned are fun.

Each April 22, people around the country mark Earth Day, which began in 1970 and is seen by many as the start of the modern environmental movement.

As everyone knows, space is limited on the UC Merced campus.

But with a little money and a lot of persistence, Engineers for a Sustainable World has found a way to carve out a little room for a community garden.