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UC Merced Team Earns Best Paper Award at SenSys 2026

A student stands on a stage at a podium in front of a blue screen with a description of the SoilX paper.

Computer Science and Engineering Professor Wan Du and his students Kang Yang, Yuanlin Yang, Yuning Chen, and Sikai Yang, along with UC San Diego Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Xinyu Zhang, have received the Best Paper Award at ACM/IEEE SenSys 2026 (International Conference on Embedded Artificial Intelligence and Sensing Systems).

Tractor operator classes are part of the training. Here, a student operates a tractor while instructors provide guidance.

Technology Revolution in Agriculture Needs Investment in Humans as Well as Machines

 Key Findings: Interest in agricultural technology is here. Among 10,856 respondents from Central Valley agricultural communities, 16.5% expressed interest in agtech training, more than three times those interested in general agriculture programs. The challenge is not motivation; it is...

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman takes a photo with UC Merced students Rayan Dua and Samir Ahmed.

NASA Administrator Offers UC Merced Students a Glimpse of Their Future

It might seem that an airfield filled with old planes is a strange place to talk about the future of space flight. But Jared Isaacman, the administrator of NASA, said the Castle Air Museum was the perfect setting to talk about what's ahead. Isaacman visited the former Air Force base last week to...

Teddy Adams, Olivia Gawel, Adrianna Seiden, Bridget Sprecher and Taylor Whitney

UC Merced Ph.D. Students Receive ARCS Support for STEM Research

Five UC Merced doctoral students have earned prestigious awards from the Northern California Chapter of ARCS Foundation, joining a select group of scholars recognized for outstanding research. “Congratulations to this year’s ARCS Scholars. You are being recognized as outstanding scientists who are...

UC Merced students and Rufus mascot at Beginnings sculpture during Scholars Bridge Crossing

Big Smiles in Big Collection of New Bobcats at Scholars Bridge Crossing

A smiling throng of new faces took part Tuesday in one of UC Merced’s oldest traditions, the Scholars Bridge Crossing. Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and other campus leaders led the march over the bridge. Blue and gold balloons arced over the span, which was lined with cheering staff, faculty and...

Postdoctoral researcher Dilawer Ali is seen sitting next to lab equipment at UC Merced.

UC Merced Team Wins International EV Design Competition

Imagine driving down a road in an electric vehicle with no charging stations in sight. Do you want only an estimate of how many more miles your car can go before the battery dies? As electric vehicles proliferate throughout much of the world, it's never been more important to know precisely how...

UC Merced graduate student Shariful Islam and Sean Dunfield of Tandem PV install a solar panel atop the SE2 building on campus.

Solar Company Partners with UC Merced to Test New Panels

UC Merced is no stranger to solar panels. The campus, built to be sustainable from the beginning, is home to thousands of them, and they provide a good chunk of the electricity that powers the university. But one very special panel was recently installed on the top of the Science and Engineering...

Mugshots of Mohammad Maharlooei and Lauren Hale are imposed over a photo of the Beginnings statue on the UC Merced campus.

UC Merced Experts in Soil, Agriculture Join UC ANR

Two UC Merced-affiliated scientists have joined University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Lauren Hale, a soil microbiologist in UC Merced's Department Life and Environmental Sciences, and Mohammad Maharlooei, an assistant professor of UC Cooperative Extension in agricultural waste...

A landscape of burned-out trees near Lake Almanor in October 2025.

How Much Does Wildfire Reduce Forest Water Use and Increase Runoff?

Wildfire is reshaping the forests of California's Sierra Nevada and affecting the water those forests supply to downstream users. A paper published in Hydrology and Earth System Science reports that the effect of wildfire on potential runoff from the state's main water-supply watersheds has...

Dublin High Grad Drawn to UC Merced’s Growth and Potential

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2026 semester. Incoming UC Merced student Shrihan Lakinana is bringing a growth mindset, a passion for engineering and a deep appreciation for community to the Bobcat experience. Lakinana says his proudest...

California fire season has been quiet. A heat wave could change that fast

Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Dr. Garima Handa's journey from an undergraduate at UC Merced to a physician specializing in interventional cardiology at Dignity Health in the Central Valley was a full circle one.  "Leaving ...

As North America grapples with destructive wildfires, ‘super’ El Niño may offer hope

Summer Program Helps First-Gen Student Take Flight Into Drone Research

When first-generation mechanical engineering student David Miguel arrived at UC Merced, he had no research experience, but a passion for engineering and a desire to learn. A former foster care youth from Los Angeles, Miguel had limited resources to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (...

Wildfire Smoke Chokes Eastern and Midwestern Cities as Air Pollution Soars to Dangerously High Levels

Students and Professor Ross Greer are pictured in his lab, holding a small car with a processor affixed to the top of it.

What Do Driverless Cars and Building Evacuation Routes Have in Common? A Lab at UC Merced

Step into Ross Greer’s lab — gingerly, because there’s a makeshift racetrack on the floor — and you will see multiple projects aimed at making autonomous vehicles smarter and safer. And these projects are getting global recognition. A team from the lab earned the top prize at the National...

Depicted is student Anthony Savala Alvarez, in a red cap and gown at his high school graduation, with a blue and gold graphic reading

Student from Modesto Ready to Make an Impact at UC Merced

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2026 semester. Anthony Savala Alvarez comes to UC Merced this fall with several accomplishments under his belt: He graduated high school with a grade point average of 4.1, earned the California Seal of Biliteracy...

UC Merced researchers extract sewage samples from university system

UC Merced Scientists Use Sewage to Track Nicotine Use in Central Valley

Key points: Researchers successfully tested a technique that uses human sewage to measure the use of nicotine products such as cigarettes and vaping pens in a selected community. The project, led by scientists at UC Merced, can strengthen public health efforts by supplementing surveys about...

UC Merced faculty band G Street Revolution performing

All-faculty Rock Band Cuts Album at UC Merced Recording Studio

An all-faculty rock band formed in a professor’s garage a decade ago has released the first album produced at UC Merced’s digitally advanced recording studio. The album showcases the eight members of G Street Revolution. Their day jobs cross a spectrum of academics: engineering, sociology,...

Depicted is the UC Merced campus in the foreground, with smoke from a distant wildfire seen behind it on a blue sky.

Heat Waves Making Wildfires Worse in the Western United States

Key points: • Researchers found that heat waves are a critical enabler and driver of wildfire-burned areas across the western U.S. • The findings suggest that heat waves contribute not only to increased flammability, but to longer burn periods and increased lightning. • Burned area in...

Depicted is Project Nexus, a structure that holds solar panels over an irrigation canal in Hickman.

Regional Answers Best Option to Address Global Water, Energy Problems

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for the U.S. Department of Energy to develop innovative technology and infrastructure at the intersection of the nation's water and energy systems. The country's energy and water systems are profoundly...

UC Merced Graduate Student Secures Fellowship in Climate Equity Work

When Isabelle Haddad, a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Systems, looks ahead to the next chapter, her future is already coming into focus. The New York native participated in commencement in May and will defend her dissertation in August. She will then begin a one-year, full-time position on Aug....