News

Remembering YangQuan Chen, Mechanical Engineering Innovator and Mentor to Many

Professor YangQuan Chen is pictured standing behind a table with flowers at UC Merced on Main.

Services are set Sunday afternoon for Professor YangQuan Chen, whose contibutions to UC Merced's School of Engineering and to the university as a whole will endure through programs he helped build, the research he advanced, and the many students and colleagues he inspired.

Chen, a professor of mechanical engineering, died April 27. He was 59.

A graduate student eagerly anticipates her hooding ceremony.

Degrees, Cheers and a Record Number of Graduates Under the Open Sky

UC Merced is abuzz with celebration as students, families, friends, staff and faculty finish last-minute preparations for the largest commencement in university history. Across three outdoor ceremonies, 1,649 undergraduates and 112 graduate students will walk the stage at Spring Commencement 2026,...
Collage of three headshots of Commencement keynote speakers

UC Merced Alumni to Take the Stage as Commencement Speakers

UC Merced will celebrate the Class of 2026 with three inspiring alumni returning to campus as keynote speakers for commencement ceremonies May 15-17. Emily Reed, ’07, ’13, a tenured biology professor at Merced College, will share her story with more than 100 master’s and doctoral degree candidates...

Northern California could face a fire-prone summer — here are the wild cards

Professor Marina Garcia Lopez-Arias is pictured holding a block of concrete in her lab at UC Merced.

Work with Making More Sustainable Concrete Earns Award from Purdue

Cement is responsible for 8 percent of the world's carbon emissions. Some building companies provide ways to mitigate those emissions to try to reach "net zero" projects, so that their impact is offset. But what if the concrete itself could not only be created more sustainably but also act as a...
Professor Ross Greer is pictured with five students and an autonomous model car in his lab at UC Merced.

UC Merced Project Aimed at Making Autonomous Cars Safer with NVDIA

Road changes such as lane shifts, new signs and speed-limit modifications can be confusing to drivers, both human and mechanical. A human driver can quickly perceive and understand new or temporary changes to road conditions. A new project at UC Merced aims to deliver that same swift processing...
Bioengineering Professor and biofluid dynamicist Arian Aghilinejad is pictured in his lab at UC Merced

AHA Career Award, UC Merced's First, Funds Project Aimed at Improving Heart Interventions

Left ventricular devices, or LVADs, are life saving for patients with advanced heart failure, a condition that affects more than 6 million Americans each year. A UC Merced researcher has earned an American Heart Association Career Development Award to fund his work on improving how these mechanical...
Leah Stokes, a political scientist, energy expert and climate communicator from UC Santa Barbara, speaks from the stage at UC Merced.

Turning A Carbon Footprint into a Carbon Wave

It's time to think bigger about mitigating climate change. Measures such as recycling, turning off lights and reducing energy use are great, but making a real impact is going to take systemic change, said Leah Stokes, a political scientist, energy expert and climate communicator from UC Santa...
Elementary school students get a lesson in engineering and physics from undergraduates in the CalTeach program.

UC Merced Opens Flexible Routes from STEM Degrees to Teaching and Beyond

Students who arrive at UC Merced planning on specific careers often discover along the way that their interests — and strengths — are broader than they first imagined. A new initiative called Education Tracks, or EdTracks, is designed to give students a flexible, low‑risk way to explore careers in...
Depicted is a poster describing solar-over-canal Project Nexus in front of the actual structure.

State's First Solar Canal Project Moves from UC Merced Lab to Real World

What started as a premise in a UC Merced lab culminated with a commemoration of Project Nexus, California's first solar canal project. On Wednesday, state leaders gathered at the Project Nexus sites in Hickman and Keyes to celebrate the completion of the construction pilot, which demonstrates how...
Pictured are Professor Eva de Alba and members of her lab standing outside the Biomedical Sciences & Physics building at UC Merced.

What Causes Chronic Inflammation? UC Merced Project Aims to Find Out

Inflammation can be a good thing. When the human body is exposed to injury or infection, inflammation - which can result in redness, heat, swelling and pain as white blood cells fight threats - is the first line of defense. Inflammation helps fight bacteria, viruses and other pathogens and repair...
Depicted are postdoctoral researcher Sourabh Kumar and Professor Ashlie Martini in their lab.

UC Merced Researchers Explain How Mechanical Force Can Trigger Chemical Reactions

Mechanical force can do more than just push things around - it can also trigger chemical reactions. A new review by researchers at UC Merced and Penn State brings together decades of work to explain how these reactions occur and why they matter for technologies ranging from pharmaceuticals to the...

On California farms, workers say threats to deport them are on the rise

At Bobcat Day 2026, a group of current students and mascot Rufus

At Bobcat Day, Students Explore Opportunities, Picture Their Futures

A throng of people came to UC Merced on a crisp, blue-sky Saturday for Bobcat Day. More than 7,000 were registered to attend the April 18 event for admitted and prospective first-year and transfer students, along with their families. The day was an opportunity for people to meet professors,...
Depicted is César Armando Puente Garza of Tecnológico de Monterrey, speaking at a podium at UC Merced on Main.

Is Growing Agave a Good Fit for California? UC Merced Aims to Find Out

As crops go, agave holds a lot of promise for the northern San Joaquin Valley. The succulents thrive in hot sun, don't require much water and can be grown in the region's sandy soils. And though agave, mainly grown in Mexico, is best known as the source of tequila and mezcal, it has other uses that...
Alumnus Rahim Moulanazada works on the state capitol annex reconstruction.

Alumnus Rahim Moulanazada Continues to Build His Future

Rahim Moulanazada’s path from Modesto to major construction projects across California has been shaped by persistence, family and a deep appreciation for collaboration. Moulanazada, 24, graduated from UC Merced in spring 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He now works as an...
Photo depicts Elizabeth Nowadnick, center, surrounded by members of her lab on campus at UC Merced.

Project Aims to Put AI to Work Reducing its Own Energy Needs

It's no secret that artificial intelligence uses a lot of electricity. A standard ChatGPT query consumes approximately 0.34 watt-hours - roughly 10 times more than a Google search. According to the Pew Research Center, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024 - more than...
Top 100 Best Graduate Schools ranking, two students in a lab

UC Merced Sees Strong Gains in U.S. News Grad School Rankings

UC Merced saw broad gains in the U.S. News and World Report 2026 Best Graduate Schools rankings with graduate programs rising in national standing, reflecting the campus’s growing academic and research profile. UC Merced’s School of Engineering broke into the top 100 in the rankings, securing No....

How a Sapling and a Viral Candy Made California the World’s Pistachio King

Sparse Snowpack In California Fuels Concern Over Fast-Approaching Fire Season

Headshot Jacqueline Garcia

Commuter Student Finds Belonging at UC Merced

Most weekdays, civil engineering major Jacqueline Garcia travels 45 minutes each way from her hometown of Hughson to attend classes at UC Merced. “The perk is being able to pursue my undergraduate degree while still having a tie to home. It's been great having the campus here in the Valley,” she...

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