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Creative, Problem-Solving Projects Win at I2G

UC Merced students are depicted in front of a poster explaining their project for I2G.

A semi-automated washing system for bins at a tomato-processing facility and a mobile app for hikers earned big wins at the Fall 2025 I2G, or Innovate to Grow, event at UC Merced.

I2G is a unique "experiential learning" program that engages external partner organizations with teams of students who design systems to solve real-world engineering and computer science problems.

The team "Let's Get Saucy" won the F3 Innovate Engineering Award for its project with Kagome, a Los Banos-based tomato processing and food manufacturing company.

Photo depicts the blue and gold UCM art installation and professors Chih-Chun Chien, left, and Xiaoyi Lu

UC Merced Directs Program to Train Quantum Science Workforce

A new program led by UC Merced in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory aims to train graduate and undergraduate students to work in the rapidly growing industry of quantum information science and technology, or QIST. The U.S. Department of Energy's RENEW (Reaching a New Energy...

Dusty Skies in California Farm Country

Instructor Kristen Hogue works with a class of high school students in New York City.

UC Merced Brings Climate Justice Course to Title I High School Students Across the Nation

Recently, more than 150 students at 10 high schools in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. completed Climate Justice, a UC Merced course , through a unique partnership between the University of California and the National Education Equity Lab. Guided by its mantra, "Talent is evenly...

Gift Creates UC Merced’s First Endowed Chair in Agricultural Technology

A new endowed chair will significantly enhance UC Merced’s work to advance research and innovation in the agricultural technology sector. Housed in the School of Engineering, the Christine Nemec Long Endowed Chair in Agricultural Technology was created through a generous gift from longtime UC...

UC Merced Graduates Encouraged to Embrace Every Moment

With cheers, hugs and leis, more than 1,500 UC Merced graduates received a celebratory sendoff to their bright futures as a prominent keynote speaker told them to make the most of the here and now. Hundreds of families and friends joined the graduates in three days of commencement ceremonies at the...

In America’s ‘salad bowl,’ farmers invest in guest worker housing, hoping to stabilize workforce

One extreme weather event is expected to become more common in California. Here’s what to know

Photo depicts a firefighter and flames from the 2020 Apple fire in California.

How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Fuel Record-Breaking Wildfires in 2020? New Study Explains

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many facets of life, including health care, schools and the work environment. A new study by UC Merced researchers shows evidence that the pandemic also fueled an elevated number of wildfires in the United States that year. How? With schools and businesses...

Sociology Graduate Program Debuts Strongly in U.S. News Rankings

Only 10 years after it began, the Ph.D. program in UC Merced’s Department of Sociology made an impressive debut in U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of graduate-level offerings. The Sociology graduate program tied for No. 64 nationally, sharing the position with UC Riverside, Temple...

UC Merced Student’s Photography Joins Exhibit of Young Valley Talent

Zachary Silva’s camera escorts us to extraordinary places. We see UC Merced from high above, the land around the campus warped by a fisheye lens. We look straight down a pole at a fluttering U.S. flag and two lonely tractors. These eye-popping points of view are among other photographs by Silva on...

Top nine Grad Slam finalists with graduate dean and associate graduate dean with R1 prop

Chemistry Ph.D. Student Wins Campus Grad Slam Top Prize, Advances to UC-wide Final

Adekunle “Kunle” Adewole isn’t a stranger to the spotlight, having grown up singing at family functions and performing in theater productions. He also has fervently watched “The Voice,” a singing reality competition television series, envisioning himself performing on stage. “’The Voice’ is part of...

Group of five female graduates at commencement

Carnegie Recognizes UC Merced for Student Access, Grad Earnings

UC Merced has earned two 2025 Carnegie distinctions, the Student Access and Earnings Classification “Opportunity Colleges and Universities” and the Institutional Classification by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education. “It speaks to the mission and values we uphold as a...

Photo depicts a rendering of a drone flying above the heads of people below.

Team Advances In Aviation Prize Contest

A team of UC Merced students and their adviser has entered the second phase of the 2024-25 CITRIS Aviation Prize design contest. Students Yael Xavier Andujar, Monica Cruz Gaspar, Ana Hernandez, Kyra Ruiz, Randy Serrano and mechanical engineering Professor Francesco Danzi will compete against three...

Flames, the beach and the ocean are depicted in a scene from the January 2025 Palisades fire.

Researchers Look Ahead to Fire Season 2025

Pictures accompanying Professor John Abatzoglou's presentation on the 2025 fire season were blurry. That was intentional, he said, because so much about wildfire is unpredictable. "There's a lot that we know, and a lot we don't know," he said. However, Abatzoglou said, some conclusions can be drawn...

UC Merced to Welcome Future Bobcats at Bobcat Day Celebration

UC Merced is excited to welcome admitted students, their families and friends for another unforgettable Bobcat Day. Set for Saturday, April 19, this annual open house promises a full day of engaging presentations, activities and a firsthand look at life as a Bobcat. Throughout the event, faculty,...

Sameen Yunus, left, and her faculty advisor, physics Professor David Strubbe

Graduate Student Earns Fellowship to Study Fusion at Livermore Lab

UC Merced physics graduate student Sameen Yunus has been awarded a prestigious fellowship allowing her to spend the next three years working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, conducting experiments and simulations that could lead to faster fusion ignition. The UC-National Lab In-Residence...

Image from the Palisades fire in Los Angeles depicts flames and trees.

Experts to Provide Outlook of Upcoming Fire Season

What will California's fire season look like in 2025? A panel of UC Merced experts, joined by the founder of a public safety information nonprofit organization, will conduct an in-depth discussion of the risks, repercussions and forecasts, and what communities can do to be prepared. The Fire...

Texas AG Ken Paxton launches investigation into Kellogg's over artificial food colorings

Three Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 100 by U.S. News

UC Merced’s School of Engineering and its programs continue to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as demonstrated in the release today of its 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings. The R1 school advanced three spots in the latest Best Overall Engineering Schools rankings, inching closer to...