News

Fall 2022 Commencement to Include First Graduate Division Ceremony

December 14, 2022

Downtown Merced will be covered in a sea of blue and gold over two days as hundreds of UC Merced Bobcats take part in fall commencement. Also, for the first time, graduate students will have their own ceremony to celebrate their achievements. The pomp and circumstance kick off with the inaugural...

UC Merced Students Earn Wins, Job Offers at National Engineering Conference

December 13, 2022

UC Merced students came away from a national engineering conference with some big wins — including a first-place finish in a famous design competition and job offers from some of the most prestigious companies in the United States. UC Merced sent 34 students to the Society of Hispanic...

Researchers Look at Tree Reproduction and Effects of Climate Change Across North America

December 12, 2022

Life and Environmental Sciences Professor Emily Moran and collaborators at several other universities are set to conduct a continental-scale analysis of climate change effects on tree reproduction. In addition to monitoring seed production, thanks to a new grant from the National Science Foundation...

Packard Foundation Awards $1 Million to Support Climate Research at UC Merced

December 9, 2022

Longtime UC Merced supporter and institutional partner the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has made a significant gift to the campus that will catalyze research efforts and scientific investigations focused on climate change and developing sustainable solutions that ensure the planet’s health....

New Website Offers Farmers Vital Information at Their Fingertips

December 7, 2022

When planting crops, farmers confront numerous questions. Among them: Will it get too hot? Is it likely frost will stunt growing? When is the best time to plant? What kind of pests could impact the harvest? UC Cooperative Extension climate adaptation specialist at UC Merced Tapan Pathak has...

Experts Recommend a New, More Innovative Approach to Wildfire Research

December 5, 2022

Fire scientists typically respond to agency opportunities and conduct research in response to past wildfires. But it is time they take more proactive, integrative, predictive approaches toward mitigating and adapting to this potentially devastating consequence of climate change, a group of...

Research Reveals an Easy Way Dairy Farmers Can Dramatically Reduce their Climate Impact

November 28, 2022

Adding even a small amount of biochar — a charcoal-like material produced by burning organic matter — to a dairy’s manure-composting process reduces methane emissions by 84%, a recent study by UC Merced researchers shows. The dairy industry is one of the main sources of methane in California,...

Ground Tilled, Crops to be Planted at UC Merced’s Smart Farm

November 28, 2022

Land has been tilled at UC Merced’s smart farm, the first physical step in developing the state-of-the-art project. “Even though it’s just a blank field, we have overcome some pretty big obstacles to be where we are today,” said Danny Royer, Experimental Smart Farm coordinator for the university....

Continued Drought Conditions Add Billions in California Agriculture Losses, UC Merced Report Finds

November 22, 2022

Losses to California’s ag industry have continued to mount as the state’s drought stretched into a third straight year, according to a report released Tuesday by researchers from the School of Engineering and the Public Policy Institute of California. The report, led by Professor Josue Medellín-...

Q&A with the new Dean of Engineering at UC Merced

November 21, 2022

Rakesh Goel developed an interest in earthquakes at an early age — and rather abruptly. As a small boy in India, one of his first memories is of experiencing an earthquake. "I must have been a few years old and there was a big earthquake," said Dr. Goel. "I clung to the window, thinking that it was...