News

Internship at NASA Yields Long-lasting Results for Student, Space Agency

February 28, 2024

A UC Merced undergraduate student's work at NASA helped ensure the space agency will have cost-effective and efficient communications. Tejas Bhartiya, who recently graduated from the university after only 2.5 years, also last month concluded an internship with NASA's Goddard Space Center. The...

Project Positions W.E.B. Du Bois as Inspiration for STEM Students

February 27, 2024

Editor's note: In honor of Black History Month, the UC Merced newsroom is highlighting some of the organizations, services and people who serve or represent the Black community on campus. We all need heroes. Perhaps that was on Roy Wilkins’ mind as he faced the sea of humanity – 250,000 strong – on...

Human Rights Film Festival Shows the Faces of Injustice

February 27, 2024

The unflinching demand for justice drives the moving images and impassioned ideas packed into the agenda of this year’s UC Merced Human Rights Film Festival, presented by the university’s Global Arts, Media & Writing Studies department. From discussions of systemic oppression and the horrors...

Fellowship Expands Quantum, AI Training to Fill Industry Demand

February 26, 2024

UC Merced graduate students Anuvetha Govindarajan and Jocelyn Ornelas-Munoz have each received a $25,000 fellowship from SandboxAQ, which creates solutions at the nexus of artificial intelligence and quantum technology — or AQ — to address some of the world's greatest challenges. For the past six...

Climate and Carbon Dioxide ‘Roads to Removal’ Discussion Set for UC Merced

February 23, 2024

What does the greater Merced community need to know about climate change? How might the Central Valley play a significant role in discussions and solutions about carbon dioxide removal? What new projects are on the horizon, and can they bring economic and community benefits to the region? These...

Sukenik Named Sloan Research Fellow for Pioneering Research in Protein Chemistry

February 20, 2024

Professor Shahar Sukenik has been a faculty member for only 5 1/2 years, but he has already built an impressive resume, becoming a leader in his research field, an innovator and an exceptional communicator. Those qualities helped him become UC Merced’s first recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan...

Public Radio Highlights Natural Reserves, New Program for Undergraduates

February 20, 2024

The latest installment of North State Public Radio’s Blue Dot podcast focuses on the UC Natural Reserve System and the national parks and features a segment about the UC Merced ¿field curious? program. Sponsored by the UC Merced Natural Reserve System (NRS), ¿field curious? introduces...

Active-matter Researcher will Further Modeling, Education with NSF CAREER Award

February 12, 2024

Department of Physics Professor Kinjal Dasbiswas has received a CAREER award for his work on the theory and modeling of shape-changing active solids. He is the 38th researcher from UC Merced to earn this award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). CAREER awards are among the NSF’s most...

New Film Profiles Immediate Actions to Restore California's Wildfire-vulnerable Forests

February 9, 2024

The new film "California's Watershed Healing" documents the huge benefits that result from restoring forests to healthier densities. UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute partnered with the nonprofit Chronicles Group to tell the story of these efforts, the science behind them, and...

Journal Published UC Merced Public Health Professor's Study on Violence and Suicidal Behavior

February 6, 2024

A study conducted by a UC Merced researcher found that people injured through violent acts have a substantially higher risk to die by or attempt suicide. The study, conducted by public health Professor Sidra Goldman-Mellor and Ping Qin, professor at the National Center for Suicide Research and...