News

Bacteria Use the Physics of Twist to Measure Their Own Size and Shape

June 9, 2020

Theoretical physics Professor Ajay Gopinathan has been working over the past decade to model a submicroscopic mystery. Now, he and a team of colleagues have verified an important piece of the puzzle of how tiny, intrinsically twisted protein filaments responsible for repairing and growing cells...

Grad Students, Alums Receive NSF Research Fellowships

June 3, 2020

Two UC Merced Ph.D. students, a recent undergraduate and an alumna have each been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP). The fellowship provides multiyear support to predoctoral students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The...

Human Waste Treatment Helps Solve Climate-Change Puzzle, New Study Shows

June 1, 2020

About 4.5 billion people around the globe do not have access to adequate sanitation, and what they do have — typically pit latrines and lagoons — are responsible for widespread illnesses and a portion of the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. UC Merced Professor Rebecca Ryals and a...

Bobcats Help Shape Future of NASA, SPACEX Missions

May 30, 2020

As the SPACEX Crew Dragon spacecraft left Earth today to ferry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, many Bobcats were watching the live stream with keen anticipation. It’s not just that the flight marks the first time a commercial aerospace company will carry humans — two NASA...

Innovate to Grow Awards 10 Winners from Virtual Expo

May 28, 2020

Despite the challenges of making an in-person event into a remote one, students in this year’s Innovate to Grow spring showcase displayed the determination, passion and innovation Bobcats are known for. Student teams highlighted more than 60 projects — from mobile applications that translate...

Internet of Things and Autonomous Retail Research Win Awards for Professor, Students

May 22, 2020

The number of everyday smart devices, such as Nest and Samsung SmartThings, is projected to grow to the billions in the coming decade. Professor Shijia Pan and her students work to quantify the sensing quality in real-world applications, optimize the information these devices collect and model the...

Physics Ph.D. Student Named Grad Slam Campus Champion

May 21, 2020

UC Merced’s Graduate Division wrapped up its annual Grad Slam competition this week, announcing Physics doctoral candidate Boe Mendewala as its campus champion. The judges awarded two runners-up, Shayna Bennett, a third-year Ph.D. student in Applied Mathematics, and Melinda Gonzales, a first-year...

Six Students and Two Community Service Organizations Awarded University Friends Circle Scholarships

May 19, 2020

University Friends Circle (UFC) supports the mission of UC Merced and one way the group does that directly is by supporting students. Each year, UFC members raise money to fund scholarships for students and student groups through an endowed scholarship and the Student Impact Fund. Students are...

First Virtual Commencement Honors Class of 2020

May 18, 2020

The Class of 2020 has officially graduated and while students didn’t cross the stage in typical commencement fashion, the celebration was memorable. In the first virtual commencement for a University of California campus, UC Merced honored its more than 1,500 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral...

UC Merced Part of CITRIS’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants

May 14, 2020

UC Merced professors are leading or participating in four technology projects designed to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis. The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute awarded seed grants to 25 interdisciplinary, multi-campus teams to...