News

$2.5M Grant Will Help Professor to Build a Powerful Molecular Imaging Scanner

September 5, 2018

Bioengineering Professor Changqing Li was recently awarded a four-year, $2.5 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help develop a focused X-ray luminescence tomography (FXLT) scanner that could accelerate cancer research. The scanner is a first-of-its kind molecular...

Understanding Why Designs Work — or Don’t — is Important

September 4, 2018

Just because a design works once doesn’t mean that the research and development is done. That’s why, Professor Sarah Kurtz argues in a new commentary in the prestigious journal Nature Energy , it’s important to do the quality assurance science that shows why products sometimes don’t work. “If...

$1.5M Grant Will Transform Chemistry Curriculum, Improve Access to STEM Careers

September 4, 2018

It’s a startling statistic: Nearly 30 percent of UC Merced students who start their college careers in the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) switch to majors outside the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by their second year. But a new five-year, $1.5 million grant from the...

Founding Faculty Member Leading Campus in New Role

August 27, 2018

Cognitive science Professor Teenie Matlock, the McClatchy Chair in Communications , has been appointed interim vice provost for the faculty at UC Merced. This is her first high-level administrative position, but hardly her first leadership role. As a founding faculty member, Matlock has taken the...

New Year Begins With New Students, Spaces and Programs

August 22, 2018

UC Merced began its 14th academic year today, welcoming new and returning students into new buildings. Students moving in this year are the first to experience the newest residence halls, Glacier Point and Granite Pass, which opened this month as part of the Merced 2020 Project’s Phase 1. These...

Study: Snacking on Almonds a Healthy Alternative for Breakfast-Skipping Students

August 16, 2018

Independence: It’s what many students value most about the transition to college life. But the freedom to make decisions without interference from parents can lead to unhealthy eating habits. There’s the dreaded “Freshman 15” — the 15 pounds that students purportedly gain during their first year of...

Summer Programs Enhance Students’ Success in High School and Beyond

August 13, 2018

Araceli Hernandez could have been playing video games, swimming or sleeping in over summer break, but instead she was doing math. And she’s happy about it. Hernandez took part in one of three summer programs on campus developed by UC Merced’s Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) with funding...

CAREER Award Will Help Professor Predict How Species Respond to Climate Change

August 10, 2018

Paleoecology Professor Jessica Blois recently became the campus’s 19th recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award. The NSF describes as the CAREER as its “most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential...

Summer Outreach Programs Foster Learning, Community

August 6, 2018

Taking part in a summer program can help students develop new skills, get hands-on experience, meet other students with similar interests and get a taste of college life. It’s also a plus on college applications — it shows that the student is committed to learning. For elementary, middle and high...

To Be or Not To Be a Philosophy Major, that is the Question Bobcats Face

July 25, 2018

According to a recent Forbes magazine article, tech companies throughout the U.S. have discovered something universities have known since they began: Liberal arts thinking makes employees stronger. Students who choose the new philosophy major at UC Merced — officially launched in the spring— will...