News

Headshots of five postdoctoral scholars

UC Merced Receives $1 Million Award to Support Postdoctoral Fellows

March 11, 2026
UC Merced has received a $1 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to strengthen postdoctoral fellowships and expand research in the natural sciences. Awarded through the foundation’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Commitment, this distinction places UC Merced among just 30 leading...
Depicted are students holding an oversized check against a blue UC Merced background.

Turner Construction Foundation Gifts Future Engineers

March 10, 2026
A company UC Merced has invested in to help build out its campus in turn is investing in the university's students. The foundation run by Turner Construction this week gave a $5,000 donation to the university's American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter. Clint Williams, business manager...
Group of individuals attending event with grads student presenting on stage

Ready, Set, Slam: 10 UC Merced Scholars Battle for Champion Title

March 9, 2026
Ten UC Merced graduate researchers are gearing up to deliver the most intense three minutes of their academic careers. Each spring, master’s and Ph.D. students across the campus’s three schools are invited to participate in Grad Slam — a fast‑paced competition that challenges scholars to distill...
Depicted are the letters

Amazon Funds Research into Making AI More Efficient

March 1, 2026
Two UC Merced computer science and engineering professors will delve deep into artificial intelligence in projects with Amazon. Dong Li and Xiaoyi Lu earned Amazon Research Awards, the technology giant announced recently. Amazon Research Awards provide unrestricted funds and Amazon Web Services...
Photo depicts two students working on a circuit board at UC Merced.

New Approaches Coming to UC Merced Electrical Engineering Department

February 24, 2026
As technology advances and new problems present themselves, electrical engineers who can meet the needs of the modern world are in high demand, and adapting to electrical engineering education has become increasingly important. UC Merced's electrical engineering program, one of the university's...
UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz and Governor Gray Davis pose with the Chancellor's Medal

Former Gov. Gray Davis Awarded Chancellor’s Medal for Transformative Leadership in Bringing UC Merced to the Central Valley

February 24, 2026
At an intimate gathering of supporters, UC Merced awarded former Gov. Gray Davis the Chancellor’s Medal — the university’s highest honor — in recognition of his instrumental role in bringing the 10th University of California campus to Merced. The medal was presented recently during a special...
Depicted are five people looking at a robotic model car.

Engineers Week Events Set at UC Merced

February 20, 2026
A research panel, project demonstrations and career advice are all part of activities set for Engineers Week at UC Merced Feb. 23-27. And it all kicks off with the university's first networking expo aimed at the engineering industry. Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951...
Depicted is a scene of burned-out trees and ash in the wake of the Caldor Fire.

Rising Simultaneous Fire Weather Threatens International Firefighting Efforts

February 18, 2026
High-risk conditions for fires are increasingly happening across countries at the same time, making wildfires even more challenging to tackle, new research reveals. Scientists from UC Merced and the University of East Anglia found this synchronized extreme fire weather — characterized by...
Grad student Abigail Gyamfi

Leadership in STEM: Abigail Gyamfi Honored with 2025 ACS Leader Scholars Award

February 4, 2026
Chemistry and Biochemistry (CBC) Ph.D. candidate Abigail Gyamfi has earned the 2025 American Chemical Society Leader Scholars Award. The ACS Leader Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate students, graduate students and early-career scientists. “I am profoundly grateful to the...

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