News

Photo depicts participants in the summer internship program in front of the Beginnings statue at UC Merced.

High School Students Invited to Apply for Free Computer Science Internship

January 22, 2026
High school students have an extraordinary opportunity to explore software development through a summer internship program at UC Merced. Computer science and engineering Professor Ahmed Arif started the High School Internship program in the Inclusive Interaction Lab in 2018 to give young minds...
Photo depicts an attendee speaking into a microphone to ask a question at the Rural Energy Summit at UC Merced.

Innovative Solutions Turn Rural Energy Challenges Into Opportunities

January 21, 2026
One of the biggest hurdles facing local farmers is the rising cost of doing business. However, some innovative solutions are in the works, as highlighted at the Central Valley Rural Energy Systems Workshop at UC Merced in early December. Hosted by the UC Merced Energy Center and the Sierra Nevada...
graphic with five individuals higlighted; three females and two males with UC Merced and ARCS logos on blue background

Innovative Research Secures Coveted Fellowships for Ph.D. Students

January 14, 2026
The ARCS Foundation Northern California awarded five UC Merced graduate students with 2025-26 fellowships. ARCS advances science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to exceptional graduate-level scholars in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. In...
collage of photo with yellow text on a blue background reading Carnegie Elective Reclassification for Community Engagement

The American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation Recognize UC Merced's Leadership in Community Engagement

January 12, 2026
UC Merced has once again been recognized as a national leader in community-engaged scholarship. The 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement affirms the university’s deep and expanding commitment to serving the public. The designation from the American Council on Education and...
UC Merced professor and students

New Major Teaches How to Tackle Questions of Ethics in Science, Tech

January 8, 2026
Should a scientist who sees signs of global catastrophe sound an early alarm or wait until more conclusive evidence is in? Does going public lead to swifter action or give naysayers more time to discredit the message? Students in Professor Dan Hicks’ course in science, technology and ethics...
Kevin Arrieta is pictured speaking to an electrical engineering class at UC Merced.

UC Merced Alum, Now a Robotics Expert for Amazon, Advises Students to Get Their Hands Dirty

January 6, 2026
Kevin Arrieta got into robotics to avoid getting into trouble. Arrieta said he joined the robotics club at Dominguez High School in Compton high school after Gloria Esiobu, the teacher who ran it, gave him an ultimatum. "I had gotten in with the wrong crowd," he said. "I had a physics teacher who...
Student speaker at 2024 UC Merced Fall Commencement

Fall Commencement Graduates Urged to Write Their Own Story

December 22, 2025
 A beaming Jesus Cevon-Gonzalez stood on Merced’s Main Street, surrounded by his mom and dad, grandparents, sister and other loved ones. He clutched the proof of a freshly bestowed bachelor’s degree in computer science. “I’m just trying to make my parents proud,” the Merced native said. Cevon-...
Collage photo of Black male with dark hair and beard wearing blue and gray long sleeve shirt and photo of campus signage and palm trees.

Ph.D. Student Awarded Fellowship to Advance Environmental Health and Harmful Algal Bloom Mitigation

December 18, 2025
Public health Ph.D. student Felix Agyemang Opoku has been awarded the UC Global Health Initiative Center for Planetary Health Water and Health Summer Research Fellowship. The research fellowships are designed to provide students with funding to conduct research on water and health. Opoku, who works...
Photo depicts climate scientist Michael Mann speaking at a podium at UC Merced.

Climate Speaker Series at UC Merced Kicks Off with Warnings … and Hope

December 16, 2025
The global climate crisis was entirely predictable and impacts nearly every facet of life. But we still can slow its progress and mitigate the effects we already see. That was the message delivered earlier this month by climate scientist Michael Mann, who spoke at the first in a series of...

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