News

UC Merced Continues Rankings Rise

September 12, 2021

The University of California, Merced, continues its historic climb in the venerable US News & World Report rankings of U.S. universities, with the 2022 list released this morning. UC Merced remains in the top 100, rising to 93rd among national universities — up 72 spots over four years. The...

New Civil Engineering Major Designed for a Sustainable Future

September 7, 2021

Civil engineering usually brings to mind bridges and skyscrapers, but at UC Merced the engineering program extends far beyond that. This fall, UC Merced is launching a new civil engineering major that will sit within the existing civil and environmental engineering major. The program is available...

UC Merced Makes Princeton Review ‘Green Honor Roll,’ Remains Consistent on International Young University Rankings

August 31, 2021

UC Merced’s superb sustainability and environmental reputation continue to be a powerhouse, with The Princeton Review placing the campus among only three UCs on its ‘2022 Green Honor Roll.’ The campus also remains on the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings at No.3. According to The...

Spencer Lab Publishes New Technique for Live Imaging

August 31, 2021

Some scientific discoveries are a happy accident (think: penicillin). Others have been there all along, they just take a keen eye to notice, which was recently the case in Professor Joel Spencer’s lab. An observation Spencer made during his postdoctoral appointment at Harvard University laid the...

Chemistry Lab Receives NSF Funding to Study How Proteins Protect from Dehydration

August 26, 2021

Like many people this summer, Professor Shahar Sukenik has dehydration on his mind. But it’s not the soaring outside temperatures prompting this focus. Dehydration has been a theme of his lab’s work for the past year, from understanding how seeds know when to germinate to a new grant to further...

New Collaboration Aims to Help Students Understand the Hows and Whys of Calculus

August 24, 2021

More than a few students have probably asked themselves why they have to take calculus — the course is notoriously difficult for some. “People haven’t been taught math the way it should be,” Department of Applied Mathematics Professor Mayya Tokman said. “Math is practical. It’s there to solve...

Incoming Grad Students Get a Jump Start

August 19, 2021

While the campus remained quieter than usual this summer, a group of new graduate students began their UC Merced journey earlier than the rest of their cohort. On July 6, 19 incoming grad students began the six-week Competitive Edge Summer Bridge program to get a head start in acclimating to...

Thing You Need to Do Today to Prepare for Grad School: Find a Faculty Advisor

August 18, 2021

Pursuing higher education is a rewarding journey. It's also long and difficult, as you've probably already discovered. Simply filling out the paperwork involved in applying for schools, programs, financial aid, and other elements can be a major hurdle. From there, you have exams to study...

Antibiotic Resistance Found in Insecticides Commonly Used in California

August 18, 2021

The over the counter, “safe,” organic-compliant insecticides people purchase at home-improvement stores could be causing a problem that goes far beyond the vegetable garden or farm field — antibiotic resistance. A new study from evolutionary geneticist Professor Mark Sistrom, postdoctoral...

Edwards Eager to Expand Father of Evolution’s Work

August 16, 2021

It has been 186 years since Charles Darwin collected the samples of the Galapagos Islands species that led to his explanation of how the diversity of life on Earth has evolved and forever changed the way we understand the world. During his five-week stay on the islands, Darwin collected dozens of...