Using some of the tiniest fossils in the world to help clarify how climate change is modeled has earned Professor Jessica Blois a big honor — publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
LOS BANOS Matt Hirota has been tweaking UC Merced's garbage system for more than a year and found that it's all about simplicity — and education.
"Human behavior is very bizarre," he said.Hirota, the university's waste reduction and recycling coordinator, recorded video of about 75 staff members tossing their garbage after monthly meetings to better understand why people don't sort recyclable, compostable and landfill-bound waste properly.
LIVINGSTON The Merced River, to many residents, is an indelible feature of summer fun in the region — whether one is fishing under the saffron sun or floating in a raft from Snelling to Livingston.
For Thomas Harmon it's more than that. It's an indispensable natural resource that must be appreciated and protected for future generations to enjoy and learn from.
As UC Merced concludes its eighth academic year and prepares to award degrees to another outstanding class of graduates this weekend (today and Sunday), I am pleased to provide our neighbors and the greater Merced community with an update on our physical expansion plans in the face of rapidly growing student demand for admission.
MERCED The weather was perfect for Merced's fifth annual Cap & Town event, dubbed "Merced's biggest outdoor celebration."
Friday's event honored all graduating students in the area and their families. Between 5 and 10 p.m., Mercedians of all ages gathered for food, music and dancing.With more than 40 vendors, the block party is an opportunity for people to get to know various local businesses or join a local club, said Karen Baker, the event organizer.
MERCED David Brantley was running out of room on his desk at home so he added an extension.
The left side of the desk was designated for his photography business. The right side is where his school work piled up. Brantley, 60, of Merced has spent countless hours at that desk the past three years as he ran his own business while working toward his anthropology degree at UC Merced.MERCED The eighth commencement ceremonies this weekend at UC Merced will honor more than 1,000 graduates, marking the most degrees the university has awarded.
A UC Merced applied math professor has figured out what is going on when a nanosecond jolt of electricity briefly opens a cell's wall and allows delivery of medical treatments.
An exacting nanosecond jolt of electricity can briefly open a cell's wall, allowing for the delivery of drugs or DNA. This procedure -- called electroporation -- is widely used in biology, biotechnology and medicine, including cancer treatments.
MERCED Merced city officials announced plans this week for Cap and Town 2013, Merced's largest downtown outdoor celebration and block party. The annual event celebrates all of Merced's graduates and honors the community's educational excellence, according to a city press release.
UC Merced has reduced its carbon footprint by using green power generated on site, an achievement being recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency, which has named UC Merced a Green Power Partner.
The University of California at Merced is at the forefront of a national movement by universities, students and school officials to tackle a nagging problem: food waste.
PLANADA If we can do it, you can do it.
PLANADA UC Merced students will finish where they started at César E. Chávez Middle School in Planada today. However, the work has really just started for Merced County Project 10%. Project 10% is a first-of-its-kind initiative to put a UC Merced student into every middle school to discuss the importance of high school graduation. The goal is to decrease the high school dropout rate by 10 percent.
MERCED Professor Suzanne Sindi found her calling in seventh grade, while reading "Jurassic Park." "I liked the idea that math is a tool for understanding the whole world," she said. Her School of Natural Sciences colleague, Professor Karin Leiderman, wants to understand how people's bodies work. They are using math to understand biological functions that are familiar to everyone, yet still mysterious.
MERCED Many large state universities fail in their mission to create social mobility, instead perpetuating inequality by catering to privileged students rather than focusing on student success, according to a new book cowritten by a professor at UC Merced.
MERCED Aspiring middle school scientists broke bread last week with real-life scientists at UC Merced.
The seventh annual Dinner With A Scientist event brought nearly 20 scientists, ranging from chemists and medical doctors to biologists and even a crime scene investigator, and about 150 middle school students from seven Merced County school districts to UC Merced's Lantern Room, according to a Merced County Office of Education news release.
MERCED An exhibit inside UC Merced's Kolligian Library kicked off this week. The annual Bobcat Art Show runs through May 2. A free artists' reception for the show is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the art gallery.
UC Merced artists are sharing their best work this semester in the eighth annual Bobcat Art Show.
UC Merced may lose a little bit of money by having to postpone a conference because of the federal sequester cuts, an official said Wednesday.
MERCED More than 150 sixth- through eighth-grade students will have a chance to interact today with scientists from a variety of fields of study over dinner in a professional environment. The Merced County Office of Education, in conjunction with the UC Merced, will host the seventh annual Dinner With a Scientist.
One group of engineering students is focusing on tiny ways to make big strides in education.
MERCED UC Merced will hold two graduation ceremonies this spring as a result of the largest class in its history.
As perhaps the most anticipated event of each school year, the graduation ceremony marks a very significant moment in a student's academic career. This year, UC Merced's graduating class will celebrate the successful completion of their undergraduate coursework. The university has started preparing for this year's graduation, with information on the expected guest speakers being released.
One long-term effect of deep federal budget cuts could be that some research projects won't get done, a UC Merced administrator warned Tuesday. Also, UC Merced and Merced College will see reductions in financial aid, adding to the burden on students and their families
Biology Professor Rudy Ortiz is furthering his innovative research into diabetes with support from a major pharmaceutical company.
MERCED UC Merced will collaborate with Children's Hospital Central California on valley fever research. Valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis, is a disease caused by a fungus called Coccidioides immitis and it starts in the lungs, but can spread to other organs in the body and the bones. It is highly prevalent in the Central Valley and parts of Arizona.
UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland told the UC Board of Regents on Wednesday that accommodating growth at the Merced campus will require a new approach including office space for some staff off-campus, possibly in downtown Merced.
MERCED A collaboration between a dean and a professor as well as a grant from the National Science Foundation have made UC Merced part of a national nanotechnology-biology hub. It's a move that expands knowledge and opportunities for students in Merced. School of Natural Sciences Dean Juan Meza and Professor Mike Colvin received a grant of $175,000 a year for five years to join the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and other schools such as Purdue University in a joint project.
MERCED The three deans at UC Merced are highly paid, but their role is vital for the growth of their respective schools and the overall advancement of the university, an administrator said. The three combined make $701,000 a year, not including benefits. Tom Peterson, provost and executive vice chancellor at UC Merced, said the university tries to offer competitive salaries to staff, faculty and administrators -- including deans -- to get the best talent.
