Brenda Ortiz

Major Gift to Reimagine Humanities Research, Community-engaged Projects

June 6, 2024

UC Merced faculty and graduate students collaborate with the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation to record rock art sites in Mariposa County.

Humanities education has been under fire on college campuses over the past decade. “There’s a lot of concern nationally about graduate education in the humanities. We’re producing plenty of Ph.D.s but are there enough jobs for them upon graduation?” said anthropology and...

author Jorge Cham speaks to a group of graduate students during a visit to UC Merced.

Author Jorge Cham Simplifies Science in an Entertaining Way

“Raise your hands if you want to know a secret,” acclaimed author and cartoonist Jorge Cham instructed a crowd of young children. Hundreds of tiny arms shot up in unison toward the...

Ph.D. candidate Ambarish Varadan will compete in the UC Grad Slam finale livestreamed starting at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 3.

Campus Grad Slam Winner Examines ‘Gut Viruses: Friends or Foes?’

Earlier this month, Ambarish Varadan competed in UC Merced’s Grad Slam finals and seized the title of Campus Champion. This was the second time the Quantitative and Systems Biology (QSB) Ph....

Students, Alums Awarded Prestigious NSF Graduate Fellowships

Three UC Merced graduate students and two undergraduate alumni were recently offered fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). “I am...

Graduate students from UC Merced’s three schools will take the stage to compete in the Graduate Division’s 10th Grad Slam finals on April 8.

Graduate Division Hosts 10th Grad Slam Competition

Who will UC Merced’s Grad Slam champion be? Cheer on the finalists on April 8 and find out. Graduate students from UC Merced’s three schools will take the stage to compete in the...

Riverside City Manager and UC Merced grad student Mike Futrell

Ph.D. Student Juggles Academic Demands with Managing a City

Glancing at Mike Futrell’s resume, one might ask, “What hasn’t he done?” He is a retired United States Navy captain with two submarine tours under his belt and 26 years of...

Fellowship Expands Quantum, AI Training to Fill Industry Demand

UC Merced graduate students Anuvetha Govindarajan and Jocelyn Ornelas-Munoz have each received a $25,000 fellowship from SandboxAQ, which creates solutions at the nexus of artificial...

UC Merced graduate student Karla Seijas siting on concrete wall.

Ph.D. Student Pushes for Better Education Benefits for Veterans’ Dependents

A new state law will make a difference in accessing education for the dependents of disabled veterans in California, thanks to the initiative of UC Merced Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate...

Buhl Named to ASCE Committee

Environmental Systems Ph.D. candidate Marie Buhl has been invited to join the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate (CACC). Buhl, who is from...

Environmental Systems Student Named UCAR Next Generation Policy Fellow

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) has named environmental systems Ph.D. student Kate DeMarsh a recipient of the 2023 Next Generation Fellowship. The UCAR fellowship is...