In Brief

July 21, 2026

Mitch Vanagten, Shannon Lee, Kim Garner at UC Merced event
Mitch Vanagten, executive chef for UC Merced’s Lakeside Catering, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Paul Fairbrook Spirit of Service Award, a national honor recognizing extraordinary leadership, mentorship and community impact in collegiate dining. Presented by the National...
Headshot Kunle Adewole
UC Merced doctoral candidate Adekunle “Kunle” Adewole has been selected as a 2026 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Fellow.  Adewole was also chosen as one of 18 participants in the...
Isabelle Haddad
When Isabelle Haddad, a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Systems, looks ahead to the next chapter, her future is already coming into focus. The New York native participated in commencement in May...
Headshot Jarrod L Brown Jr.
Jarrod L. Brown Jr. is the first UC Merced graduate student to be awarded the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation fellowship, supporting his doctoral research in structural inequality...
UC Merced students in a classroom
UC Merced’s Degree Completion Program has received a grant of more than half a million dollars to energize efforts to expand opportunities for adult learners to return to academics and earn a...
Aging prison inmate subject of UC Merced professor documentary
A documentary by a UC Merced professor that enters the bleak world of a fading, elderly man in a Virginia state prison received one of the top honors at the Phoenix Film Festival. Media and...
Depicted are postdoctoral researcher Sourabh Kumar and Professor Ashlie Martini in their lab.
Mechanical force can do more than just push things around - it can also trigger chemical reactions. A new review by researchers at UC Merced and Penn State brings together decades of work to explain...
Depicted are students holding an oversized check against a blue UC Merced background.
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...
Depicted are five people looking at a robotic model car.
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...
Grad student Abigail Gyamfi
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...

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