In Brief

State Delivers $3 Million for Ag Technology Center at UC Merced

August 29, 2025

Photo depicts hay and a tractor at UC Merced's Experimental Smart Farm.

UC Merced’s smart farm is getting a smart barn. The university will receive $3 million from the state of California, part of $80 million in funding to support 11 projects across California announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Jobs First Council. The money will go to...

NVIDIA Awards Fellowship to EECS Student for Computing Research

The NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program awarded up to $50,000 to UC Merced graduate student Xueting Li for her research in self-supervised learning and relation learning between different visual...

Public Health Grad Student’s CDC-funded Research Helps Mosquito Control

Public health Ph.D. student Ryan Torres presented research at last month’s Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California Conference in San Diego that could be foundational for future...

UC Merced Alum Takes Helm at Lassen Community College

Trevor Albertson, who earned his Ph.D. in world cultures and history from UC Merced in 2009, has been appointed interim president/superintendent of Lassen Community College (LCC) by its board of...

UC Merced and Merced College Pair Up to Train Future Tech Researchers

Thirty-four students from San Joaquin Valley colleges are getting an opportunity to learn how to access and build careers in technology and research at a unique workshop designed to help diversify...

UC Merced to Screen Acclaimed Documentary as Part of Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Worldwide, nearly 25 million people are victims of human trafficking, a criminal enterprise that generates $150 billion each year — more than the combined annual profits of Exxon, Microsoft, BP...

Researchers Aim to Cure Valley’s Salty Soil With $2.5M Grant From NSF

California’s Central Valley has some of the most productive agricultural land in the world, but the accumulation of salt from irrigation water is decreasing crop productivity and threatening...

EECS Alumna Named ‘Rising Star’ for Computer Vision Work

UC Merced alumna Sifei Liu, who earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2017, was selected to participate in Rising Stars in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences 2019...

New Study Shows Patchy Resources Drove Evolutionary Changes to Body Size

Resource allocation isn’t just a problem for humans preparing a holiday dinner, or squirrels storing up nuts for the winter. It can actually affect the size of an animal or whether it...

‘Home for the Holidays’ Gift-Drive Brings Joy to Local Children

The spirit of giving is taking root across UC Merced as the campus collects gifts for Merced County families through the annual “A Home for the Holidays” campaign. Members of the...