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Project Aims to Put AI to Work Reducing its Own Energy Needs

April 8, 2026

Photo depicts Elizabeth Nowadnick, center, surrounded by members of her lab on campus at UC Merced.
It's no secret that artificial intelligence uses a lot of electricity. A standard ChatGPT query consumes approximately 0.34 watt-hours - roughly 10 times more than a Google search. According to the Pew Research Center, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024 -...
Kumaran Akilan presented his research on using a smartphone to potentially diagnose Alzheimer's disease at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

Young UC Merced Student Developing Smartphone Diagnostics for Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease affects people all over the world and Kumaran Akilan’s family is no different. As the first-year student from Cupertino waits to see if his grandfather’s mild...

‘Principles of Community’ Serves as Muse for Upcoming Community Art Show

Campus community members: Here’s a chance to unleash your inner artist while championing UC Merced’s Principles of Community . On Friday, April 19, UC Merced will host “A...
A group of people seated in a circle formation engage in discussion.

‘3 Practices’ Teaches How to Engage in Difficult but Respectful Dialogue

UC Merced staff members, students and alumni participated in an experiment to help people gain a better understanding of others’ opinions without abandoning their own viewpoint or values....
UC Merced will compete in a UC systemwide competition called the Cool Campus Challenge.

UC Merced Aims to Become the Coolest UC Campus

As the only institution in the country with all LEED certified buildings, being sustainable is ingrained in UC Merced’s DNA. Now, a new competition is challenging the university to strive for...

UC Merced Students Encourage Merced Youngsters to Say Yes to Engineering

Students from UC Merced’s Young Engineer and Scientist (YES) Academy visited Merced’s Pioneer Elementary School to help promote interest in science, technology, engineering and...
ice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie S. Zatz was selected as one of the Top 35 Women in Higher Education by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

‘Diverse’ Names Zatz One of the Nation’s Leading Women in Higher Ed

UC Merced’s Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie S. Zatz was selected as one of the Top 35 Women in Higher Education in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education’s eighth annual special...

UC Merced Joins UC Chicano/Latino Advisory Council

Representatives from UC Merced have joined President Janet Napolitano’s newly formed Chicano/Latino Advisory Council for the University of California. Founding faculty member Professor Rudy...
Ph.D. students Craig Ennis and Vicky Espinoza visited Sacramento with Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz to speak with lawmakers about the contribution of graduate research to California's development.

Graduate Students Make a Case for Research at Capitol

Two UC Merced Ph.D. students took to the State Capitol yesterday with representatives from the other UC campuses to advocate for the importance of the research being done across California. Craig...
Alumna Kisha McGuire is a program counselor in the Fiat Lux Scholars Program within the campus’s Calvin E. Bright Success Center.

Alumna Staffer Pours Her Passion into Serving Students

Kisha McGuire has discovered an opportunity to do what she loves for an institution she’s grown to care deeply about. McGuire graduated from UC Merced in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree...

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