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UC Merced Alum, Now a Robotics Expert for Amazon, Advises Students to Get Their Hands Dirty

January 6, 2026

Kevin Arrieta is pictured speaking to an electrical engineering class at UC Merced.
Kevin Arrieta got into robotics to avoid getting into trouble. Arrieta said he joined the robotics club at his Compton high school after the teacher who ran it gave him an ultimatum. "I had gotten in with the wrong crowd," he said. "I had a physics teacher who told me, '...
Professor Rudy Ortiz

Physiological Society Recognizes Rudy Ortiz for Mentoring Underrepresented Students

Physiology Professor Rudy M. Ortiz has been named this year's winner of the A. Clifford Barger Underrepresented Minority Mentorship Award by the American Physiological Society. The UC Merced...
Postdoctoral researcher Derek Hollenbeck and mechanical engineering Professor YangQuan Chen are pictured.

Researchers Developing New Tools in Fight Against Methane Emissions

UC Merced researchers are taking part in a comprehensive, multi-agency effort aimed at efficiently measuring and mitigating methane emissions. IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory are leading...
Professor Winston with his research team and a solar collector.

Founding Faculty Roland Winston Remembered for Pioneering Solar Energy

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Roland Winston, a pioneer in solar energy, engineering and physics, died Feb. 8 at the age of 88 at his home in Merced. A founding faculty member in the schools of...
A scenic photograph of the Science and Engineering 2 building is pictured.

Engineers Week Events Set at UC Merced

A research panel, project demonstrations and banquet are among the festivities planned for Engineers Week at UC Merced. Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951, Engineers...

UC Merced Achieves R1: Highest Tier of Research Classification

UC Merced has assumed its place in the top echelon of research institutions in the nation by earning R1 status from Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The announcement was...
Students celebrate at the annual barbecue, sponsored by Black clubs and organizations, at Lake Yosemite.

Student-driven Center Offers Safe Space for Community, Resources and Programs

This story is part of a series for Black History Month. Read more stories highlighting Black excellence at UC Merced. The Black Scholars Resource Center might be one of UC Merced’s...
Deborah Taffa

5 Questions for Indigenous Author of Acclaimed Memoir Coming to UC Merced

Deborah Taffa, an Indigenous author and educator whose book about growing up in a mixed-race home and struggling with social acceptance was hailed as one the best memoirs of 2024, will make a...
Illustration of burning cigarette in test tubes

Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center Enlists Wastewater Tests in Fight Against Smoking

UC Merced's Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center has embarked on an innovative partnership with university researchers who can track an entire community’s health and habits with...
Photo depicts mugshots of BASE coordinator Liana Williams and student coordinator Chi Ude.

Program Gives Black Students a Supportive/Solid BASE for Success

Editor's Note: This feature is part of a series of stories commemorating Black History Month. For more stories highlighting Black Excellence at UC Merced, visit news.ucmerced.edu/news/...

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