UC Merced doctoral students Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Vanessa Sanchez and Nora Shamoon have been awarded the 2026-2027 UC President's Pre-Professoriate Fellowship, a University of California Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative award that supports promising scholars from...
Research

When first-generation mechanical engineering student David Miguel arrived at UC Merced, he had no research experience, but a passion for engineering and a desire to learn.
A former foster care...

Everyone recognizes the sharp, clean fragrance of pine needles.
But that's not just a pine forest or a Christmas tree we're smelling - it's the aroma of thousands of...

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...

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...

Key Points:
Valley fever is widely underdiagnosed and often mistaken for common respiratory illnesses, leading to delayed diagnosis and unnecessary antibiotic use.
Cases are rising...

Key Points:
Elephants function as a keystone species, producing large amounts of nutrient-rich dung that sustain diverse dung beetle populations and support wider ecosystem health...

The W.M. Keck Foundation has awarded UC Merced nearly $1.8 million in new grants that fuel ambitious research and give early-career scientists a crucial boost at a pivotal stage of their careers....

Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine.
Omar DeGuchy remembers the moment he left the comfort of UC Merced — the place he’...

Avinav Biswas, a third‑year undergraduate majoring in biological sciences at UC Merced, has been named a 2026 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, becoming the university’s first recipient of one of the...



