School of Natural Sciences

UC Merced to Host Stargazing Night with Director of UC Observatories

October 7, 2025

UC Merced invites the public to an evening of cosmic discovery on Thursday, Oct. 23, featuring a free lecture by Bruce Macintosh, director of the University of California Observatories, followed by telescope viewing with the campus Astronomy Club. Macintosh, a leading expert in the search for...

Faculty Members Earn Peer Honors for Teaching, Research and Mentorship

Faculty members at UC Merced are recognized throughout the year for excellence in a variety of ways, including by their colleagues in the Academic Senate. This year’s Academic Senate awards...

In addition to the virtual commencement this year, graduates had the option to take part in in-person activities.

Class of 2021 Takes Part in In-person Activities Followed by Virtual Commencement

The pandemic has changed many aspects of life, but UC Merced Bobcats demonstrated their ability to overcome life's unexpected curveballs during an academic year unlike any other. To ensure...

Applied Math graduate student Shayna Bennett

UC Merced Ph.D. Student Wins UC Grad Slam Competition

Applied Mathematics graduate student Shayna Bennett won first place at the University of California’s Grad Slam finals today (May 7). Bennett presented her dissertation research, “A...

Male Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate student Ivan G. Soto

UC Merced Alums, Students Earn Prestigious Fellowships

A half-dozen UC Merced students and alumni are recipients of significant fellowships to help support their graduate education. “We’re extremely proud of our undergraduate and graduate...

Zoom event presenters (top row) Patti Kishi, Jess Évora and Charles Nies, (center row) Hayley Montoya, Cassie Gunter and Brandon Lopez, (bottom row) Andrea Guerra

Leadership Awards Honor Students, Organizations

For the second year, the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center and the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) held the 2021 UC Merced Leadership Awards virtually. The April 30 event provided an...

$2.2M NIH Grant Designed to Produce Highly Trained, Diverse Ph.D. Workforce

A five-year, $2.2 million training grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will assist UC Merced with the development of diverse cohorts of doctoral students in interdisciplinary...

Undergraduate Experience: Sean Nguyen

Name: Sean Nguyen Year: Graduating May 2021, School of Natural Sciences Commencement Student Speaker Major: Chemistry Hometown: San Jose What clubs or organizations were you part of at UC...

Professor Berhe Nominated to Lead Federal Office of Science

President Joe Biden has nominated UC Merced Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to be the new director of the Office of Science in the federal Department of Energy. In honor of Earth Day, the White...

The Manilay and Spencer lab groups sit together on campus.

Collaboration Furthers Understanding of Immune Cell Development

Immunology Professor Jennifer Manilay and bioengineering Professor Joel Spencer are using a new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand a project they’ve been working...