Campus Community

Open Arms, Open Skies: Students Welcomed at Spirited, Soggy Scholars Bridge Crossing

August 26, 2025

Spirits were high and futures bright while all else was soaked in a summer storm that made Tuesday morning’s Scholars Bridge Crossing, UC Merced’s traditional greeting to new students, a welcome unlike any before. Call them Thunder ‘Cats. The ceremony embraced about 2,000...

Professor David Strubbe and student Elsa Vazquez pose for a photo at UC Merced.

Cottrell Award Giving Undergrad a Grad Student Experience

Physics undergraduate student Elsa Vazquez and her faculty mentor Professor David Strubbe have won a prestigious Cottrell Postbaccalaureate award that allows Vazquez to continue her research...

Environmental Systems graduate student Jonathon Kuntz

California Sea Grant Funds Grad Student’s Shark Conservation Research

Leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) populations in the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) are experiencing extreme decline in recent years, causing concern for coastal ecosystems. With funding from a...

Campus to Hold First In-Person Bobcat Day Since 2019

After a three-year delay due to the pandemic, Bobcat Day is back at UC Merced. The day is dedicated to first-year students, transfer students and their families to explore all the campus has to offer...

Sofia Andom, Cat Flores, Bella Camfield and Bethy Harmelin are seen sitting on the grass.

Shakespeare in Yosemite's 'Love's Labor's Lost' Ready to Hit the Stage

Yosemite National Park is once again serving as the backdrop for a loose adaptation of one of Shakespeare's comedies. Shakespeare in Yosemite's "Love's Labor's Lost" will...

Engineer and Dentist Partner to Root Out Problems in Teeth

A trip to the dentist isn't something most people look forward to. But computer science and engineering Professor Shijia Pan found inspiration and a new collaborator at her dentist’s...

Peter Sou ('22) helps a student program a drone to fly a pattern at the Tri Valley Innovation Fair

UC Merced’s Mobile Maker Lab Brings Education to Community Fair

A team of UC Merced engineering students brought hands-on lessons on drones and robotics to hundreds of children and families at the recent Tri-Valley Innovation Fair. “Drones and robots are...

Finalists Compete for Grad Slam Champion Title April 8

UC Merced’s Graduate Division will host its annual Grad Slam competition on April 8, with graduate scholars presenting their research on topics ranging from the effects of cannabidiol (CBD...

Keith Ellis '12 will be the first UC Merced representative to serve as Alumni Regent.

Campus Appoints First Representative to Serve as Alumni Regent

For the first time, a UC Merced alumnus will serve on the UC Board of Regents. Keith Ellis, who received his bachelor’s degree from UC Merced in 2012, will serve a two-year term beginning in...

Graduate Students’ Fellowships Promote Study of Valley Fever

Professor Katrina Hoyer ’s lab is helping UC Merced serve the San Joaquin Valley community through its studies of immune responses to Valley fever and other diseases. Graduate students...