After a couple of years of sufficient water, much of California is showing "abnormally dry" conditions in spring 2026, according to the state drought monitor.
And as climate change adds more swings between wet and dry conditions, researchers are working on ways to better identify, predict and...
News
May 26, 2026
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine.
Walk across UC Merced’s campus on any weekday, and you might hear laughter spilling from a classroom, feel the thrum of a wind tunnel or spot students crouched in a field searching for mushrooms.
Not...
May 21, 2026
UC Merced's chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers was again honored as the Region VI Medium Chapter of the Year. It is the second consecutive year the organization received this recognition. The NSBE, established at UC Merced in 2007, provides support, guidance and advocacy for its...
May 20, 2026
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.
One of the nation’s most prominent private supporters of basic science, the Los Angeles–based...
May 18, 2026
A recent celebration marked important anniversaries for two partners in research and innovation, but both emphasized that the most exciting events still lie ahead.
The commemoration at UC Merced on Main marked 25 years of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (...
May 15, 2026
Services are set Sunday afternoon for Professor YangQuan Chen, whose contibutions to UC Merced's School of Engineering and to the university as a whole will endure through programs he helped build, the research he advanced, and the many students and colleagues he inspired.
Chen, a professor of...
May 13, 2026
Bruce Lee's favorite dish was oyster sauce beef, and on the evening of May 7 it was on the menu at UC Merced, alongside a conversation about who Lee really was, why he still matters and what his story says about America.
Jeff Chang, cultural historian and author of “Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and...
May 13, 2026
UC Merced is abuzz with celebration as students, families, friends, staff and faculty finish last-minute preparations for the largest commencement in university history.
Across three outdoor ceremonies, 1,649 undergraduates and 112 graduate students will walk the stage at Spring Commencement 2026,...
May 12, 2026
Five UC Merced faculty members are among the first awardees of a UC-wide honor given for exemplary research in budding academic careers.
The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards, launched last fall, support commitment to scholarship and creative activity across the 10-campus system. The...
May 11, 2026
UC Merced will celebrate the Class of 2026 with three inspiring alumni returning to campus as keynote speakers for commencement ceremonies May 15-17.
Emily Reed, ’07, ’13, a tenured biology professor at Merced College, will share her story with more than 100 master’s and doctoral degree candidates...
