Patty Guerra

Fifteen years ago, UC Merced was designated as a Hispanic-serving institution. And though recent developments at the federal government have left what that designation means in limbo, the mission of serving the university’s largest demographic has remained unchanged.

More than 53 percent of undergraduate students are Hispanic, and 71 percent of enrolled students identify as first-generation (a student whose parents did not complete four-year college degrees).

Nearly half of the world’s worst wildfire disasters have occurred in just the past decade, new research from UC Merced’s Fire Resilience Center shows.

An almond orchard in Parlier provides a look into the future of farming.

Researchers at UC Merced and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources installed an irrigation system powered by artificial intelligence to deliver the precise amount of water needed and measure the results.

Twenty years to the day after students first crossed Scholars Bridge into the campus, UC Merced celebrated its milestone birthday with a party, a drone show, and the university’s first NCAA Division II sporting event.

Lightning from thunderstorms rolling through Central California on Sept. 2 ignited numerous wildfires, including several large fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills that had burned more than 19 square miles by Wednesday morning. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services recorded more than 9,000 lightning strikes in a single day.

Lightning is a major source of wildfire ignition in the western United States every summer.

Three professors are joining UC Merced’s Agricultural Experiment Station this fall, bringing more expertise and resources to the 3-year-old research center.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $600,000 to support a groundbreaking project at UC Merced aimed at accelerating the future of artificial intelligence and scientific research.

The National Society of Black Engineers, established at UC Merced in 2007, is one of the campus’s oldest and most active student organizations. It provides support, guidance and advocacy for its members through their college journeys and beyond.

All that hard work has been recognized by the national NSBE organization, which recently awarded UC Merced its Region VI Chapter of the Year award during its convention in Chicago.

The region has nearly 170 newly certified community health workers after the first cohort completed a specialized training program at UC Merced.

This summer, 2024 UC Merced graduate Tatiana Howell is set to begin working as a wealth management analyst with Goldman Sachs. She got the job through tenacity, a strong work ethic and participation in an innovative program that prepared her and other students to work in the financial sector.

The UC Investments Academy educates, motivates and professionally trains students for careers in investing and finance, at no cost.