The Pacific Sociological Association recently honored UC Merced sociology Professor Edward Flores, faculty director of the university's Community and Labor Center, with its Distinguished Contribution to Sociological Praxis Award.
According to the selection committee, Flores earned the distinction for his contributions to improving the lives of working families and underserved populations in California's Central Valley.
This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2026 semester.
Anthony Savala Alvarez comes to UC Merced this fall with several accomplishments under his belt: He graduated high school with a grade point average of 4.1, earned the California Seal of Biliteracy, and took part in several sports, including varsity soccer, cross country and track and field.
Step into Ross Greer’s lab — gingerly, because there’s a makeshift racetrack on the floor — and you will see multiple projects aimed at making autonomous vehicles smarter and safer.
And these projects are getting global recognition.
Hundreds of University of California technology professionals will converge on UC Merced's campus this week for a conference aimed at sharing ideas, highlighting best practices and collaborating across the system.
But UC Tech, as it's called, is also an opportunity for the host campus to show off the community around it, and UC Merced is leaning into that with events that will bring attendees downtown into stores and cafes.
Key points:
• Researchers found that heat waves are a critical enabler and driver of wildfire-burned areas across the western U.S.
• The findings suggest that heat waves contribute not only to increased flammability, but to longer burn periods and increased lightning.
• Burned area in forests during the summer more than doubled between 2001 and 2024. Most of this recent increase - 64 percent - occurred during heat waves.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for the U.S. Department of Energy to develop innovative technology and infrastructure at the intersection of the nation's water and energy systems.
The country's energy and water systems are profoundly interconnected, and disruptions can cascade rapidly across both, says the report from the Committee on Enabling DOE Regional Energy-Water Technology Pilots.
UC Merced and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have long been partners in cutting-edge science and technology.
Electrical engineering Professor Qian Wang has received a CAREER award for her research into quantum computing.
She is the 42nd researcher from UC Merced to earn a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
UC Merced prides itself on its high social mobility ranking (No. 3 among public schools in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal). Social mobility is defined as the ability to move between socioeconomic tiers.
But what does that mean, really?
A doghouse built by Bobcats for a famous beagle beat out a fairytale structure hammered together by Bears.
UC Merced's student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers took part in the annual Timber-Strong Design Build competition in April, going up against UC Berkeley in a day-long contest at nearby Lake Yosemite.
Working in teams, students were challenged to design, construct and evaluate a two-story light wood-framed structure that balances sustainability, architectural appeal and structural performance.
