Confirmed: First Lady Michelle Obama to Address UC Merced Graduating Class

First Lady Michelle Obama will address UC Merced's Class of 2009 this May, the White House has confirmed.

Mrs. Obama will deliver the commencement speech to UC Merced’s first full senior class. UC Merced students actively sought out the First Lady as commencement speaker by writing letters to Mrs. Obama, her office, and her friends and family.

“Having the First Lady with us to celebrate our students’ accomplishments will be a great honor for all of us at UC Merced,” said Chancellor Steve Kang.

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Research Week Celebrates Knowledge and Discoveries at UC Merced

MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced, is gearing up for its third annual Research Week April 7-9.

"Research Week gives us the opportunity to show the community what drives much of the learning at UC Merced,” said Vice Chancellor for Research Samuel J. Traina. “It is our way of sharing and showcasing the work of our outstanding professors, students and scientists."

Two main events open to the public during Research Week are the student poster competition, 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, and the Vital and Alice Pellissier Family Distiguished Speaker Series, 6 p.m., on Thursday, April 9. This year's speaker is UC Berkeley biologist and herpatologist Tyrone Hayes. Admission is free to both events.

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Media Contact:
Donna Birch Trahan
UC Merced Office of Communications

Engineering Students Aim to "Bowl" Over Rivals During Academic Competition

They came.

They saw.

They conquered.

Now, they’re hoping for a repeat.

When members of UC Merced’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) student chapter competed in the organization’s western regional Academic Tech Bowl in Washington last fall, they won first place, besting teams from Stanford University, USC and UCLA.

Not bad, given it was the engineering students' first time participating in the rigorous, Jeopardy-style competition that tested participants’ engineering knowledge.

The students will try to snare a national title as they head to Las Vegas for NSBE’s 35th Annual National Convention, March 25-29. The national Tech Bowl takes place during the convention. Team UC Merced will take on finalists from five other regions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, North Carolina A&T State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Northwestern University and Texas A&M University.

Hoping to outwit, outsmart and outplay their competitors, bioengineering major and Tech Bowl team captain Anley “T” Tefera said he and his teammates are looking forward to a spirited competition. “We’re better prepared than we were for the regional competition,” he said. “It’s exciting.”

UC Merced Professor to Discuss Research Trip to Antarctica

There's a lot more to Antarctica than ice and snow, according to UC Merced professor and scientist Wolfgang Rogge.

Scientists such as Rogge are studying climate change on Earth by examining ice core samples taken from Antarctica. Ice core drilling allows researchers to go back in time and investigate the Earth's past atmospheres and climates.

Rogge, an associate professor in UC Merced's School of Engineering, recently spent two months conducting research on the frozen continent. He will discuss the trip and some of his findings during the Frontiers of Science and Engineering Lecture series, 10 a.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Castle Challenger Learning Center in Atwater.

Admission is free and the lectures -- held on the third Saturday of the month at the Castle Challenger Learning Center, 3460 Challenger Way in Atwater -- are open to the public.

Media Contact:
Donna Birch Trahan

Summer Session Program Returns to UC Merced on June 15

School's in for summer as UC Merced offers its annual Summer Session program.

Summer Session is the only time of year when enrollment at UC Merced is open to students regardless of academic experience, according to Associate Registrar Steve Noret. That includes those enrolled at any UC campus, qualified high school students and members of the general public.

The university offers six-week and eight-week sessions, enabling students to earn up to 12 units -- equal to a full semester load of courses -- at a discounted cost. Classes start on June 15.

“It’s a great time for anyone to take a UC class and to see what our campus is all about,” Noret said.

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UC Merced Student Wins Inaugural Math Prize

UC Merced senior Paul Tranquilli is looking forward to a really good dinner out, all thanks to a new award created for math students.

Tranquilli is the first recipient of the UC Merced Applied Mathematics Prize, created to recognize the achievements of the university's most outstanding undergraduate math student. He qualified for the prize by earning the highest GPA in the math program, and for consistently doing so in upper division and math courses.

The San Diego native is an applied mathematics major with an emphasis in engineering mechanics. For the first few years of his career as a student at UC Merced, he balanced an intense workload with tutoring pre-calculus, calculus I and calculus II.

Tranquilli received the award as part of the Math Society's Pi Day Festivities, observed on March 14.

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Artist-in-Residence an Expert at Set Design, Sustainable Architecture

UC Merced Artist-in-Residence Dipu Gupta is a world-renowned set designer and architect who is based in New Mexico but has come to the San Joaquin Valley to teach for one year. He arrived in time for the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year and dove right into a schedule that included two classes per semester, one on set design and three on architecture.

“Even though there are no majors in either subject yet, they are considered upper division classes,” said Gupta. “It is an interesting situation; my students have many different backgrounds, some have a little art experience.”

Gupta, whose stint at UC Merced is sponsored by the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, has already hosted an exhibit at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center -- and has a public symposium planned for later this spring.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Tonya Luiz
Office of Communications

Lots to Cheer About for Bobcat Spirit Squad

The UC Merced cheer team has a lot on its plate this spring. Right now, the squad is knee-deep in preparation for national competition later this month. Upon their return, the nine-woman team will host a youth cheer camp for Merced-area children.

The camp is open to children from kindergarten through eighth grade. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 4. Participants will be invited back to perform for prospective students and their families at Bobcat Day. For information: ucmcheer@ucmerced.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Tonya Luiz
Office of Communications

Professor Discusses Virtual Heritage in Modesto

Preserving the past for the future is no easy task. For every monument and landmark that has stood for centuries, thousands have been lost to the elements, war, neglect and natural disaster. But there is a growing group of scholars committed to ensuring the past is never forgotten.

Maurizio Forte, a virtual archaeologist at UC Merced, is one such scholar. A professor of world heritage, Forte uses digital technology and archaeology to reconstruct the past.

Forte will discuss his research - and his efforts to preserve the past around the globe -next week in a public lecture at the Modesto Convention Center's Stanislaus River Room. Scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, "World Heritage: A Bridge Between Past and Future" will cover how digital technology can help preserve the past now for those in the future.

Public Contact: Kathleen L. Hull, Ph.D., 209-228-4026.

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UC Merced Receives Fourth LEED Gold for Environmental Certification

The University of California, Merced campus is on its way to becoming the first in the United States to achieve environmental certification for every one of its buildings under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

For the fourth time since 2007, a building on the campus of UC Merced has earned LEED “Gold” certification from the USGBC for excellence in environmentally responsible design, construction and operation, the university said today (March 5). The Science & Engineering Building provides laboratories, classrooms and office space for faculty and students whose work often requires highly sophisticated equipment, facilities and support services.

To date, four UC Merced buildings have earned “Gold” certification and one earned “Silver” (one level below “Gold”). Previously, the university’s Central Plant complex, the Leo & Dottie Kolligian Library, and the Classroom & Office Building were awarded LEED Gold certification, while the Valley Terraces and the Yablokoff-Wallace Dining Commons earned LEED Silver.

No other university in the country has earned LEED Silver or better for every building on campus.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Patti Waid Istas


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UC Merced Students Learn Money Matters

UC Merced students last week discovered that when it comes to college, the financial decisions they make while getting their education can cost them way more than the price of tuition and books.

That's why the Office of Student Life is offering a series of Wednesday workshops that will last from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Bobcat Lair through April 22. The Money Wise Bobcat Institute helps students learn how to make sound financial decisions during and after college.

On Feb. 25, Educational Employees Credit Union representatives led a presentation on the differences between banks and credit unions. Future workshops will address how credit works, student loans, budgeting, investing, and how to protect against identity theft.

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