Associate professor wins American Academy of Religion book award

UCR religious studies scholar Matthew King has won a 2020 Award of Excellence from the American Academy of Religion, or AAR, for his first book, “Ocean of Milk, Ocean of Blood.” The AAR is the largest scholarly society dedicated to the academic study of religion, with more than 8,000 members worldwide. Awards for Excellence are given in four...

By Omar Shamout |

Mechanical engineering chair named ASME fellow

Guillermo Aguilar has joined the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ 2020 class of fellows

By Holly Ober |

Biomedical scientist named chief editor of new bioinformatics journal

Adam Godzik, a professor of biomedical sciences in the UCR School of Medicine, has been named field chief editor of the journal Frontiers in Bioinformatics. Launched last month, the open-source journal publishes research on tools and algorithms used in the analysis of biological data. The peer-reviewed journal is led by an independent editorial...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production faculty reel in awards

Some faculty and staff were recognized for their lifetime achievements, others for efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six staff members recognized The Citizens University Committee kicked off its fall scholarship fundraiser by recognizing the contributions of six staff members: Alan A. Call, technical director; Alif Emil Marchi, lighting and...

By Sandra Baltazar Martinez |

Laila Lalami winner of 2020 Arab American Book Award

Lalami’s novel “The Other Americans” was selected as the winner in the fiction category

By Jessica Weber |

Riverside Unified School District honors astronomer for his contributions to K-12 STEM education

For his numerous contributions to education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, Bahram Mobasher, a professor of physics and observational astronomy at UC Riverside, has been named a recipient of the Riverside Unified School District Board of Education Presidential Award for the year 2020. The Riverside Unified School...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Physicist joins NSF-funded team focused on accelerating quantum computing research

Peng Wei, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at UC Riverside, is a co-principal investigator and theme lead on a grant from the National Science Foundation, or NSF, supported by the NSF Convergence Accelerator — a new model of innovation for the government, industry, and academia. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Wei...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Ten campus groups recognized for healthy standards

UCR Healthy Campus has recognized 10 groups that have achieved high levels of health and well-being standards as part of its new certification program. Bronze level certification was awarded in late August to the Well, Athletics, Environmental Health & Safety, Harvest Shared Services Center at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and...

By Imran Ghori |

CE-CERT Receives IEEE ITS Society Institutional Lead Award

The award recognizes CE-CERT's leadership in developing environmental technologies to improve transportation, air quality, and energy efficiency

By Holly Ober |

Professor receives grant to study computer science education access

Cassandra Guarino, a professor of education and public policy at UC Riverside’s Graduate School of Education, has received a nearly $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study access to computer science education. The three-year grant, announced in August, provides Guarino with $498,086 from December through November 2023...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR ARTS named best Inland Empire arts experience

UCR ARTS was voted Best Arts and Entertainment Experience in the Press-Enterprise’s Best of the Inland Empire 2020 readership poll. The program was lauded for its virtual programming which include exhibitions from the California Museum of Photography and Culver Center of the Arts, which offered 360-degree tours; along with visual artist interviews...

By Imran Ghori |

Yanran Li receives NIH New Innovator Award

High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program grant will support efforts to produce plant natural products in yeast

By Holly Ober |

Frontline UCR custodian receives industry recognition

Vicky Virgen, senior custodian in Facilities Services, has been featured in an industry magazine for her efforts to lead a comprehensive cleaning plan that swiftly kept campus residents safe in response to COVID-19. The publication, CleanLink, described Virgen as a “beacon of reliability” for the Facility Services Department at UC Riverside. Jesus...

By Madeline Adamo |

School of Medicine honored by diversity magazine

The UCR School of Medicine has been selected as one of 46 institutions of higher education in the health professions to receive the 2020 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity, or HEED, Award from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine. The medical school previously received the award in 2018 and 2019. This year, it was the only...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Vice provost named to national consortium board

Jennifer Brown, vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Education, has been elected to the Reinvention Collaborative board, a national consortium dedicated to reinventing undergraduate education at research universities. Brown began serving a three-year term on the board, which includes representatives from public and private research universities...

By Imran Ghori |

Psychology researcher receives NSF grant

UCR psychology researcher Brent Hughes has received a $495,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to expand upon his study into the phenomena known as “deindividuation” – the tendency for people tend to view members of their own groups as individuals, but members of other racial groups as interchangeable and indistinct. In his research...

By John Warren |

Finding a cure for multiple sclerosis

Seema Tiwari-Woodruff, a professor of biomedical sciences in the UCR School of Medicine, and her colleagues have received a grant of $373,000 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for a project in which her lab will select the five best candidate compounds to speed up nerve impulses, a promising new avenue to treat multiple sclerosis...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Professors named Freedom Scholars

Two UC Riverside professors are among a dozen academic leaders selected for the inaugural Freedom Scholars program, which promotes those advocating for economic, racial, and social justice. Alisa Bierria, an assistant professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies; and Dylan Rodriguez, a professor of Media and Cultural studies; will each receive...

By Imran Ghori |

FarmSense moves to Entrepreneurship World Cup finals

The UC Riverside startup won second place in the U.S. and will compete for $500,000 in October

By Holly Ober |

Plant pathologists honored by international society

Caroline Roper, an associate professor of plant pathology; and Shou-Wei Ding, a professor of plant pathology; are among the 2020 award winners from an international professional organization of plant pathologists. The American Phytopathological Society, or APS, regularly honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the science of...

By Steven Valenzuela |