College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Latest News

UCR entomologist wins Japan’s biggest prize for young researchers

Naoki Yamanaka, associate entomology professor, recognized for work on steroids

By Jules Bernstein |

Physicist’s experiment makes ‘standard literature’

UC Riverside physicist Umar Mohideen has achieved what few physicists have in their careers: his research has made the “standard literature,” meaning it has become part of the key experiments of physics. “Since it is in textbooks, the experiment is part of the established key experiments,” said Mohideen, a distinguished professor of physics. “It...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

A look back at 2021 on campus

UC Riverside began the return to normalcy in 2021 as the campus returned to mostly in-person instruction. Students were happy to see their friends again, families celebrated commencement, and instructors continued to be recognized for their achievements. Stan Lim, UCR photography manager, shares his favorite images from the past year and the...

By University Communications |

Infectious disease expert recognized for innovation and leadership

For her research excellence and science leadership, Karine Le Roch, the director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vector Biology and a professor of molecular, cell and systems biology at UC Riverside, has been awarded the 2021 IIGB Natasha V. Raikhel Award in Research Innovation and Science Leadership. Le Roch has broad expertise in drug...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

UCR plan anticipates next phase of campus growth

UC Riverside has completed its 2021 Long Range Development Plan, or 2021 LRDP, a guiding document that will set the stage for the campus to grow student enrollment to 35,000 by 2035. The plan, which was approved by the UC Regents on Nov. 18, also anticipates adding 5.5 million gross square feet in instructional and residential space to support the...

By Imran Ghori |

Grant to physicists will help design nuclear physics detector with artificial intelligence

UC Riverside is the lead institution of a grant from the Department of Energy, or DOE, to use machine learning techniques to optimize the design of the ATHENA detector, one of the proposed experiments for the future Electron-Ion Collider, or EIC. The research team, which includes members from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

National society honors entomology professor

Insect-studying colleagues applaud John Heraty for his leadership

By Jules Bernstein |

UCR alumna and grad student awarded $40,700 grant to fund campus composting

Vanessa Gomez-Alvarado, alumna and public policy graduate student, secured a $40,700 grant in October 2020 to purchase a woodchipper and build the university’s first Aerated Static Pile, or ASP, to reduce green waste and carbon emissions, and fertilize green spaces on campus. Her Aerated Static Pile Compost Project, or ASPCP, gives a nod to UCR’s...

By Erin Staley |

UCR scientists make 2021 'Highly Cited' list

This year, UC Riverside is home to eight of influential individuals included in Clarivate Analytics' Highly Cited Researchers list.

By Jules Bernstein |

New projects create a changed campus landscape

UC Riverside’s campus is a changed landscape for many students and employees who returned last month. Several major new buildings and projects have been completed over the last 18 months, including housing, instructional, parking, and research facilities. “Students and employees came back to a completely different campus,” said Drew Hecht, co...

By Imran Ghori |

UC Riverside receives $7.3 million to support graduate students in areas of national need

Eight Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need grants totaling $7.3 million will support talented students with financial need

By Holly Ober |

Department of Energy renews quantum condensed matter grant to physicist

The Basic Energy Sciences program of the U.S. Department of Energy has renewed a grant to Michael Mulligan, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy. The three-year grant of $370,000 will support research by Mulligan and UCR graduate students in quantum condensed matter theory. The Basic Energy Sciences program supports basic scientific...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Geology professor joins elite class of American Geophysical Union fellows

Andy Ridgwell to be honored as new AGU fellow during December meeting

By Jules Bernstein |

Physicist named a fellow of the American Physical Society

G illian Wilson, a professor of physics and astronomy, has been named a fellow of the American Physical Society, or APS, “for pioneering techniques and significant contributions to clusters of galaxies, massive galaxies and cosmology, as well as for sustained leadership in research administration, broadening participation and outreach.” Wilson is...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

COVID-19 testing lab moves to larger space

UC Riverside’s COVID-19 testing lab has moved to a larger space at Webber Hall, where the lab team has more than doubled the number of samples it can process. The move was completed Sept. 15, a day before move-in weekend, when the lab tested around 7,000 samples from incoming student residents over a five-day period. The diagnostic lab was created...

By Imran Ghori |

Engineering and chemistry doctoral students receive prestigious DOE fellowships

The funds will support their research in a DOE lab

By Holly Ober |

Equipment grant will support two labs on campus

B oerge Hemmerling and Christopher Bardeen have received an equipment grant of about $214,000 from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, or AFOSR, for a project titled “High-Flux Source for Aluminum Monochloride with Applications in Material Science.” “We will be creating and studying a new material, made of aluminum monochloride,” said...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Electronic cigarette chemicals can damage and inflame human skin

UC Riverside-led research has implications for vape shops

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Grant supports study of new catalyst structures

M atthew P. Conley, an assistant professor of chemistry, has received a three-year grant of $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy in support of fundamental research his lab will perform to generate catalysts on surfaces to activate unreactive bonds. A catalyst is a substance that operates by reducing the energy input for a chemical reaction...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |