Neuroscience student plays winning game at Grad Slam

David Nikom found the right metaphor to explain his research about the high incidence of Alzheimer’s in women by looking back at his childhood playing video games with his older brother. Nikom, a doctoral student in neuroscience, took first place in the 12th annual UCR Grad Slam Final on April 10 at the School of Business Building. The event...

By Imran Ghori |

New agreement expands GIS resources

UC Riverside is renewing its contract with Esri with a new licensing agreement that will expand the availability of geospatial and mapping software to the campus. The university has long had a relationship with the Redlands-based GIS technology giant and licensed its technology for use by students, staff, and faculty members in every college and...

By Imran Ghori |

Student films screened at Smartphone Film Festival

The Smartphone Film Festival is UC Riverside’s annual commemoration of the art of cinema focusing on the fact that anyone can make movies–even on their smartphones. The February event was the festival’s 12th year running, and had its highest number of submissions yet: 18 films, all made by UCR students using phones and no camera equipment, all...

By Yash Sunkesula |

UCR grad programs ranked among the best

UC Riverside business, education, and engineering programs were ranked among the best graduate school programs by U.S. News & World Report in its latest ranking. In the 2026 U.S. News Best Graduate Schools list, released April 7, UCR ranked highly in several academic disciplines. The School of Education was ranked No. 74, climbing 16 places from No...

By Imran Ghori |

New York Times columnist compares ‘crisis of democracy’ to Reconstruction

At a time when American democracy seems fragile, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie described how the post-Civil War era offers a lens to view the current state of the nation. An award-winning journalist, Bouie was the speaker for the 57th Annual Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture at UC Riverside’s University Theatre on Thursday, April 2. His talk...

By Imran Ghori |

Sustainability report shows improved energy efficiency

As UC Riverside grows, the campus is improving energy efficiency while reducing waste, according to its 2025 Sustainability Annual Report. The report, released in January, outlines how UCR is making progress in reducing its carbon footprint. It notes several efforts underway including a Campus Decarbonization Study completed in November 2024 and...

By Imran Ghori |

Dedicated bike lane installed inside campus

UC Riverside is testing out a dedicated pathway for bicycles, scooters, and skateboards in front of the Arts Building. The new bike lane was installed in February and is part of a pilot program that will run through the end of the spring quarter. Although the campus has bike lanes on its roads, the new pathway is the first in an internal corridor...

By Imran Ghori |

Orbach Library fully reopens to campus

UC Riverside’s Orbach Science Library reopened its third floor to the campus on Monday, March 9, following the completion of extensive improvements including the replacement of a leaky roof. That level had been closed for more than two years due to leaks that caused water to seep through ceiling tiles. In fall 2024, the old roof was demolished and...

By Imran Ghori |

Faculty promotions and awards celebrated

UC Riverside honored faculty members for their achievements at the 2026 Faculty Recognition Reception on Thursday, March 5 at the Riverside Convention Center. Faculty members were recognized for their promotions and advancements in the last academic year. They were also honored for receiving awards in research and creative activities from groups...

By UCR News |

UCR adopts new climate action plan

UC Riverside has adopted a Climate Action & Adaptation Plan that will put the campus on a path to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainability. The document, which Chancellor S. Jack Hu approved and signed in December, is the first of its kind under a new University of California systemwide requirement. It was released on the...

By Imran Ghori |

North campus sidewalk reopens

A widely used campus walkway has reopened to pedestrians as UC Riverside’s new instructional building project draws closer to completion. The sidewalk at the north side of campus, running along the Amy Harrison Athletic Field and UCR Soccer Stadium, had been closed since mid-December as part of construction for the Undergraduate Teaching and...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR celebrates a festive inauguration day

UC Riverside celebrated the inauguration of Chancellor S. Jack Hu with a look to the future, congratulatory speeches, and festive music and dance performances. Hu was formally sworn in as UCR’s 10th chancellor at the Thursday, Feb. 5 investiture ceremony where he outlined his vision for UCR to become “the nation’s model for an inclusive, innovation...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR strengthens digital accessibility efforts

Kald Alhomse, 20, a second-year biology student who is blind, has learned to navigate UC Riverside’s campus on his own, using a white cane to guide his way. Just as important as getting to his classes, Alhomse relies on accessibility technology to follow his lectures and complete his coursework. In his backpack, he carries a tablet with a Braille...

By Imran Ghori |

Chancellor’s inauguration will be a campus celebration

UC Riverside will inaugurate Chancellor S. Jack Hu and the campus is invited to join the celebrations. Hu will be formally inaugurated at a Feb. 5 ceremony that will include University of California leaders and campus faculty, staff, and student representatives. He began his tenure as UCR’s 10th chancellor on July 15. A full afternoon of activities...

By Imran Ghori |

Online engineering programs ranked highly once again

Two online graduate programs at UC Riverside’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering are once again among the 2026 U.S. News Best Online Programs. The online master’s in information technology program was ranked No. 12 nationwide in the engineering category while the online master’s in engineering program was No. 27. Both represented...

By Imran Ghori |

Library’s new digitization lab speeds up preservation work

In a dark-colored room with blackened window shades, a team of digital archivists is unearthing hidden treasures in old documents, photographs, and other historical media. Those pieces of history can now be shared with scholars and researchers all over the world, thanks to a new digitization lab at UC Riverside’s Tomás Rivera Library. The new lab...

By Imran Ghori |

Research and innovation park project progresses

Six months after breaking ground, UC Riverside’s SoCal OASIS Park™ has one its most notable design elements in place. Construction crews completed installation in December of the wood frame and paneling in the front portion of the building. The approximately 39,000-square-foot building will feature labs, maker spaces, and collaborative work areas...

By Imran Ghori |

Eaton Symposium returns

The UC Riverside Library will once again host notable authors and scholars of speculative fiction with the 2026 Virtual Eaton Symposium on Jan. 8. The daylong event will include speculative fiction writer Ken Liu as the keynote speaker. Liu recently published the techno thriller “All That We See or Seem” and is a winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and...

By Imran Ghori |

Looking back at 2025 in photos

2025 was a year of major changes at UC Riverside with the campus bidding farewell to longtime Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox and welcoming new Chancellor S. Jack Hu. Stan Lim, UCR photography manager, captured those big moments as well as the small intimate ones throughout the year — from a softball player stepping up to bat to students taking a break...

By UCR News |

UCR’s new chief librarian sees herself as a collaborative storyteller

Mihoko Hosoi started her career in the hotel and airline industries in Japan, where she developed her ability to make people feel heard and welcomed. It’s an approach that she’s brought with her to library management, a field in which she’s worked for over two decades leading to her joining UC Riverside as university librarian in October. “It...

By Imran Ghori |