Painted Lady butterfly (c) UCR Stan Lim

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UC Riverside Bell Tower

Triumphing over Adversity: John Perna’s Journey to Academic Excellence

RIVERSIDE, CA - John Perna has a story to tell, and it’s not one many undergraduates share. It’s an underdog tale that would have warmed the heart of author Horatio Alger who, two centuries ago, wrote stories about underprivileged youth that triumphed over adversity through diligence and hard work. “I grew up very poor,” says...
Highlander Day UCR sign with students

Highlander Day welcomes admitted CNAS students to campus

RIVERSIDE, CA - On Saturday, April 13, UC Riverside hosted the first of two spring open houses for admitted students and their families, giving future generations of UC Riverside students the chance to explore campus and learn more about the university's commitment to student success. Highlander Day brought 8,918 guests to campus, including 2,702 admitted...
What I Love About CNAS

What I Love About CNAS...

Check out the video below to hear what they had to say: From its cutting-edge research and accomplished faculty to its warm, supportive academic community, there sure is a lot to love about CNAS! PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
UCR-students-walking-along-pathway

Teamwork is Key to Undergrad Success says UCR First-Year Med Student, Nathaniel Co

Nathaniel Co ’27, a first-year medical student at the UCR School of Medicine, is highly motivated and eager to develop skills as a clinician with an eye toward pursuing a career in internal medicine. So motivated, in fact, that when he graduated from the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) in Fall...
Students Walking on Campus

UCR students are always "there for each other," says recent graduate Ashley Trinidad '23

“To this day, I don’t think I would’ve been able to earn my degree if it weren’t for the amazing people I found at UCR, who were cheering me on and inviting me to their study groups,” says Ashley Trinidad, who graduated from the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) last June...
CalTeach-SMI Homecoming Reunion Group

California Teach-Science & Math Initiative celebrates 18 years at Homecoming reunion

RIVERSIDE, CA - The California Teach-Science & Math Initiative (CalTeach-SMI) at UC Riverside celebrated its 18th anniversary with an inaugural alumni reunion during last month's Homecoming festivities. Established on UC Riverside's campus in 2006, CalTeach-SMI is a community of STEM undergraduate students exploring and preparing to become future STEM educators through partnerships with local school...
Highlander Invitational Science Olympiad at University of California, Riverside

Highlander Invitational: Science Olympiad returns to the University of California, Riverside

On January 28, 2023, the national Science Olympiad competition returned to the University of California, Riverside for the first time in over 10 years. The tournament, dubbed “Highlander Invitational,” was part of the national track-meet style competition where middle and high school students competed in events surrounding all areas of science. Highlander Invitational was organized...
Del Vallejo Middle School Visit Campus Tour

Del Vallejo Leadership & STEAM Academy tour CNAS

RIVERSIDE, CA - Middle school students and teachers from Del Vallejo Leadership & STEAM Academy visited the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) last week, touring CNAS facilities, exploring laboratories, and interacting with current CNAS faculty and students. Located in San Bernardino, CA, Del Vallejo Leadership & STEAM Academy is home to...
UCR bell tower with fall leaves

For recent graduate Erica Garcia Silva '23, UC Riverside has been a "transformative experience."

Erica Garcia Silva ’23 graduated last June from UC Riverside with a degree in Biology, and plans on taking a gap year before enrolling in medical school…also, ideally, at UC Riverside. “I want more clinical experience, so I am volunteering at Glendale Adventist Medical Center as a COPE Health Scholar,” she says. Erica is also...
Bell Tower with Fall Leaves

Meet the 2023-2024 CNAS Department Chairs!

With the beginning of the Fall 2023 quarter, we wanted to introduce you to the 2023-2024 College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) department chairs: Biochemistry Xuan Liu Professor & Chair Botany & Plant Sciences Patricia Springer Professor of Genetics & Chair Chemistry Leonard Mueller Professor & Chair Check out my lab Earth & Planetary...
Annular Eclipse Through Telescope October 14, 2023

CNAS Department of Physics & Astronomy Hosts Annular Eclipse Viewing Party

RIVERSIDE, CA - Hundreds of visitors flocked to UC Riverside last Saturday for an annular solar eclipse viewing party hosted by the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences' (CNAS) Physics & Astronomy department. Unlike a total eclipse, an annular eclipse in one in which the moon does not cover the entire disc of the sun...
Finding Her Hive - A Summer RISE Student's Story

Finding Her Hive: A Summer RISE Student's Story

Melissa Arellano, her first name translating to "honey bee" in Greek, signifies the impact of research experiences on students' academic paths. As a 4th-year Environmental Science major that transferred from City College of San Francisco, Melissa found her passion for bees through the Summer RISE program at the University of California, Riverside. Melissa is in...
By John Perna and Karina Quevedo |
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso exterior

Research Abroad: A CNAS Story

Jared Hudnall '24, a physics major at the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences at UC Riverside, spent his summer abroad doing research in Italy. We asked Jared a few questions about his experiences: (Part 1 of 5) What research topic are you working on and where? I'm working at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran...
RISE 2023 Orientation

UCR Research in Science & Engineering program launches 2023 cohort

RIVERSIDE, CA - The University of California, Riverside (UCR) officially kicked off its Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) program today, with 97 students attending the 2023 research cohort orientation. Established at UCR in 2010, RISE is a 10-week program designed for rising sophomores, juniors, incoming transfers, and seniors. Participants work under the supervision of...
CNAS 2023 Commencement Ceremony at Toyota Arena

Bold Hearts, Brilliant Minds Characterize CNAS Class of 2023 at Commencement

In her remarks, Kathryn Uhrich, Dean, College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry, asked for a show of hands of students graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology. “If you look around,” she said, “we should have about 735 students raising their hands.” She added that another 74 students were graduating...
Students at Toyota Arena for 2023 CNAS Commencement

Student Commencement Speakers Encourage Class of ’23 to Dream Big

If the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) could have offered up two graduates more representative of the deep excellence of the Class of 2023, they’d have been hard-pressed to find individuals more exemplary than Leonardo Lloyd Padilla and Anviksha Srivastava, who addressed their peers as student commencement speakers in the morning and afternoon...
Jordan Guillory

From physics to math to digital agriculture, Jordan Guillory ’23 is making his mark

Jordan Guillory's first research paper as a community college student in San Diego was quite literally a star-studded affair. "We were studying double stars and attempting to calculate their orbits," he remembers. "I had a lot of opportunities to get involved in research early on, and that's what really got me involved in the research...
Digital Agriculture Fellowship

Digital Agriculture Fellowship Opens Doors to the Future

Elia Scudiero, Associate Research Agronomist at UCR and the lead investigator for the grant that fuels the Digital Agriculture Fellowship (DAF) on campus, wishes the organization existed when he went to school. “I grew up on a farm in Italy myself and am a first-generation college student, just like the kind of students we try...
Sonali Bhakta

For Riverside Native Sonali Bhakta, Life at UCR Brings Her Full Circle

Born and raised in Riverside, CA, Sonali Bhakta, a 4th-year Biochemistry major, has always considered UCR to be (quite literally) the campus next door. In fact, she readily and proudly admits that she’s been “intertwined” with the college in some way, shape, or form since she was a fifth grade student at Riverside STEM Academy...
STEM Connections Students Interacting With One Another

STEM Connections Help Students Make the Most of Their Time at CNAS

The STEM Connections Program at the UCR College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) provides crucial support and advancement opportunities to undergraduates pursuing degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). “Simply put, the goal of STEM Connections is to help students transfer, transition, and thrive at UC Riverside,” says Elizabeth Jimenez...
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