CNAS

Science Outreach and Community Engagement

The College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) is committed to providing high quality science outreach and enrichment programs to train educators, inform and engage the public, and support the community in scientific endeavors. In addition, there are several mentoring programs available to enhance the quality of students entering CNAS programs and encourage current students to pursue advanced degrees and careers in science. Listed below is a summary of some of our programs.

CNAS also provides significant outreach and community engagement through Cooperative Extension (CE) programs. UCR is one of three land-grant campuses of the UC system, which is administered centrally through the division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR). The division of ANR has CE programs in every county in California providing direct connections between the University and the people of California. CE and Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) faculty conduct research, teaching, and community engagement programs with linkage to our communities through county-based CE programs. For more information about the CE/AES outreach programs at CNAS, please visit the following website: http://cnas.ucr.edu/aes/.

Summary of CNAS Outreach/Community Engagement Programs:

Brain Awareness Week: On a yearly basis neurscience faculty, graduate and undergraduate students provide educational and social events to local schools as well as the UCR community. These events are oriented around brain and nervous system structure and function, neuroscience news and neuroscience research at UCR. These events are organized at times that overlap with Brain Awareness week, an international campaign sponsored by the Society of Neuroscience. Contact: Margarita C. Curras-Collazo, mcur@ucr.edu, (951) 827-3960.

CAMP (California Alliance for Minority Participation): The primary goals of CAMP-UCR are to encourage students to excel in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and to pursue graduate and professional degrees. CAMP-UCR offers a Summer Academic Enrichment Program in Mathematics and Chemistry for entering freshmen and a Summer Research Program for juniors and seniors. Opportunities to attend conferences are also available. Click here for more information.  

CMST (California Mathematics and Science Teacher): The California Mathematics and Science Teacher initiative program is part of a comprehensive plan to improve mathematics and science education in the Inland Empire. As a result of the CMST program and its partnering efforts, public school students in the Inland Area have benefited from the mathematics and science knowledge provided by CMST Apprentices. Further, public school teachers have benefited from the assistance provided from the program. Click here for more information.

Dean’s Summer Internship Program: The Dean’s Summer Internship Program offers select students a paid, full-time summer research position under the mentorship of a faculty member; students attend weekly group meetings with the Dean to discuss their research projects. Contact: Aaron Bushong, Lead College Academic Advisor, aaron.bushong@ucr.edu, or (951) 827-3100.

Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology Graduate Student Association (EEOBGSA) Outreach:The EEOBGSA outreach program at UCR provides K-12 mentoring with an emphasis on science fair mentoring and judging, teacher training, K-12 demonstrations and 'careers in science presentations,' undergraduate mentoring, career development and research training. Members of the EEOBFSA participate in and coordinate several outreach events throughout the year. Contact: Steven Merkley, eeoboutreach@gmail.com. 

Entomology Outreach: The UCR Entomology Department conducts California standard-based teaching programs using live insects and educational displays to K-12 schools, museums, and other community groups throughout the Riverside area. Educational outreaches are also provided during regional and community events to highlight the insect life that surrounds our urban communities and affect our health and food production. Educational outreach includes a variety of activities performed by the graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of Entomology. Contact: Matt Daugherty, Department of Entomology, matt.daugherty@ucr.edu or 951-827-2246. Click here for more information.

Freshmen Scholars Learning Communities: The Freshmen Scholars Program is the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences’ first year learning community. Learning Communities are successful programs designed to build a community of students with common academic goals and dedication to academic excellence. Click here for more information.

GeoScience Education Outreach Program: The Geoscience Education Outreach Program is a graduate student community outreach effort by the Earth Sciences department at the University of California, Riverside.  UCR graduate students will travel to your school and give fun and interesting presentations about a variety of Earth Science topics to your students, as a community service at no cost to your school. Programs include short presentations, adjusted to a particular age/grade bracket, on a variety of topics, which are followed by hands-on activities meant to show students how fun and accessible science can be. Click here for more information.

Guppy Project: Biology Professor David Reznick is part of a multi-university research project that is exploring the mechanisms of evolution, using the guppy fish as the test organism. This project, called the Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research (FIBR) Project, is funded by the National Science Foundation. Part of the FIBR Project is providing information to the public about how the scientists are going about their research, what information they are gleaning, and what conclusions they are drawing about evolutionary processes. Click here for more information.

International Masterclasses, Hands-on Particle Physics:Each year, 50-80 high school students come to UCR to meet UCR faculty who lead international efforts in particle physics. After a series of lectures in the morning, the students spend the afternoon performing computer exercises using real data from the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva Switzerland.  The following morning, the students return to UCR and a videoconference is held with CERN, and with 3-4 groups of European high school students who have performed the same exercises, to compare and discuss the results. Contact Bill Gary, bill.gary@ucr.edu, 951-827-5329. Click here for more information.

MARC U* Star Undergraduate Research Training (Minority Access to Research Careers - Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research): The purpose of the program is to encourage students in the sciences to pursue graduate research in the biomedical sciences. The MARC U* Star grant expands research opportunities on campus for underrepresented minority students and provides an opportunity for them to participate in two programs. The MARC U* Star Summer Pre-trainee Research Program introduces sophomores to scientific research in faculty laboratories. The MARC U* Star Trainee Program provides an opportunity for juniors and seniors to conduct mentored research in laboratories for a full 2-year period. Underrepresented students in the Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Biology, Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Chemistry, and Statistics who are selected for the Trainee program will receive a fellowship which includes tuition, fees and insurance as well as a monthly stipend. Click here for more information.

NSF GANN Fellows: As part of their graduate school research experience, graduate students engage in teaching with undergraduates and the K-12 community. Contact: Dr. Richard Cardullo, Biology Dept., (951) 827-6457.

NSF Math ACTS (Achievement & Collaboration for Teachers and Students): ACTS is a 5-year project funded by the National Science Foundation based on the partnership between UC Riverside and Jurupa Unified School District. The goal is to improve student preparation for and achievement in Algebra 1, by providing professional development to preservice and inservice teachers and by providing support and enrichment activities to students. Contact: Dr. Richard Cardullo, Biology Dept., (951) 827-6457.

NSF Noyce Scholarship Program:The College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, and the ALPHA Center for Academic Partnerships formed an alliance with the fast growing high need, low performing Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD), to prepare exception Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate majors for secondary school teaching careers. Building on the unique infrastructure established at UCR by the Science Mathematics Initiative, the California Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative, and the Corpernicus Project, the UCR Noyce Scholarship Program will provide a continuum of teacher preparation and professional development experience that will commit Noyce Scholars to teach in a nearby under-performing, low socio-economic, school districts. Click here for more information.

Quarknet Workshop: Annual summer workshop for high school physics teachers hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Sponsored by Quarknet, a project headquartered in Fermilab, this program provides professional development and on-going support for physics teachers. Contact: Dr. John Ellison, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, (951) 827-4301.

Refresh Riverside! A Community Climate and Sustainability Fair - Refresh Riverside is a community-oriented educational fair designed to teach K-12 kids and their families about the science of climate change and the importance of sustainability. The event is co-hosted by UC Riverside, NASA and the Riverside Unified School District. Click here for more information.

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU):The NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site is geared towards providing opportunities to students interested in the cellular and molecular biology of plants and their pathogens.  The program is especially interested in exposing students from two- and four-year colleges with limited research infrastructure to the excitement and career options that studies of plant and plant pathogen biology offers, but students from all colleges are welcome to apply.  The program is sponsored by the UC-Riverside Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB) which, in association with the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology (IIGB) and other college departments, includes many faculty that study plants, plant pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes), other microbes, and allied fields. Click here for more information.

Riverside Unified School District Science & Engineering Fair: Co-sponsored by CNAS and the Bourns College of Engineering, this program draws nearly 300 projects each year at UC Riverside facilities allowing greater access for public viewing than is possible in a public school site. More than 100 UCR faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students each year serve as judges for the junior and senior divisions of the fair. Faculty working independently from the college advise and guide students in their projects for science fair and other science competitions. CNAS and BCOE departments provide sponsored awards. Contact: Carol Lerner, CNAS Dean’s Office, carol.lerner@ucr.edu or 951-827-5089.

Science & Math Initiative (SMI): CaTEACH-SMI is a UC system-wide program created through a compact between the Governor of California and the UC President. The mission of the program is to promote STEM education and to increase the pipeline of future science and mathematics teachers in California. Participation in the program is free. However, all students participants must be a declared STEM major in either the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) or the Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE). All SMI mentor teachers are California credentialed single-subject science or mathematics teachers. To best serve program participants, CaTEACH-SMI provides four general areas of services:

• Early pedagogical training
• Pre-service advising and mentoring

Click here for more information.

Science Ambassador Program: Science Ambassadors are a group of CNAS undergraduate students who represent UC Riverside’s College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences to internal and external constituents. Science Ambassadors assist the school as a host during official functions, make presentations where required, and act as a student liaison with the various communities that CNAS serves both on and off-campus, with a particular emphasis on recruiting and outreach events and activities. Contact: Carol Lerner, (951) 827-5089, carol.lerner@ucr.edu.

Click here for more information.

Science Lecture Series: The Science Lecture Series is a series of lectures on science for the public presented by the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Click here for more information.

Scientists in the Classroom Program (SCP):  The Scientist in the Classroom Program (SCP) provides a pathway for our graduate and undergraduate students to contribute to K-12 education in our community, to share their passion for physics and science, and to inspire our future generations, while at the same time getting some training and hands-on experience in K-12 education.

Our participating UCR students' SCP activities include delivering physics demonstrations and organizing hands-on activities in the classroom, assisting with the Science Olympiads, presenting their research to K-12 students, and more recently, working with elementary school students during after school program. The SCP is funded by the National Science Foundation through the CAREER grant DMR-0847801.  For more information contact Prof. Shan-Wen Tsai, shan-wen.tsai@ucr.edu, or Dr. Maria Chiara Simani, maria.simani@ucr.edu.

STEM Pathway Program: The STEM Pathway Program provides support and advancement opportunities to Hispanic or low-income students who are pursuing bachelor's degress in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields through faculty-mentored research projects, transition success workshops, as well as academic and professional skill building activities. Click here for more information or contact Nhi Tran, nhi.tran@ucr.edu, or 951-827-1764. 

Summer Physics Academy: The Summer Physics Academy is a weeklong workshop hosted by the Department of Physics to help train and equip local high school physics teachers with practical and conceptual physics lessons, hands-on activities, curriculum and technology to use in their own classrooms. Through lectures and demos, the teachers will learn the latest in a variety of research topics conducted by UCR physicists such as classical mechanics, astrophysics, condensed matter, thermal physics, high energy physics, oscillations and waves, electricity and magnetism, nanoelectronics, biophysics, and optics. Contact: Dr. Leonid Pryadko, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, (951) 827-5644.

UCR Botanic Gardens provide docent-led nature tours, including California ethnobotany, free for school children grades 3-12, free. Teachers may lead their own tours of the Gardens for grades K-2. A self-guided tour brochure is available at the gatehouse for a modest fee. Docent-led tours can also be arranged for college students. There is normally a modest fee for adult tours.

Tours start at the entrance plaza across from the gatehouse and last for 1 hour or longer depending on what the students want to see. The regular tour includes California native desert plants including cacti, South African succulents plants that may morphologically look like cacti, California north coast trees and shrubs, roses, the Butterfly Garden, irises, herbs and medicinal plants, the pond with turtles, and trees and shrubs of the California riparian community. Exotic plants, mostly from other Mediterranean-type climates, which grow well in the Inland Empire, are also discussed. The Botanic Gardens are the only museum on main campus regularly open on weekends from 8.00 AM to 5.00 PM. Adults are welcome to walk in the 40 hilly acres of native and exotic vegetation. There is a modest entrance fee-donation to help with garden maintenance. Contact gardens@ucr.edu to schedule a tour or inquire information.

UCR Herbarium provides tours for older school children, college students and adults. The Herbarium museum houses over 200,000 dried plant specimens, arranged by plant families that provide reference material to help in identifications of unknown plants. Most herbarium specimens are native to southern California and adjacent areas of California and neighboring states. There is also a good collection of plants from Northwestern Mexico. There is a separate collection of lichens of the region. Please contact the curator andrew.sanders@ucr.edu to arrange a tour or schedule help with plant identification.