College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences |

29,000

acres and more serve as a real-life laboratory for plant research

36,683

alumni and counting making a difference

2

Nobel Laureates and 18 National Academies members on the faculty

CNAS Welcome Week

New Family Welcome
New Student Majors Welcome
CNAS New Student Welcome
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September 21 – September 26, 2025

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CNAS Homecoming

The Future of #UCRscience: Shaping Tomorrow, Today, Together
Saturday, November 8, 2025
11:30am to 1pm
Student Success Center (SSC)

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Gardening for Butterflies

Join Master Gardener Docents in the Butterfly Garden to
learn about Gardening for Butterflies | UCR Botanic Gardens
April - October, 1st & 3rd Sundays, between 9am and noon

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Student Research Opportunities

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Graduate Student Careen Khachatoorian in the Talbot Lab

Graduate Programs

Opportunities for graduate students abound at CNAS

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CNAS by the Numbers

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Pursuing Advanced Degrees at CNAS

CNAS’ graduate degree programs for M.S. and Ph.D. students

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Career Resources

CNAS Students and Alumni learn more about STEM opportunities

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I chose UCR due to the collaborative atmosphere, countless research opportunities, and student support programs ...

Joel, biochemistry major

I am motivated by my desire to understand life ... and to educate the next generation of scientists ...

Xuemei Chen, Distinguished Professor of Plant Cell and Molecular Biology

A large part of the UCR community is the support you receive from both your peers and professors.

Oscar, biochemistry major

CNAS Science News

September 16, 2025

UCR physicist co-leads interdisciplinary center to enhance understanding of the universe

Research team includes astrophysicists, computer scientists, artists, and philosophers from UC Riverside, USC, and Carnegie Observatories

Aerial shot of the rust-colored Salmon River

September 08, 2025

Orange rivers signal toxic shift in Arctic wilderness

Scientists say the warming climate is triggering chemical reactions that leach toxic metals into once-pristine Arctic waters, degrading fish habitat, water quality, and life for local people.

August 25, 2025

How to build larger, more reliable quantum computers

UC Riverside scientists link multiple quantum chips to grow quantum systems

August 21, 2025

Using exoplanets to study dark matter

More than 5,000 planets have been discovered beyond our solar system, allowing scientists to explore planetary evolution and consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Now, a UC Riverside study published in Physical Review D suggests that exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, could also serve as tools to investigate dark matter.

View Latest Science News Stories

A Message from Dean Peter Atkinson

On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students from the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences at UC Riverside, I welcome you to our college and campus.

More College News

Catalyst research of UCR Nobel Laureate groundbreaking ceremony

August 26, 2025

Catalyst Research of UCR Nobel Laureate is Key in Construction of Innovative New Plant

Nobel Laureate, Richard R. Schrock, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, recently returned from Hungary where he attended a groundbreaking ceremony to build a new facility that will manufacture metathesis...

RUSD Earth & Space Sciences Symposium at UC Riverside

August 21, 2025

UCR Hosts Symposium on Earth and Space Sciences for Teachers from RUSD

In a day-long symposium on August 6, a panel of researchers from UC Riverside’s (UCR) College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) expounded on the earth and space sciences to an audience of high school and middle school science teachers...

Research in Science and Engineering Program (RISE)

July 29, 2025

Riverside Students RISE to the Occasion in Summer Research Program at UCR

Well into its 10-week run, the Research in Science and Engineering Program (RISE) at UCR, not only benefits current UCR students, but also Riverside City College (RCC) students in ways that could shape their academic futures. RISE is designed for...

June 17, 2025

For the CNAS Class of 2025, One Journey Ends and Another Begins

CNAS Dean Peter Atkinson had some special wisdom he wanted to impart to students making up the college’s 71st graduating class during commencement ceremonies held on June 16 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA. “Science matters,” he said, “and...

College News Archive

Dr. Barry C. Barish

2017 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN PHYSICS

Meet the Faculty

Dr. Richard R. Schrock

2005 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN CHEMISTRY
UCR ALUMNUS

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Inside UCR

August 27, 2025

UCR professor wins rare soil science medal

Soil Science Society of America recognizes William Jury

August 14, 2025

UCR professor studying tiny, ant-killing wasps earns big honor

Entomological Society of America elects John Heraty as fellow

July 17, 2025

Epilepsy research rewarded with fellowship and grant

Viji Santhakumar’s lab is the recipient of both

July 16, 2025

NASA grant to allow in-depth study of cosmic microwave background

Physicist Steve Choi will analyze satellite data to focus on reionization, one of the least understood epochs in cosmic history

More "Inside UCR" CNAS News

looking through a digital microscope, Dr. Manuela Martins-Green

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Donor support has a direct impact on CNAS students, empowering them to delve into research, stay curious, and prepares them to fill the gaps in the job market as research-minded scientists.

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CNAS in the Media

September 17, 2025

Termites wreak havoc on California homes. A new species was just discovered.

SFGATE - Described by researchers as one of the most serious wood-destroying pests in the world, subterranean termites cause an estimated $32 billion in damage globally per year, and California is a battleground where both native and non-native species flourish...

September 15, 2025

Rivers are turning orange. The effects are disastrous.

September 15, 2025

Why Is Venus Hell and Earth an Eden?

QUANTA MAGAZINE - enus is arguably the worst place in the solar system. A cloak of carbon dioxide suffocates the planet, subjecting its surface to skull-crushing pressure. Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the...

September 10, 2025

Alaska’s rivers used to run clear, now they’re turning orange for good

DAILY GALAXY - In Alaska’s far north, something strange is happening. Rivers that once ran crystal clear are now turning a rusty orange, and scientists say the shift is permanent. A new study published in The Proceedings of the National...

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CNAS Blog

Marie-Rose Osei and Claire Van Der Linden with UCR Professor Viji Santhakumar - UCR Department of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology

August 28, 2025

A Tie That Binds

The story of how one chemistry teacher— Michelle Hampton—at Riverside Unified School District’s (RUSD) Martin Luther King High School (MLK) reached out to faculty at UC Riverside with an idea of giving her chemistry students practical experience in a bona...

May 30, 2025

CNAS student Maritssa Nolasco wins 2025 ASA/CSSA/SSSA National Student Recognition Award

Maritssa Nolasco, a fourth-year Mathematics for Teachers of Secondary School (MTSS) major at the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences and a Digital Agriculture Fellowship (DAF) participant, has been awarded the 2025 National Student Recognition award. Co-sponsored by...

May 08, 2025

UC Riverside Neuroscience Major, Sreenidhi Surineni, Named 2025 Goldwater Scholar

Sreenidhi Surineni, a neuroscience major with a minor in philosophy in UC Riverside’s College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), has been named a 2025 Goldwater Scholar with the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, one of...

April 15, 2025

Finding Nematodes with Adler Dillman

To say that Adler R. Dillman is fascinated by a particular ubiquitous organism best viewed through a microscope is a bit of an understatement. A Professor of Parasitology & Nematologist as well as the Chair of the Department of Nematology...

College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

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CNAS Science News

A Message from Dean Peter Atkinson

More College News

Catalyst Research of UCR Nobel Laureate is Key in Construction of Innovative New Plant

UCR Hosts Symposium on Earth and Space Sciences for Teachers from RUSD

Riverside Students RISE to the Occasion in Summer Research Program at UCR

For the CNAS Class of 2025, One Journey Ends and Another Begins

CNAS Events

Inside UCR

CNAS in the Media

Termites wreak havoc on California homes. A new species was just discovered.

Rivers are turning orange. The effects are disastrous.

Why Is Venus Hell and Earth an Eden?

Alaska’s rivers used to run clear, now they’re turning orange for good

Subscribe to the CNAS Newsletter

CNAS Blog

A Tie That Binds

CNAS student Maritssa Nolasco wins 2025 ASA/CSSA/SSSA National Student Recognition Award

UC Riverside Neuroscience Major, Sreenidhi Surineni, Named 2025 Goldwater Scholar

Finding Nematodes with Adler Dillman

CNAS Undergraduate Advising