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College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

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R'Garden at UCR

The future of R’Garden

Dear R’Garden supporters, Thank you sincerely for reaching out regarding the future of the R'Garden. We share in the disappointment that the recent student referendum to secure ongoing support for R’Garden did not meet the minimum 20% voter participation threshold for approval, despite majority support from those who voted. Although the R'Garden referendum did not...
CNAS student walking towards academic building

CNAS Awards 2025: Honoring student achievement, innovative research, and scientific community impact

Each year, the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) proudly recognizes a select group of students who have distinguished themselves through exceptional academic achievements, innovative research, and a commitment to making a positive impact on the science community. These outstanding individuals are more than just award recipients—they are a testament to the...

At the Heart of Conservation with Biologist Ellie Armstrong

At the heart of conservation

Ellie Armstrong is a scientist by training, a dog photographer by hobby, and a rescuer by nature. By day, she is an evolutionary biologist at UC Riverside building genomic tools to trace the ancestry of species facing extinction. In her free time, she takes glamour shots of foster dogs to help them get adopted. Both...
By Jules Bernstein | UCR Magazine |
UC Grad Slam 2025 Winners

A tale of Tinder wins the day at the 10th annual UC Grad Slam

Angeliz Vargas Casillas from UC Riverside, who won third prize for her talk on using math to model keloid scar expansion, reflected, “It really made me think about where I'm going with my research. Where can I take it? What is the goal? You have those things in mind, but when you’re putting it together...
By Apollonia Morrill | UC Newsroom |
UC Riverside Pre-Professional Advising Center

A One-Stop Shop for Good Advice: (Re)Introducing the Pre-Professional Advising Center

UC Riverside alumna Gabriella Moussa has a sterling piece of advice about the Pre-Professional Advising Center (PPAC) and the services it provides. “To any student looking to use the office’s resources, but who may be hesitant for whatever reason: Let yourself let THEM help you!” says Gabriella, who graduated from UC Riverside in 2022 with...
Dynamic Genome Project students conducting research

The Dynamic Genome Project at UC Riverside

The DGP is a primer for new students getting their feet wet in science for the first time
Oranges at UC Riverside Agricultural Operations

UC Riverside agricultural research showcased at World Ag Expo

Nine speakers from the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) gave talks highlighting their diverse research programs at the World Ag Expo held February 11-13 in Tulare, CA. In 25-minute sessions, five of which focused on the citrus industry alone, UC Riverside professors educated audiences on such varied topics as improving food...
UC Riverside CE Specialists, Advisors, and Faculty Showcase

UC Riverside CE Specialists, Advisors, and Faculty Showcase Agriculture Research Taking Place at UCR

UC Riverside’s College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) convened a meeting of UC Cooperative Extension (CE) Specialists, Advisors, and Faculty to foster collaborations and showcase agricultural research at UC Riverside. The meeting, held Feb. 18, featured researchers and professors from CNAS and BCOE who addressed topics effecting agriculture and natural resources (ANR) that are...

CNAS Science Ambassadors with Norm the Orange

CNAS to welcome first-year admitted students and their families at Highlander Day

On April 12, admitted first-year students and their families will converge onto the University of California, Riverside campus for Highlander Day – an all-day open house held annually to showcase the richly diverse and inclusive array of opportunities available at UCR. Highlander Day also gives students admitted to the UC Riverside College of Natural &...
CNAS Visits Washington DC on a Call to Action

CNAS visits Washington on a “Call to Action!”

Stephanie Dingwall, Divisional Dean of Student Academic Affairs for the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) and two CNAS students recently visited the Washington, D.C. offices of California Senate and Congressional Representatives on a two-day trip to advocate for more funding and recognition of undergraduate research. The trip, which took place from...
VIRTUE Diagram

When particles collide: Professor Miguel Arratia talks physics and the Electron Ion Collider

Miguel Arratia, Assistant Professor of Physics at the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), conceives and designs detectors for experiments for the Electron Ion Collider (EIC) in Upton, NY, which was developed to uncover the mysteries that bind the atomic nucleus together. The U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Science Advisory Committee has...

CNAS Welcome Interim Dean, Peter Atkinson

Meet the new dean of CNAS

Many may be familiar with the new dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, or CNAS. Peter Atkinson, a professor of genetics in the Department of Entomology, has been with UC Riverside for 28 years. Less familiar may be his vision, which emphasizes social mobility, collaboration with other colleges, and CNAS as the...
Science Lecture Series 2024 Faculty Presentation

CNAS unveils Science Lecture Series 2025 dates

The UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) is pleased to announce the dates of the 2025 Science Lecture Series, with faculty presentations taking place on February 5, March 4, April 12 and May 3. Since its inception, CNAS scientists have shared their knowledge and research with students, alumni, faculty, staff and community...

UCR Bell Tower and Rivera Library

Susan Wessler Elected VP of the National Academy of Sciences

Susan Wessler, Distinguished Professor and Geneticist in the UC Riverside Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, has been elected to a four-year term as Vice President at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Professor Wessler assumed her duties as Vice President last month. The position, which also chairs the NAS Council Committee on Scientific Programs...

Fossil Bed

With a Little Bit of Luck: What Mary Droser has Uncovered after a Few Million Years

Mary Droser, Distinguished Professor of Geology in the UC Riverside Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, likes to say that she is the luckiest and most privileged person she knows. To anyone considering her prodigious list of professional accomplishments, the eponymous head of the Droser Paleoecology Lab on campus certainly seems to have had a...

Welcome from CNAS Interim Dean Peter Atkinson 2023-2024

CNAS Dean Announcement

Dear Colleagues, I am excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Peter Atkinson, Interim Dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), as the permanent CNAS Dean, effective January 6, 2025. A UCR faculty member since 1997, Peter is a professor in the Department of Entomology whose research focuses on developing novel, molecular...
By Elizabeth Watkins | Inside UCR |
Taking a Bite Out of Wildlife Crime on UCR News

Taking A Bite Out Of Wildlife Crime

While his profession turned out to be more dangerous than he anticipated when he enrolled at UCR as a biochemistry student in 1965, Goddard hasn’t looked back. His prolific career in law enforcement includes 12 years as a police criminalist and crime scene investigator working on gruesome homicides, drug raids, and robberies, and over four...
By Sarah Nightingale | UCR Magazine |
New CNAS Faculty Reception 2024

CNAS Celebrates New Faculty Members for the 2024 Academic Year

The UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) welcomed and celebrated 33 new faculty members for the 2024 academic year at the annual New Faculty Reception on October 29. Peter Atkinson, CNAS Interim Dean, welcomed the new faculty members and their families at the Alumni & Visitors Center for a special dinner, where...

CNAS Interim Dean Peter Atkinson

Fall 2024 Welcome from CNAS Interim Dean Peter Atkinson

Dear CNAS Students, Today marks the beginning of the 2024 academic year for the UC Riverside community, and I have been looking forward to the energy and enthusiasm that our students bring to campus! For the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) alone, we welcome 7,325 CNAS students, of which 1,780 are new first-year...
NRS Internship Header

UCR Natural Reserves Celebrates Conclusion of the 2024 Summer Inclusivity Internship Program

As part of the UC Riverside Natural Reserves Inclusivity Internship program, undergraduate students from campuses across Southern California celebrated the conclusion of their summer internship experience with the UCR Natural Reserves on August 16. The 10-week summer internship program paired undergraduate students from UC Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona, Citrus College, Cal State Fullerton and Mt...
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