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College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

Painted Lady butterfly (c) UCR Stan Lim

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Inspire Science Symposium 2026

Inspire Science Opens Doors to the Future of Discovery

On January 29, 2026, UC Riverside's HUB 302 was filled with an uncommon mix of people: high school students seeing a research campus for the first time, undergraduates imagining what might come next, graduate students reflecting on how far they’ve come, and faculty and campus leaders eager to meet them where they are. The occasion...
students at the R'STEM Find Your Research Match

R’STEM Find Your Research Match Connects Students with Research Opportunities

Students looking to take the next step in their academic journeys had the opportunity to connect directly with faculty, graduate students, and campus partners during the R’STEM Find Your Research Match event, held on February 3, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in HUB 302. A collaborative effort between the College of Natural and...
Val Verde Unified School District Science and Engineering Fair Students

Val Verde Students Bring Curiosity and Creativity to UCR for First-Ever District Science Fair at CNAS

For many Val Verde Unified School District students, stepping onto the UC Riverside campus on Friday, Jan. 23, marked their first time visiting a major research university. By the end of the day, they weren’t just visitors — they were scientists. Val Verde USD students gathered at UCR for the district’s first-ever science fair hosted...
CNAS Graduate Students at REACH STEAM Academy Science Fair

CNAS Graduate Students Support REACH Leadership STEAM Academy Science Fair

On January 22, 2026, REACH Leadership STEAM Academy in Riverside hosted its annual science fair, welcoming students, educators, and community partners for a late-afternoon event that highlighted curiosity, experimentation, and discovery. UC Riverside’s College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) participated by sending graduate students to serve as judges and mentors, reinforcing the college’s commitment...
Marie-Rose Osei and Claire Van Der Linden with UCR Professor Viji Santhakumar - UCR Department of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology

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 fide research lab exemplifies the old idiom: nothing ventured, nothing gained. But in this case...
CNAS student standing by UCR sign

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 the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and the...
Goldwater-Scholarship-Graphic

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 the most prestigious national honors awarded to undergraduate researchers in the STEM fields.​ Surineni was...

UCR professor Adler Dillman in nematology lab with UCR students

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 at UC Riverside, Dillman is “all about” parasitic nematodes...although, to be sure, he had never...
SoCal Conference on Ecological Change

UCR hosts inaugural Southern California Conference on Ecological Change

The UC Riverside departments of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology, Botany and Plant Sciences, and Environmental Sciences hosted the inaugural Southern California Conference on Ecological Change on February 14. The inaugural event was organized in response to the effects of warming climate, larger and more frequent fires, urbanization and land development, and invasive species on...
UC Riverside students and faculty at conference

UCR undergrads win Best Research Poster awards at California Plant and Soil Conference

Two UC Riverside undergraduates working with faculty mentors at the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) won Best Undergraduate Research Poster awards at the 2025 California Plant and Soil Conference in Visalia, CA. David Ranai, an Electrical Engineering major working with Amir Verdi, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Urban Water Management in the CNAS...
UCR bell tower

The Many Incarnations of Professor Lucy Delaney

Lucy Delaney, Assistant Professor of Teaching in the UC Riverside Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (EEOB), focuses her work at the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) on improving the teaching and learning of biological sciences, with an added emphasis on understanding evolutionary theory. Professor Delaney’s own career evolutions have...
RISE Program 2024

Riverside City College students explore research through RISE

When asked how she's enjoying UC Riverside's Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) program this summer, Riverside City College student Kat McVeigh doesn't hold back. "It's been a great experience!" she says. "Being in an actual lab [and] getting to know the other people in the lab has been pretty cool. Meeting new people is...

| Transfer Student
Nicolas Sanchez Stephanie Dingwall

Making Beautiful Music: Nicolas Sanchez on Biochemistry, the Violin and CNAS

Like many students before him, Nicolas Sanchez '24 has learned that finding the proper outlet can circumvent the pressure of a tough academic course load. For Nicolas, who graduated from the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences with a Biochemistry degree with an emphasis in Medical Sciences, that outlet was music. “I wanted...

| Science Ambassador
Rivera Walkway UC Riverside

Doubling down: Assal and Sadaf Sadighian on the long journey from Iran to UC Riverside...and what lies in the future

To say that twin sisters Assal and Sadaf Sadighian are used to long commutes would be an understatement. The twins, who will graduate next spring with Biology degrees, live “a very short drive” away from campus, and will readily tell you that using Google Calendar is an immeasurable help in ordering their days and, metaphorically...

| Science Ambassador, Transfer Student
UCR Bell Tower and Academic Buildings

For recent CNAS graduate Briana Baldovinos '24, UCR was a whole new dance

For the past year and a half, Briana Baldovinos has worked at the “Happiest Place on Earth”...Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, where she dances in the Main Street Parade. Before enrolling at UC Riverside, she used to dance ballet, jazz and tap – “everything” – for an average of five hours a day. She’s been dancing...
| Science Ambassador
Andrea Bajaras Elia Scudiero Digital Agriculture Fellowship UC Riverside

Andrea Barajas wins National Student Recognition award for Digital Agriculture Fellowship research

Andrea Barajas, a fourth-year Environmental Sciences student at the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), has been awarded the National Student Recognition award in recognition of her work with the Digital Agriculture Fellowship (DAF) by the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and the Soil Science...

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...
| Transfer Student
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!
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...
| Science Ambassador
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