UCR Research
Our Research Makes a Difference Tomorrow
Associate Professor David Cocker and graduate student researcher Li Qi investigate the physical and chemical processes that lead to aerosol formation, in the Smog Chamber within Bourns College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT).
Our Research Is For Everyone
At UC Riverside, undergraduate and graduate students work side-by-side with faculty and researchers like CE-CERT's Bill Welch (right).
Our Research Sets Us Apart
Whether it is researching the world-wide epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, the potential for carbon nanotubes to help generate bone tissue, or how to grow better barley, UC Riverside's Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology Program is always on the cutting edge.
Our Research Makes a Difference
As gas prices skyrocket and resources are depleted, the search for alternative fuels becomes increasingly important. In the CE-CERT Hydrogasification Laboratory, researchers are investigating ways to create high yields of ethanol from agricultural and forestry residues, municipal solid waste, and low cost grasses and wood.
Our Researchers Have the Tools They Need
Having great people is only part of the equation. UC Riverside's researchers have access to state of the art equipment and technology, which allows them to always be on the cutting edge of exploration.
Cutting Edge Research that Reaches the World
Through Research and Economic Development and the dedicated work of faculty and student researchers in the pursuit of new knowledge, UC Riverside is fulfilling its role as the research university of Inland Southern California.
The university's research heritage, our resources and our location make it an ideal place for exploring air, water, energy, biodiversity, sustainability, land use, the habitat/agriculture interface and much more.
What we do and study here makes a difference to people every day: Every orange, lemon, lime and tangerine found on your grocer’s shelf has a genetic connection to the trees at our Citrus Research Collection. Our scientists have earned worldwide recognition for their expertise and breakthrough findings in the areas of plant sciences, environmental and natural resources and pest management.
Our recent research innovations include:
- Engine technology that allows cars to run on a mix of hydrogen and natural gas.
- New varieties of citrus and asparagus.
- An efficient and clean method of turning waste materials into a sulfur-free diesel fuel.
We’re Making the World a Better Place, One Discovery at a Time.
- In 1980, we released our first patented citrus variety, the Oroblanco grapefruit. Other citrus breeding program releases include the Melogold grapefruit and the Gold Nugget mandarin.
- Plant physiologist Charles Coggins registered gibberellic acid for use in California citrus groves to delay fruit maturation. The ultimate result of his work was the extension of the citrus-growing season in California from four months to nine.
For over 100 years, UCR has been instrumental in the improvement of citrus production.
- In 1967, biochemist and molecular biologist Anthony Norman was one of two U.S. scientists working independently who isolated and described the chemical nature of a substance the public knew as vitamin D, but was, in fact, a steroid hormone. Several life-saving drug treatments were developed as a result of research by the Norman lab.
- William Frankenberger, professor of soil microbiology and biochemistry, developed patented technologies using fungi and other microbial agents that naturally detoxify water contaminated with selenium, perchlorate, and nitrate.
- Our high-energy physicists were part of an international effort that provided the world with evidence of the top quark — a fundamental particle which was first theorized about in the 1960s but never before observed.
- Chemist Guy Bertrand and his research team were the first to create a stable singlet diradical, a development announced worldwide. The unique compound could lead to a new generation of non-metallic magnetic devices for medical imaging or electronics.
- Plant pathologist Noel Keen and biochemist Fran Jurnak identified a previously unknown protein structure, the parallel beta-helix as part of Keen’s pioneering work in plant pathology.
- Plant geneticist Michael Clegg led a research group that was the first to recover and decode ancient plant DNA genetic material from a magnolia leaf 20 million years old.
- Geophysicist Harry Green II and graduate student Pamela Burnley provided the first explanation for “deep-focus earthquakes,” which occur 300 kilometers or more beneath the earth’s surface.