World Class Faculty

Transcript

That was awesome. UCR is home to some incredible faculty, including multiple Nobel Prize winners. To tell us about some faculty that he’s enjoyed working with, let’s meet Dev, a fourth year bioengineering major. He’s worked with some truly world class faculty, so let’s hear all about it. Take it away.

– Thanks, Alex. I’ve always had a strong interest in chemistry and biology. This, coupled with a desire to build and create things, led me to enroll at UCR to pursue academic research. The faculty here at UCR are amazing. They realize learning happens, not just in the lecture hall. In bioengineering, associate professor and undergraduate advisor, Dr. William Grover hosts open office hours for students to come in and chat, while also giving career guidance. During the COVID pandemic, Dr. Grover mentored me and others through the process of building and presenting our own projects. The pandemic also caused me and many other students to miss out an in-person labs. Dr. David Cocker, professor and chair for the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at UCR, saw this gap in lab skills. He sought to address this through the CCE Lab Olympics, an event for chemical and environmental engineering students to learn lab skills and procedures while participating in competitions. This event directly improves students’ abilities to carry out experiments in their lab courses and even their research. Dr. Andrew Sanders and Teresa Salvato are two staff members that carry out vital archival work at the UCR Herbarium. Their philosophy is simple. Any interested individual can volunteer, no experience acquired. As a result, students have had the opportunity to contribute to the digital archives of the various California plant species. Aside from the work, the herbarium staff’s warm personalities and wit make working and learning a wonderful experience. Your education at UCR is not just in the classroom, it’s in lab spaces, seminars, symposiums, and most of the time, just simple conversations with the professors and staff. It’s because of them, that me and many others have been able to truly shine and pursue our goals. They truly make UCR. Class dismissed. Over to you, Alex.

– Dev, what truly fascinating professors. The opportunities sound amazing, and students taking those courses and doing research in those laboratories must absolutely love it. Keep up the great work and thanks again, Dev.