College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Biological Science Building

The College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Riverside is a nationally unique academic division in that it combines the physical, biological, mathematical and agricultural disciplines under one organizational umbrella. The College is organized into 13 academic departments: Biochemistry, Biology, Botany and Plant Sciences, Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Entomology, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, Nematology, Physics, Plant Pathology, and Statistics.

The College dates back to 1907 when the UC Citrus Experiment Station was founded at the base of Riverside's Mt. Rubidoux. In 1958, the College of Agriculture was formed as the first research oriented, graduate degree granting institution at UCR. Steady growth and a series of mergers led to the 1974 formation of the present College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. [1] Notable research centers include the Air Pollution Research Center, the Center for Invasive Species Research, and the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology.^[1]

Air Pollution Research Center

In 1961, the Air Pollution Research Center was established at UCR, due to air pollution having been recognized a decade earlier as a leading cause of crop injury in the Los Angeles Basin.[2] Recently, the American Lung Association ranked Riverside County first in its "Top 26 U.S. Counties Most Polluted by Annual Particle Pollution," with nearby San Bernardino County ranking second.^[2] Faculty from the environmental sciences, plant sciences and chemistry departments, as well as the Center for Environmental Research and Technology of the College of Engineering [3] are assigned to the center.

References

1. ^ "UCR Research". University of California, Riverside, Office of Research. http://www.ucr.edu/research.html. Retrieved 2007-08-10. 
2. ^ "American Lung Association Rankings Air Quality". Archived from the original on June 8, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060608043348/http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=50752#graph1. Retrieved June 11, 2006.