Faculty Name: Andrey Bekker

Program: Geology

Maximum Number of Students:  3

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: We will process rock samples to prepare them for chemical analyses to understand early Earth evolution at the time when atmospheric oxygen first appeared in the atmosphere

Website for Project: N/A

Faculty Name: Boris Baer

Program: Entomology

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: None

Description: "The Center for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER, see https://ciber.ucr.edu) offers interdisciplinary summer research projects focused on honey bee health, resilience, and pollination security. Students will receive hands-on training working directly with live honey bees and managed hives, learning safe and professional beekeeping and research techniques in the field and laboratory.
Projects focus on Californian honey bees—a locally adapted population showing resilience to environmental stressors such as diseases, parasites, heat, and habitat change. Research opportunities span disease and stress physiology, behavioral ecology (including defensive behaviors), and the use of sensors, AI, and data analytics to monitor hive health in real time. Many projects also include outreach and extension activities, allowing students to engage with local beekeepers and the broader community.
CIBER provides a supportive, collaborative environment where students gain practical skills and research experience while contributing to solutions for real-world challenges in bee health and sustainable agriculture."

Website for Project: CIBER

Faculty Name: Bodil Cass

Program: Entomology

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later), & New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: Evaluating citrus pest management options at the urban-agriculture interface. 

Website for Project: Subtropical Fruit IPM

Faculty Name: Chia-en Chang

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later) & New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: Coursework in Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology

Description: The student will apply deep learning algorithm to perform protein conformational sampling. If possible, the student also understands the codes and may do simple modification. 

Website for Project: Chang Group

Faculty Name: Q. Jason Cheng

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students: 1

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: Chem5 quantitative analysis or similar courses

Description: The Cheng Lab develops biosensor technology to study molecular interactions and builds diagnostic tools to detect disease biomarkers. The main technique we use is label-free optical spectroscopy (surface plasmon resonance, SPR). 

Website for Project: Cheng Lab

Faculty Name: Steve Choi

Program: Physics

Maximum Number of Students:  4+

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: No Preference

Coursework Requirements: Introductory Physics Series

Description: Our research focuses on experimental cosmology, spanning new instrumentation and data interpretation to understand how the universe began and what it is made of. Students will help develop new tools and infrastructure for testing quantum sensors for astronomical observations, in addition to writing code for new cosmological forecasts and interpretations.

Website for Project: Experimental Cosmology

Faculty Name: Boniface Fokwa

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students: 3

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: No preference.

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: Students will work on the discovery of new materials including catalysts for hydrogen production by water splitting and new permanent magnets. The Fokwa group has a strong record of successful RISE students

Website for Project: Fokwa Lab

Faculty Name: Joseph Genereux

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: The Genereux lab develops and applies mass spectometry-based technologies to characterize protein misfolding and mislocalization in the cell. Potential projects would involve applying these technologies to understand how cellular stress or dysfunction impacts proteome integrity.

Website for Project: The Genereux Lab

Faculty Name: Weifeng Gu

Program: Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology

Maximum Number of Students: 2

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later), & New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: Studying small RNA mediated gene regulation and antivirus.

Website for Project: Weifeng Gu Lab

Faculty Name: Rong Hai

Program: Microbiology

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: None

Description: Develop a Large Language Model (LLM) based computational framework to elucidate  dynamics of virus-host interactions, with a specific emphasis on deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of (re)emerging viral pathogens, thereby facilitating the development of novel diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic strategies to get us better prepared for these increasingly significant public health threats.

Website for Project: N/A

Faculty Name: Allison Hansen

Program: Entomology

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later)

Coursework Requirements: Undergraduate coursework in chemistry, microbiology, dynamic genome

Description: Students in this lab explore how eukaryotic hosts and bacteria interact through their metabolism. Potential projects may involve working with insect hosts, collecting symbiotic tissues under different experimental conditions, and expressing genes from bacterial symbionts in lab-grown bacteria. Through these projects, students will gain hands-on experience investigating how hosts and their symbionts control and regulate their own genomes.

Website for Project: N/A

Faculty Name: Andrew Joe

Program: Physics

Maximum Number of Students: 3

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later), & New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: None. Intro to Physics series preferred.

Description: Two-dimensional (2D) materials are a class of materials that can be reduced down to a thickness of a single atomic layer while maintaining exciting electronic and optical properties. Individual layers of different types of materials can be isolated and stacked to create new material heterostructures that can have drastically new properties. The Joe Lab focuses on studying these 2D material heterostructures using electronic transport and optical spectroscopy techniques to discover new physical phenomena. Undergraduates in the lab will have a chance to exfoliate bulk 2D materials (graphite, hBN, TMDs) and learn to assemble these heterostructures. They can also be involved with new lab setup projects - designing measurement equipment and/or python coding measurement software.

Website for Project: The Joe Lab

Faculty Name: Ying-Hsuan Lin

Program: Environmental Sciences

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: None

Description: Our research primarily focuses on understanding the sources, composition, and formation mechanisms of atmospheric aerosols, and how they influence air quality, human health, and the climate system. We utilize advanced analytical instruments and theoretical calculations to characterize chemical processes controlling the composition of atmospheric aerosols, and we investigate human health effects using multi-omics approaches to identify biological perturbations associated with pollutant exposure. Our lab aims to establish a mechanistic understanding of air pollution-induced human health effects and climate impacts.

Website for Project: Lin Research Group

Faculty Name: Wei Liu

Program: Geology

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: Research will be conducted primarily via online connections

Student Level: No preference, Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only)

Coursework Requirements: None

Description: The project will focus on the role of ocean in climate change and climate variability. 

Faculty Name: Zachary MacDonald

Program: Entomology

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In person with some off campus field work

Student Level: Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later)

Coursework Requirements: Intro courses in Ecology and Entomology, specifically ENTM 100, are preferred. 

Description: Chromosomal inversions are mutations that cause large segments of chromosomes to become "flipped" in orientation (from ABC to CBA, for example). These mutations are often associated with large changes in phenotype in natural populations, and are also common in cancerous tumors. However, the exact mode of action of inversions remains poorly understood. Students will aid in the development of new methods to experimentally induce chromosomal inversions using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, with the goal of characterizing the role of chromosomal inversions in both natural adaptation and cancer.

Website for Project: N/A

Faculty Name: Morris F. Maduro

Program: Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology

Maximum Number of Students: 2

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later)

Coursework Requirements: BIOL 005A

Description: The Maduro lab studies how genes expressed in early embryos direct the specification of the gut in the nematode Pristionchus. We are also interested in how developmentally important genes have evolved over time in the genus Caenorhabditis.

Website for Project: Maduro Lab

Faculty Name: Olakunle Olawole

Program: Microbiology

Maximum Number of Students:  3

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later)

Coursework Requirements: BIO 20 (Introductory material and experiments designed to teach key biological concepts and molecular biology techniques)

Description: Understanding the genetic basis for bacteria-phage interaction and evolutionary dynamics.

Website for Project: Olawole Lab

Faculty Name: Kate Ostevik

Program: Biology

Maximum Number of Students: 1

Where: In person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only)

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: "General research areas: evolutionary biology, speciation, hybridization, genome evolution, pollination biology, plant mating systems

Possible research topic 1: Our lab has previously shown that some sunflowers are choosey about the pollen they allow to fertilize their seeds, where pollen from plants growing in similar environments is more likely to be successful. We would like to extend this finding to other groups of sunflowers to learn more about how new species evolve. This project would involve some combination of making crosses between plants, germinating seeds, DNA extractions, and PCR. "

Website for Project: Ostevik Lab

Faculty Name: Alex Putman

Program: Microbiology

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: Our lab studies pathogens of vegetable and some fruit crops. One disease we are working on is Fusarium wilt of lettuce, caused by the soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Some cultivars have immunity to the pathogen, but recently a new strain of the pathogen was found that can overcome this immunity. The main objective of our current research is to characterize this new strain, determine where it has spread, and if other types of lettuce are effective against it. This work involves diagnosing diseased plants and culturing the fungus from infected plants onto artificial media. Then we infect different lettuce cultivars in the greenhouse to confirm pathogenicity, and perform molecular identification using PCR and qPCR. The desired impact of this work is to provide knowledge to farmers on which strain of Fusarium wilt is present in their fields so they can choose an appropriate immune cultivar of lettuce that suppresses disease. The overall goal of our lab is to improve the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of crop production in California.

Website for Project: Putman Lab

Faculty Name: Erin Rankin

Program: Entomology

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In person with some off campus field work

Student Level: Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later), New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: Intro to Biology Series

Description: We are interested in understanding interactions between herbivores, their plant hosts and flower-visiting insects. We will be assessing pollinator visitation to plants in the presence and absence of herbivores.  This would include both surveying insects on wild populations of sagescrub plants on campus and in the Box Springs Reserve, as well as cage studies in the lab where we will conduct feeding experiments to assess how well the herbivores do on different host plants.

Website for Project: N/A

Faculty Name: Elizabeth Rowen

Program: Entomology

Maximum Number of Students: 3

Where: In person on campus, In person with some off campus field work

Student Level: No preference.

Coursework Requirements: No.

Description: The Rowen lab focuses on insect ecology in agricultural systems, primarily looking at the interactions between insects and the soil. We have many potential projects working on (1) dung beetles, (2) snails, and (3) cover crops in citrus.  

Website for Project: Insect Agroecology Lab

Faculty Name: Kieran Samuk

Program: Biology

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In person on campus, In person with some off campus field work

Student Level: No preference, Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later), New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: None

Description: Chromosomal inversions are mutations that cause large segments of chromosomes to become "flipped" in orientation (from ABC to CBA, for example). These mutations are often associated with large changes in phenotype in natural populations, and are also common in cancerous tumors. However, the exact mode of action of inversions remains poorly understood. Students will aid in the development of new methods to experimentally induce chromosomal inversions using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, with the goal of characterizing the role of chromosomal inversions in both natural adaptation and cancer.

Website for Project: Samuk Lab

Faculty Name: Shawn Westerdale

Program: Physics

Maximum Number of Students:  4+

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later) & New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: None.

Description: Students will get to work on various aspects (computational or hardware-focused) of dark matter and neutrino detection, including work with current and under-construction detectors as well as R&D for future experiments.

Website for Project: Dark Matter and Neutrino Lab

Faculty Name: Tim Su

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later), New UCR transfer student  (Incoming transfer Fall 2026)

Coursework Requirements: General Chemistry

Description: Synthesis and electronics of silicon and other p-block molecules

Website for Project: The Su Lab

Faculty Name: Yiwei Wang

Program: Mathematics

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In person on campus, Research will be conducted primarily via online connections

Student Level: No preference

Coursework Requirements: MATH046

Description: This summer, undergraduate students will work on computational research projects at the interface of applied mathematics and scientific machine learning. Students will learn how to translate mathematical models into efficient simulation codes, validate algorithms using numerical experiments, and visualize results to uncover patterns in complex systems. Projects are modular and can be tailored to a student’s background; motivated students may also explore data-driven or neural-network-based approaches for accelerating structure-preserving simulations. Students will gain experience with research-style problem solving, scientific programming (Python/Matlab), and communicating results through short reports and presentations.

Website for Project: https://sites.google.com/view/yiweiwang-math/home

Faculty Name: Yadong Yin

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students:  2

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Open to students currently at Community Colleges who are considering UCR (8 Weeks only), Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later)

Coursework Requirements: General Chemistry

Description: This project will explore the synthesis and self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles for producing stimuli-responsive materials and devices.

Website for Project: Yin Group

Faculty Name: Haofei Zhang

Program: Chemistry

Maximum Number of Students:  1

Where: In-person on campus

Student Level: Continuing UCR Student (2nd/3rd year student or graduating Fall 2026 or later)

Coursework Requirements: General Chemistry

Description: This student will studying aqueous-phase organic aerosol oxidation kinetics and chemistry.

Website for Project: N/A