Participating in research as undergraduates, with the support of donors like you, has opened up opportunities for Douglas Yao ’18 and fourth-year art history major Rocio Sanchez-Nolasco.

Douglas is starting a PhD program in bioinformatics and integrative genomics at Harvard University this fall, and says he discovered his passion for the subject while working in labs as an undergraduate at UCLA. He presented his own research at Undergraduate Research Week twice and has a paper in review, which he feels prepared him for the rigors of his doctoral program. “If you don’t go to a big research school it’s so much harder to get those research experiences,” Yao said. “I was really lucky to have picked UCLA because of the research environment.”

The Los Angeles/internet-based Sanguine Gallery has invited Rocio to write six essays about artist Patssi Valdez for its website based on the research Rocio presented at Undergraduate Research Week. The gallery’s administrator discovered Rocio’s work when her professor and advisor Charlene Villasenor Black posted a picture of Rocio and her research poster on Facebook. “I just thought my project would be a thesis and that would be the end of it, but it’s really a privilege and an opportunity to be able to share my research in this way,” Rocio said. “It’s inspiring to see that this is an opportunity I can now pursue as an undergraduate student.”

Two wonderful things happened over the past couple weeks. We celebrated UCLA undergraduate research. And we received your gift which reminded students of the community that comes together in support of their success. As a small token of gratitude, we hope this video of the 2018 Dean's Prize Winners brings a smile to your day.

During the Dean's Prize Ceremonies last week, out of 89 student nominations for the inaugural Undergraduate Research Week Faculty Mentor Award, seven science and four HASS faculty were honored for playing a meaningful role in professional development and as an effective research mentor. 

Congratulations! Anastassia Alexandrova, Chemistry & Biochemistry; Gal Bitan, Neuroscience; Tiffany N. Brannon, Psychology; Wesley Campbell, Physics & Astronomy; Erica Cartmill, Anthropology; Hilary Coller, Molecular, Cell & Development Biology; Mary Corey, History; Karen M. Lyons, Orthopedic Surgery/ MCD Biology; David N. Myers, History; Margot Quinlan, Chemistry & Biochemistry; Patricia Z. Tan, Psychiatry

To say we're ecstatic is an understatement! With your help we have received 162 donations totaling $65,885 in just two weeks. Together we’ve gathered stories, grown our community and raised awareness about a special part of the UCLA undergraduate experience. In the final two days, let's see how close we can get to reaching our goal of $100,000 to fund the Undergraduate Research Centers so they can support UCLA students pursuing research.

Yesterday in the Kerckhoff Grand Salon, the Division of Undergraduate Education hosted Undergraduate Research Poster Sessions that showcased research in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Here you see Rhiannon presenting “Inclusive Identities Increase Trust and Belonging for Women at Health Care Institutions”.

The CARE Fellows Program provides underrepresented UCLA students with little or no previous research experience the opportunity to receive financial support while participating in a research project with a faculty mentor. Traditionally this program has been funded through government grants which will no longer be available by 2020. For as little as $3,500 each year, your gift will support students like CARE Fellows Nicole, Lucas and Abril afford basic living expenses by making research their campus work.

Generosity continued over the holiday weekend and we're now within $2,000 of unlocking the Dick Weiss $10,000 matching challenge. With only 25 more gifts we'll reach 150 donors and unlock the Deans Challenge of $25,000. Help us spread the word! Today could be the day we meet these goals and you'll have helped us raise $65,000 in support of UCLA undergraduate researchers. Thank you!

UCLA junior Maggie Bui found that participating in undergraduate research opened her eyes to a vast new world of scientific discovery: 

"Prior to getting involved in research, science was an interesting yet distant notion - it was a collection of heavy textbooks meticulously edited and organized into seemingly everything there was to know about astronomy, cell biology, etc. Since then, I have found that science is exciting, dynamic and incomplete: it constantly amazes me that there is still so much that is unknown and I relish being part of this discovery process."

Unique at UCLA is our comprehensive undergraduate research offerings in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS), made possible by your gift. This week, Luskin Conference Center hosted 70+ student researchers for oral presentations attended by nearly 200 alumni, faculty, staff, students, friends and parents. The day was capped with a HASS Reception and Awards Ceremony in Powell Library where outstanding undergraduate researchers were celebrated. 

UCLA's Undergraduate Research Week celebrates the diverse intellectual heft of our talented student body. This week we are promoting the importance of intellectual inquiry and capturing the magic of what happens when learning is not restricted to the classroom. I'm honored to join you, Chancellor Block, all of our College of Letters and Science Deans and URC Directors in pledging my gift to help provide undergraduate researchers with mentorship, scholarships and programmatic support. In addition, when we reach 150 donors to our giving campaign I intend to designate $25,000 donor discretionary funds toward our final goal!

Watch this video to hear Emeritus Professor and Undergraduate Research Week giving chair Richard Weiss, Professor Jose Rodriguez and 4th year biochemistry major Evelyn Hernandez demonstrate how research experiences can build long lasting mentoring relationships and alter an academic career path.

Less than 24 hours ago, Pauley Pavilion was overflowing with a record number of students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni interested in research. On the floor you heard a range of research topics from "Conductive Polymeric Composites from Eraser Shavings" to "Yoga World Bubbles: A D3 Visualization of Psycho Linguistic Shifts in the Rhetoric of Wellbeing". Everyone had the opportunity to see and celebrate your gift through the giving campaign live website feed. You can imagine the excitement when we reached $10,000 and received our first $10,000 matching gift!

This weeks giving campaign in support of UCLA undergraduate researchers is off to a GREAT start. I'm delighted to join you in giving, and want to express my gratitude to you for sharing your gift during Undergraduate Research Week. This week is kind of a big deal on campus, and we're all excited to celebrate together with the community that helps offer these life changing opportunities to our students.