Research Experiences for Undergraduates:
As an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site, the Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB) provides research experiences to students of two-and four-year colleges who have limited opportunity to learn about the excitement and career options in plant cell biology. To learn more about this ten-week residential summer research program, please click here.
Undergraduate Advisors
Undergraduate Faculty Advisor
Exequiel Ezcurra
exequiel.ezcurra@ucr.edu
(951) 827-4368
3324 Olmsted Hall
Carolyn Rasmussen
carolyn.rasmussen@ucr.edu
951-827-4415
3119B Genomics Building
Undergraduate Professional Advisor
Norma Palacios
norma.palacios@ucr.edu
951-827-4857
Pierce Hall 1223
Information for Prospective Undergrad Students:
How to Apply
I'm a Plant Biology Major Because
Jonathan Blahut
I have to eat and breathe. We and all of the consumers on this planet, relay on these autotrophs for our survival. Close your eyes and picture a world with no flowers, no leaves, and no chlorophyll. Not only would it be an ugly place, but we would not be alive.
Jesus Cerrillos
it is important to study plants due to their vast integration/vitality to human survival and because UCR has the finest faculty specializing in various topics of botany.
Jane Kim
it is a fundamental level of life. We, as humans, take advantage of all that plants provide us. For millenniums, plants have been the primary level of food chain, provided us with materials for shelter, and produced medicines used to treat diseases and sickness. In the 21st century, scientist, doctors and botanists are still looking at plants for inspiration for solutions to worldwide problems.
Amy Kwiecen
I have been enchanted by plants ever since I was a small child. I wondered: “How do these organisms, so very different from animals, live and grow?” and “How is the world as we know it shaped by plants.” As soon as I was big enough to get my hands dirty, I wanted to help my mother in the garden. To this day I am still fascinated by plants, their similarities and differences with each other and other organisms, and how they shape environments.
Jennifer Oki
plants are extremely important: they harness all of the energy we use to survive, they make our planet beautiful, and they taste great too.
Zachary Thomas
Of the diversity in the Botany Department, there are so many professors and classes that it really gives you a chance to explore the major and find what part of plant biology you want to delve into.
Dwight Williams
plant biology offers a vast amount of potential to benefit the world. At it’s roots, it is at the solution to most of the world’s problems. I am at UCR because of its wonderful Botany faculty. The faculty consists of amiable professors that provide direct guidance for course work and available careers for aspiring students.