UC Riverside and Cal State San Bernardino have received $1 million in federal funding to jointly launch interdisciplinary AI undergraduate education programs and community outreach initiatives across the Inland Empire.

When Alisa Perales was a year old she began learning her ABC’s and 123’s. By the time she was 4, she could name the capitals of the world and the bones in a human body. Now at 11 years old, she’s solving advanced mathematical proofs as a computer science major at UC Riverside. Alisa, who started this fall, appears to be the youngest student to enroll at UCR, according to alumni records. She transferred to UCR after completing two associate degrees at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, where she became a student at the age of 8.

A UCR's Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program has established a successful track record in helping educationally underserved students — such as those from first-generation Hispanic/Latino households — excel in math and science and pursue a degree in engineering and other STEM fields.

UCR experiments offer a pathway for solar desalination solutions