[Allgsacstudents] Fwd: CNAS presenters at the Latinxs and the Environment Conference: Oct 24th at the Culver Center

Mon Oct 6 08:11:49 PDT 2025

Good morning GSAC Graduate Students,

See the email below and mark your calendars.

Sincerely,

*Fidel Rivas*

*Interim Director of Graduate Student Advising/**Employment and Scholarship
Manager*

CNAS Graduate Student Affairs Center

1140 Batchelor Hall

*fidelr at ucr.edu* <fidelr at ucr.edu>* | (951) 827-5688*

*Book An Appointment Here
<https://doodle.com/bp/fidelrivas1/book-an-appointment-here>*

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Laura McGeehan <mcgeehan at ucr.edu>
Date: Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Subject: CNAS presenters at the Latinxs and the Environment Conference: Oct
24th at the Culver Center
To: Joann D Young <joann.young at ucr.edu>, Nikita L McWells <
nikita.mcwells at ucr.edu>, Tom Windeknecht <tom.windeknecht at ucr.edu>
CC: Lidia Kos <lidia.kos at ucr.edu>

*Description:*

The Latinxs and the Environment conference
<https://latinxsenv.ucr.edu/2025-lei-conference> is a UC systemwide
symposium that features research on the theme of *Environmental Research
and Social Change - Connecting the Latino Community with Future Generations*.
The event will be held on October 24 at the Barbara and Art Culver Center
for the Arts in Downtown Riverside. This symposium also includes panels
with faculty, community members and government officials. Mayor of
Riverside Patricia Lock Dawson and Riverside County Supervisor José Medina
will present remarks in a systemwide celebration.

This conference supports the systemwide Latinxs and the Environment
initiative that began at Berkeley, and now includes chapters at UCR and UC
Davis, with plans to expand to additional campuses. The initiative at UCR
is funded by a UC Office of the President HSI DDI grant to Dr. Sam Ying,
faculty in the UCR Environmental Sciences Department in collaboration with
Graduate Division.

The research being presented ranges from studying ancient Maya traditions
to inform modern sustainable practices, to understanding the etiology of
asthma in the Salton Sea, to utilizing satellite-derived spectral bands to
evaluate soil health in CA, and a study of energy justice and policy in
Inland CA. The symposium includes participation from undergraduate and
graduate 8 of the 10 UC campuses.

*Below is a list of UCR CNAS students (both grad and ug) who are presenting
at the conference:*
College Student Status Last Name First Name Presentation Title Type of
Presentation
CNAS Graduate Student Alfaro III David Utilization of Electrochemical
Catalysts and Defluorinating Bacteria Towards Deeper Degradation of PFAS Oral
Presentation
CNAS Graduate Student De Allende Pedro Exploring the Optical Properties of
Brown Carbon Aerosol Using Single Particle Levitation Oral Presentation
CNAS Graduate Student Firebaugh Ornelas Ariana Title: Community responses
to altered seasonal precipitation via seed banks in an annual desert
community Poster
CNAS Graduate Student Guillén Amy Characterizing Possible Bacterial Asthma
Bombs in the Salton Sea Poster
CNAS Graduate Student Salas Stephanie Comparing the Heterogeneous
Reactivity of Viscous and Gel State Particles Oral Presentation
CNAS Graduate Student Vega-Redeaux Miranda Agua es Vida: Tap water quality
and geochemistry in polanco communities in East Coachella Valley Oral
Presentation
CNAS Graduate Student Wertz BryAnna How a prescribed burn gradient
influences seed bank dynamics and restoration efforts at Santa Rosa Plateau
Ecological Reserve Poster
CNAS Graduate Student Wertz BryAnna How a prescribed burn gradient
influences seed bank dynamics and restoration efforts at Santa Rosa Plateau
Ecological Reserve Poster
CNAS Undergraduate Student Chiu Ashley Energy Justice: An Approach to
Policy-Making for a Just Transition in Inland Southern California Poster
CNAS Undergraduate Student Garcia Jennifer Measuring Seismic Attenuation
Across Iceland Poster
CNAS Undergraduate Student Moreno Allie Mitigation of PFAS bioavailability
to Spinach Using Biochar as a Soil Amendment Poster
CNAS Undergraduate Student Villar Michelle Precipitation and Soil Organic
Carbon Poster
CNAS Undergraduate Student Wang Kassidy Using satellite-derived spectral
bands to assess vegetation health and soil moisture in Southern CA Poster

*In addition, the following faculty have served as mentors to the Latinxs
and the Environment students during their summer with the Mentoring Summer
Research Internship Program and/or are faculty mentors to students
presenting at the conference.*

CNAS Faculty Program
Tingting Xiang Bioengineering
Andrew Gray
Environmental Sciences
Francesca Hopkins
Environmental Sciences
Sam Ying
Environmental Sciences
Amanda Rupiper
Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Jay Gan
Environmental Sciences

Events Calendar link here
<https://events.ucr.edu/event/latinxs-and-the-environment-conference>. I’ve
also attached an additional flyer below.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Laura

*_______________________________________________*

*Laura McGeehan, **Ph.D.*

*Director, Academic Preparation, Recruitment & Outreach (APRO.ucr.edu
<https://apro.ucr.edu/>)*

*UCR Graduate Division*

951 827 6124 | laura.mcgeehan at ucr.edu

University Office Building (UOB) Room 134

University of California, Riverside, CA 92521

*Preferred pronouns: she/her/they* <https://www.mypronouns.org/>

*I am working a hybrid schedule and will respond to e-mails as quickly as
possible.*
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