Mr. Medina has worked with communities in Southeast LA and the Eastside of Riverside to rally residents around planting shade trees and advocating for community resilience in their neighborhoods. His interests include native landscaping for the Inland Empire and using community science to battle the urban heat island effect across Southern California.

Francesca studies trace gas emissions from human activities that contribute to climate change and air pollution, with the goal of developing the science of reducing these emissions. Her research group uses spatial mapping, mobile surveys, and atmospheric gas measurements, including an urban measurement site located on the UCR campus. Francesca is committed to informing the public about the science of climate change, both its causes and impacts. Francesca led the Inland Desert regional report for the 4th California Climate Assessment, released in 2018.

Pete studies interactions between soil microbes and the physical environment (e.g., the implications of how microbes respond to physical stress), while focusing on the exchange of elements (e.g., C, N, and P) across the soil–atmosphere and soil–water interfaces. His work evaluates the role of nutrients in ecosystem development, microbial and abiotic controls on soil trace gas emissions, the fate of microbial C, and how these processes are influenced by environmental factors (e.g., moisture and resource availability).

Dr. Loralee Larios is an Assistant Professor of Plant Ecology at the University of California Riverside. She leads a research group where we try to understand the threats and to identify solutions to maintaining healthy plant communities in protected and open spaces. We do this by building collaborations with those groups in charge of the management of these areas. As a group we also try to instill in the next generation an appreciation for plants and nature and lead initiatives to support individuals from all backgrounds as they engage in STEM-based activities.