Honors & Awards

UCI is No. 1 in U.S., No. 2 overall in Sierra magazine’s 2019 ‘Cool Schools’ ranking

With unmatched 10 straight years in top 10, campus is higher ed sustainability leader

Amir AghaKouchak

Amir AghaKouchak to receive American Geophysical Union’s Macelwane Medal

The American Geophysical Union will award its 2019 James B. Macelwane Medal to Amir AghaKouchak, UCI professor of civil & environmental engineering. The medal is given annually to a small group of early career researchers for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences. The AGU recognized AghaKouchak for his fundamental and innovative contributions to the study of […]

UCI is No. 1 among Money magazine’s ‘Best Colleges’

University is first public institution to claim top spot in national rankings

UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in history wins 2019 Native American 40 Under 40 award

Holly Guise, a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in history at UCI, has received a 2019 Native American 40 Under 40 award. The prestigious accolade from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development honors emerging Native American and Alaska Native leaders who have made significant contributions in their business, profession or community and demonstrated leadership, […]

UCI ranked No. 15 in Top 50 U.S. Colleges That Pay Off the Most

The University of California, Irvine is the 15th best public university for providing students with the highest average salaries for their tuition dollars. CNBC Make It ranked the top 50 colleges – 25 private and 25 public – that pay off the most to help estimate college costs, which helps students from taking on on […]

Ngugi wa Thiong’o receives honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Edinburgh

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, UCI Distinguished Professor of comparative literature and English, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Scotland’s University of Edinburgh on July 8. He was presented to the university’s academic senate by Thomas Molony of the School of Social & Political Science, who recognized the Kenyan author’s significant leadership in shifting the […]

Pharm Sci’s Robert Spitale wins Ono Pharma Breakthrough Science Initiative Award

Robert Spitale, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, is one of five winners of 2019 Ono Pharma Breakthrough Science Initiative Awards, intended to accelerate high-risk and high-reward science research projects that could lead to discoveries, solutions and potential breakthrough treatments for patients. The award is for three years and provides $900,000 in direct funds for selected […]

Distinguished Professor is awarded the 2019 Lebowitz Prize for achievement in philosophy

Margaret P. Gilbert, Ph.D., UCI’s Abraham I. Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy and Distinguished Professor of philosophy, has been awarded the 2019 Dr. Martin R. Lebowitz and Eve Lewellis Lebowitz Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of philosophy. It includes an honorarium of $25,800. Gilbert’s research interests span diverse topics in social, political and […]

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5 junior faculty awarded $50,000 Hellman Fellowships

Five assistant professors at the University of California, Irvine will receive $50,000 Hellman Fellowships, which are bestowed annually to support research by junior faculty. They join an elite group of 53 UCI Hellman Fellows since 2013, when the Hellman Fellows Fund established the program here. The 2019-20 awardees, representing a cross-section of disciplines, are: “Each […]

UCI student’s empathy-based AI project is among finalists in NSF ‘big idea’ competition

Karishma Muthukumar’s “Promoting Empathy-Based AI” project has been chosen as one of 33 finalists in the National Science Foundation’s 2026 Idea Machine competition. The entry from the cognitive sciences major, who just completed her freshman year, was one of 800 nationwide. If selected as one of the four winners, her “big idea” will help guide […]