Founded in 1958, The ARCS Foundation seeks to further advance science and technology in the United States by providing assistance to exceptional U.S. citizens studying to complete degrees in STEM fields. The UC Irvine ARCS Scholar Award is intended to provide additional financial support for exceptional graduate students. On January 14th, Dean LaFerla, along with deans from the School of Physical Sciences, the Samueli School of Engineering, the School of Medicine, and the Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, came together to recognize this year’s recipients of the ARCS Scholar Award.
The event began with a welcome from Professor Ken Janda, dean of Physical Sciences, and Chandra Jain, ARCS Orange County president. They spoke of the importance of science and technology education, and the role that both ARCS and UCI can play in advancing STEM education. Following the introductions, each dean was allowed time to personally recognize the awardees from their school. From the Biological Sciences School, three graduate students were awarded an ARCS scholar award. Allison Najafi, a first year scholar from the department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Zachariah Reagh, a second year scholar from the department of Neurobiology and Behavior, and Nan Wu Hultgren, a first year scholar from the department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.