Outreach
The School of Physical Sciences is committed to advancing inclusive excellence by developing and participating in outreach opportunities that empower all students to pursue Physical Sciences pathways.
Adventures in Physics
Adventures in Physics is an annual public event that promotes interest in physics for all ages. The event includes a series of lessons depicting physics concepts through live experiments and demonstrations. After the demonstrations, a UC Irvine physicist will give a lecture on their research, and the event will conclude with a Q&A with current UCI students about life in college.
Chemistry Academy
The UC Irvine Chemistry Department’s Summer STEM Summit introduces K-12 students to some of the most relevant scientific topics of our time. The program offers a series of exciting and interactive sessions to explore topics from climate change to forensics science and cosmetic chemistry. Participants learn from experts and industry leaders in state-of-the-art chemistry laboratories at UCI.
Chem-SURF
The Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Chem-SURF) at the University of California, Irvine is a summer research opportunity for undergraduate students to gain valuable research experience in an academic setting. Participants engage in original research guided by faculty mentors at UCI’s state-of-the-art research facilities. Students will attend presentations, workshops, and seminars related to career planning, industry and applying to graduate school.
COSMOS
COSMOS (The California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science) is a four-week, in-residence program for talented high school students hosted by the University of California, Irvine. COSMOS students apply to a specific “cluster,” with each cluster addressing advanced topics in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, including a variety of engineering disciples, pharmaceutical sciences and computer science.
Furche High School Outreach Program (HSOP)
HSOP helps prepare students for a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career. The program is geared towards high school students who are unfamiliar with the academic environment and have few or no other opportunities to participate in research. High school students are introduced to a hands-on research experience in computational and theoretical chemistry. It combines computer science, physics, mathematics, and a whole lot of chemistry to solve scientific problems. The program is directed by Professor Furche and funded by the National Science Foundation.
LEAPS
The UC Irvine LEAPS (Laboratory Experiments and Activities in Physical Sciences) program offers local middle school students a “A Day at College” experience. The program aims to inspire younger students to pursue higher education in the physical sciences and provides them with an opportunity to interact with scientists in the field. Students spend time in active chemistry and physics research laboratories performing hands-on experiments that are supplemented with demonstrations from participating lab members.
Math CEO
UC Irvine Math CEO is a free mathematics enrichment program developed by faculty at UCI to serve local middle schools, while providing experiential learning for future mathematics teachers. Math CEO introduces kids to critical and mathematical thinking at a young age while providing a roadmap to college education in STEM and hope for a brighter future.
Math Circle
The UC Irvine Math Circle offers two weekly math enrichment sessions for high school and middle school students in the Orange County community every week. The main goal is to enhance the appreciation of mathematics, and teach interesting mathematics not covered in a typical school curriculum.
MATHCOUNTS
Mathcounts is a nationwide program designed to boost the mathematical competency of middle school students in the public school system. The program features a series of competitions with many rounds for teams and individuals at the regional, state, and national levels.
Orange County Regional Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is the premier STEM competition in the nation, providing standards-based challenges to K-12 students across all 50 states. UC Irvine hosts the Orange County Regional Science Olympiad for students in 6-12th grade. The one-day event hosts around 1,000 students from about 50 local schools. Winners at our regional event often go on to win at the state and national levels.
Rising Stargirls
Rising Stargirls is dedicated to encouraging girls of all colors and backgrounds to learn, explore, and discover the universe. The program does this by engaging girls in interactive astronomy workshops using theater, writing, and visual arts to address each girl as a whole. This provides an avenue for individual self-expression and personal exploration interwoven with scientific engagement and discovery.
SoCal Undergrad Research Symposium
UC Irvine SoCal Undergraduate Chemistry Symposium is a day of science where undergraduate students from around the state come together to discuss and hear the latest about chemistry and graduate programs with peers from UC Irvine and other research institutions.
STROBE
STROBE is an NSF Science and Technology Center coordinating six institutions across the US to build the microscopes of tomorrow. Their research includes visible, x-ray, nano-probe, and electron microscopy, and has applications across materials science, basic physics and chemistry, and biological systems. The Summer Undergraduate Research Scholars program offers current undergraduate students from any institution summer research opportunities at UC Irvine.
UCI Chemistry Outreach Program
The UCI Chemistry Outreach Program consists of teams of graduate and undergraduate students that visit local K–12 schools to perform science demonstrations and talk about chemistry. The program is done at no cost to the host schools and provides all materials. To arrange a visit to your classroom or to be a part of the program, please visit their website.