Organized Research Units (ORUs) are campuswide research programs. Members come from more than one department and usually from more than one school, college, or division.
The American Indian Studies Center (AISC) serves as an educational and research catalyst. It includes a library, postdoctoral fellowship programs, a publishing unit that produces books and a quarterly journal, and a student/community relations unit. AISC is one of four ORUs overseen by the Institute of American Cultures (IAC).
The Asian American Studies Center (AASC) seeks to in-crease knowledge and understanding of the experiences of Asian and Pacific Islander peoples in America, and promotes the development of material resources related to Asian American studies. The center includes a library, publications unit, student/community projects unit, and postdoctoral fellowship programs. AASC is one of four ORUs overseen by the Institute of American Cultures (IAC).
The Brain Research Institute (BRI) has one of the largest programs for neuroscience research and education in the country, with approximately 300 scientists from nearly 30 departments involved in every aspect of neuroscience research from molecular organization to human behavior. The BRI offers facilities with new technologies for research and training; and sponsors affinity groups, conferences, and symposia to strengthen ties among neuroscientists. Public service activities include an elementary-and-secondary-school outreach program and a joint educational program with UCLA Extension.
The Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS) develops and coordinates teaching and research on Russia and the successor states of the former Soviet Union—and western European countries—through conferences, lectures, seminars, and academic exchange programs with European and Russian institutions. It also funds advanced instruction in languages such as Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, and Serbian/Croatian, and offers fellowships to graduate students in European area studies.
The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) supports the research activities of some 125 faculty members in 24 academic disciplines dealing with the development of civilization between A.D. 300 and 1650. Programs include appointing visiting professors, organizing conferences, and supporting departments in inviting lecturers. The center sponsors two journals: Viator, with emphasis on intercultural and interdisciplinary studies; and Comitatus, with articles by graduate students and recent PhD graduates.
The Center for Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Studies organizes scholarly programs and workshops, publishes conference results, provides long- and short-term fellowships to students and scholars, offers graduate research assistantships and master classes, and organizes public programs and classical music concerts.
The center administers the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, located in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, that specializes in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British works. The library also has a renowned collection centering on Oscar Wilde and his era, and significant holdings of modern fine printing and Western Americana.
The Center for the Study of Women (CSW) draws on the expertise of more than 200 faculty members from 10 professional schools and 34 departments. To facilitate faculty research, the center organizes conferences and lecture series on feminist theory, administers research grants, and offers an affiliation for research and visiting scholars. The center sponsors working groups; produces calendar-of-events posters; and hosts graduate programs and an annual graduate student research conference.
The Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) promotes the study and dissemination of knowledge about the experience of people of Mexican descent and other Latinos in the U.S. The center supports interdisciplinary and collaborative research and the analysis, understanding, and articulation of issues critical to the development of Chicano and Latino communities in the U.S. It seeks to establish and maintain relationships with communities with similar academic and research interests at the state, national, and international levels. The center also includes a library, academic press, and grant fellowship programs. CSRC is one of four ORUs overseen by the Institute of American Cultures (IAC).
The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology (CIoA) studies and seeks to understand the human past through artifacts, analysis of field data, and the creation of archives. The institute—the only one of its kind in the U.S.—coordinates facilities for more than 30 researchers, and many graduate students and volunteers, in 11 associated academic departments. Facilities include the Ceramics Research Group collections, Cotsen Digital Archive, Lithic Analysis Research Group collections, Moche Archive, Rock Art Archive, and many laboratories such as the Channel Islands Laboratory, East Asian Laboratory, Human Origins Laboratory, and Zooarchaeology Laboratory. It publishes the findings of scholars from UCLA and other archaeology centers and supplies a forum for the public presentation of archaeological discoveries and advances.
The Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging (CIMI) brings together physical, biomathematical, chemical, biological, and clinical scientists and students to merge the principles of imaging with those of molecular and cellular biology, genetics, and biochemistry. The imaging domains range from the molecular organization of viruses and cellular subunits to the biological processes of organ systems in the living human. A major focus is the development and use of imaging technologies to collect, analyze, and communicate biological data. The institute has research and educational programs for visiting scientists, postdoctoral scholars, and PhD graduate students that include the development of multimedia computer-based learning technologies.
The von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies (CNES) coordinates research and academic programs related to the Near East. It supports the degree program in African and Middle Eastern Studies. Center resources include the largest faculty, one of the most comprehensive library holdings, and the richest variety of Near and Middle Eastern studies courses of any institution in the Western Hemisphere. The center conducts publication, community outreach, and scholarly exchange programs.
The interdisciplinary research program of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) studies employment relationships including labor markets, labor law, labor and management relations, equal employment opportunity, occupational safety and health, and related issues. Its UCLA Labor Center offers social policy and employment relations programs to the public, unions, and management. The academic unit of the institute oversees the Labor Studies major and minor.
The Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) is a multicampus research unit of the University of California; the branch at UCLA researches climate dynamics, geophysics, geochemistry, space physics, biochemistry, and biology. Research topics include the nature of the Earth, moon, and other planetary bodies; global and regional environmental change; the origin of terrestrial life; dynamical properties of the sun and solar wind; and the nonlinear dynamics of complex systems. Facilities include analytical laboratories in geochemistry, meteoritics, glaciology, petrology, geochronology, archaeology, and the origins of life; laboratories for experiments in fluid dynamics and high-pressure physics; developmental laboratories for instrumentation in space physics and seismology; and computational laboratories for large-scale numerical modeling.
The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) supplies laboratories and clinical facilities for research and training in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Interdisciplinary activities range from anthropological studies to molecular aspects of inherited metabolic diseases.
The Coleman African Studies Center (ASC) coordinates research on and teaching about Africa in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as in the schools of Arts and Architecture; Education and Information Studies; Law; Medicine; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television. The center sponsors public lectures, seminars, publications, and academic exchanges with African institutions, and an outreach service to the Southern California community.
The Stein Eye Institute is one of the best-equipped centers for research and treatment of eye diseases in the world. This comprehensive facility is dedicated to the preservation of vision and prevention of blindness, the care of patients with eye disease, and education in the broad field of ophthalmology. Outpatient, inpatient, and surgical treatments are available.
The Doris Stein Eye Research Center houses clinical facilities as well as new research and training programs concentrating on major eye diseases worldwide.
The Edie and Lew Wasserman Eye Research Center houses outpatient surgery clinics; faculty offices; and refractive, oculoplastic, and cataract services.
The Latin American Institute (LAI) is a major regional, national, and international resource on Latin America and hemispheric issues. The institute sponsors and coordinates research, academic and public programs, and publications on Latin America in the humanities, social sciences, and professional schools; and links its programs and activities with developments in the field and in other institutional settings. By combining instruction, research, and service—and by encouraging multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches—the institute promotes the use of UCLA Latin American resources for the benefit of the campus, the broader community, and the public at large.
The Molecular Biology Institute (MBI) promotes molecular biology research and teaching at UCLA, with emphasis on genomics, proteomics, and chemical biology. The institute houses the laboratories of 200 faculty members from 30 UCLA departments and the Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, as well as the administration of the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental PhD Program and the Graduate Programs in Bioscience consortium.
The Plasma Science and Technology Institute (PSTI) is dedicated to research of plasma physics, fusion energy, and the application of plasmas in other disciplines. Students, professional research staff, and faculty members study basic laboratory plasmas, plasma-fusion confinement experiments, fusion engineering and nuclear technology, computer simulations and the theory of plasmas, space plasma physics and experimental simulation of space plasma phenomena, advanced plasma diagnostic development, and laser-plasma interactions. They also study the use of plasma in applications ranging from particle accelerators to the processing of materials and surfaces used in microelectronics or coatings.
The Bunche Center for African American Studies (CAAS) conducts and sponsors research on the African American experience, supports the African American studies curriculum, publishes research results, and sponsors community service programming. CAAS is one of four ORUs overseen by the Institute of American Cultures (IAC).
The UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, funded though a Department of Energy (DOE) contract, conducts research in bioenergy, carbon capture, microbial genomics, and structural and functional studies of organisms and their constituents. Institute faculty members have joint appointments in academic departments and teach at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Major facilities include a biomedical cyclotron; advanced scanning equipment; and macromolecular crystallization, nuclear magnetic resonance, protein expression, and X-ray crystallography facilities.
