University of California, Riverside
A Catalyst for Excellence
Following a career in medicine as a clinician and educator, Dr. Esther Hays discovered a new passion after retiring with her pediatric surgeon husband Daniel to his hometown of Riverside, air pollution.
To advance this cause, she established the Esther and Daniel Hays Endowed Chair in Environmental Research shortly before her death in 2021 through an estate gift to recruit or retain preeminent scholars to conduct leading-edge research in the Center for Environmental Technology (CE-CERT) and profoundly enrich the educational experience of undergraduate and graduate students in the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE). Esther also established the Esther F. Hays Graduate Fellowship Scholarship at UCR to aid graduate students pursuing careers involving clean air initiatives and served as a board member assistant for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Esther and Daniel, who passed away in 2016, served on the U.C. Riverside Foundation Board of Trustees and supported UCR students, faculty, and research.
Distinguished Professor Matthew Barth was selected as the inaugural Hays chair holder in 2023. Barth joined the electrical and computer engineering faculty at UCR in 1991 and conducts research in sustainable transportation system solutions at CE-CERT.