Dear Physical Sciences students, During this time of so much uncertainty, I’m writing to make sure that you know that each and every one of you is our top priority. While your professors and TAs can’t be with you face-to-face, all of us are alongside you on this new path of remote learning. Together, we are…
For almost as long as people have been drinking wine, they’ve been wondering about a curious phenomenon: the tears of wine. Andrea Bertozzi, UCLA professor of mathematics, and her research team have found a new way to explain why and how this happens. After wine is poured into a glass and swirled, a thin film…
An inaugural celebration of world-class research, leadership, mentorship, and teaching in UCLA’s Division of Physical Sciences. Award categories and recipients Excellence in Education Award Our students are the academic leaders of the future. This award recognizes a faculty member making a broad impact on classroom inclusivity and demonstrated learning excellence. Through their instruction, this faculty…
William Newman appointed to lead group on climate in the American Physical Society Dr. William Newman has been appointed as Vice Chairman of the American Physical Society’s (APS) Topical Group on the Physics of Climate (TGPC). A professor of earth, planetary, & space sciences, physics & astronomy, and mathematics, Newman will be promoted to Chair…
In today’s world, data is everywhere. The words big data and machine learning are tossed around with ease, but the basics of these computational skills aren’t a requirement in grade-level school. Not only that, but a major problem in grade-level school is losing students in the math system. To solve this problem, Rob Gould, professor…
Development of new statistical method likely to produce insights into human diseases Jingyi “Jessica” Li’s UCLA research group, the Junction of Statistics and Biology (JSB), developed a new statistical method, called AIDE, to recover full-length sequences of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules from data generated by the second-generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology, which in the last…
Collisions of galaxies are ubiquitous, reports research astronomer R. Michael Rich, whose new survey provides details on outskirts of galaxies Michael Rich, a UCLA research astronomer and adjunct professor of physics and astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, led an international team of astronomers that has completed the largest survey ever of the faint outskirts…
The phenomenon of superconductivity is one of the most fascinating properties of electrons in solids. At low temperatures, electrons cooperate so strongly that they are able to move around without dissipating energy — behavior which is a clear manifestation of the laws of quantum physics. Physicists understand a great deal about superconductivity, but many questions…
New process helps scientists understand how planets form How the planets in the Solar System formed has long puzzled astrophysicists and planetary scientists. Although it has been agreed that planets grew from coagulation of smaller-sized objects, the details in terms of how, when, and where such accretion processes took place are far from being fully…
This fall, four new Physical Sciences faculty members will be joining the team of curious pioneers that is the Physical Sciences Division. This includes faculty from physics, statistics, astronomy, and mathematics. The division is excited to welcome these four and had a chance to learn more about a few of them. Anshul Kogar Kogar will…