News from the Physical Sciences
Kamen Prize for Andro Rios
Andro Rios is one of two winners of this year's Kamen Prize for an outstanding dissertation in biochemistry at UC San Diego. The prize, $1500 and an invitation to give a lecture next year, honors Martin Kamen, co-discoverer of carbon 14, who was a chemistry professor here. Rio's thesis addresses how selection pressure influenced the evolution of nucleic acids in the transition from an RNA world to lifeforms that use DNA for their genetic code.
Mathematics of social divisions
Differences divide us. Human society fractures along lines defined by politics, religion, ethnicity, and perhaps most fundamentally, language. Although these differences contribute to the great variety of human lives, the partitions they create can lead to conflict and strife, impeding efforts toward social justice and economic development.
David Meyer, professor of mathematics, has been developing new ways of understanding how characteristics like ethnicity and religion coincide to define communities and ultimately influence our actions. Read more.
More news from the physical sciences
Presidential Medal of Freedom for Sally Ride
First American woman in space, role model to generations of young women, Sally Ride, was a professor of physics at UC San Diego.
Hellman Fellows announced
Carlos Guerrero, chemistry and biochemistry, and Dusan Keres, physics, are among the recipients of this year's fellowships, which provide support to faculty working toward tenure.