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The Division of Physical Sciences is committed to sharing information about its administration, academics, outreach and research—from people to their changemaking activities—with a full-service news and multimedia team. From writing stories and media training, to coordinating press interviews and posting social media news, we cover the physical sciences around the clock, year-round.

	A Chapter of Renewal Student Success Center coalesces efforts to resurrect underrepresented STEM student group.
	Making Heads or Tails Out of Phospholipid Synthesis Breakthrough research adds to the understanding of creating lipids in artificial cells and of the origins and evolution of cellular membranes.
	Nobel Laureate, Pioneer in Atmospheric Chemistry Mario Molina Dies Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awardee and Distinguished Professor Mario Molina will be remembered for dedicating his life to research and working to protect our environment.
	Experiments Confirm Sugary Shield Acts to Disguise SARS-CoV-2’s Spike New results from research led by Computational Chemist and Biophysicist Rommie Amaro allow drug developers to understand areas of the spike most vulnerable to vaccines.
	Ambitious Project to Understand Cellular Evolution Underway Project focuses on lipids (fat molecules) as the starting point to understand the evolution of eukaryotic cells, carrying implications for human health and disease.
	Astronomers Take a Closer Look at the Centers of Galaxies New study reveals a diverse range of types and locations of clouds across various active galactic nuclei and their host galaxies.
	How big money is powering a massive hunt for alien intelligence Physics Professor Shelley Wright contributes a feature photo and details about the Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical SETI (PANOSETI), an all-sky telescope able to detect ultrashort laser pulses across all optical wavelengths, in this Science Magazine article.
	Sleuthing Their Way to Discovery with a New Microscope Chemists Wei Xiong and Haoyuan Wang hunt down tiny molecules that aren’t easy to see, which is why they developed an instrument that magnifies the molecular clarity of hydrogen-bond interactions to boost biomimetics.
	UC San Diego Mathematics Alumnus Gives $100,000 Richard Libby ('80, BA; '82, MA; PhD, UC Santa Cruz, ’90) tallied a lot of zeroes for the benefit of the university’s Department of Mathematics and the Rady School of Management. His enthusiasm for applying mathematics to business finance, particularly market risk assessment, is demonstrated through his gift of $100,000 in support of graduate studies and research. Libby also agreed to additional support of the math department’s most critical needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
	Machine Learning Helps Plasma Physics Researchers Understand Turbulence Transport Professor of Physics Patrick Diamond has been advancing fundamental concepts in plasma physics for more than four decades. He recently worked with graduate student Robin Heinonen on a model reduction study that used the Comet supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center to reveal new insights that could advance fusion energy use.
	Uncontrolled ‘cAMP’ Helps Spark Rare Liver Cancer UC San Diego researchers engineered fluorescent tools that combine the gene editing technique CRISPR and biosensor technologies to look inside cells in a whole new way. Their findings show that a major protein that binds to the signaling molecule cAMP can form membraneless organelles in human cells.
	Virtually Helping Students Succeed Rapid response times help when it comes to managing a crisis—the coronavirus pandemic is proof of that. To respond quickly and nimbly requires strategy, planning and implementation. Adaptability helps, too. These are approaches practiced by the Division of Physical Sciences’ new Student Success Center in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
	Astrophysicists Locate 100 New Sunny Neighbors with Citizens’ Help A new discovery by a Backyard Worlds team of citizen scientists and international astrophysicists, including researchers from UC San Diego, shows that about 100 cool brown dwarfs, never before observed, are in residence in the solar community.
	Diamonds, Pencils Inspire Scientists to Create Multipurpose Protein Tool Findings from a group of researchers, including a UC San Diego team, show how it’s possible to create a protein “multitool.” Their results provide a deeper understanding of how society can develop new materials with unique properties to solve real-world problems.
	How Do You Solve a Moon Mystery? Fire a Laser at It Researchers have used reflective prisms left on the moon’s surface for decades, but they’ve seen problems with their effectiveness. Professor of Physics and Associate Director of CASS Thomas Murphy contributes insights.
	Chemist Helps Bridge Underrepresented Minority Gap in Science Brian Leigh, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, recently received the American Chemistry Society Bridge Program (ACS-BP) Award, making UC San Diego one of six bridge sites for underrepresented minorities in the nation.
	Walking the Walk of Change Professor Stacey Brydges is named as the first vice chair of equity, diversity, inclusion and climate (VC-EDIC) in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
	Ammonium Nitrate: What Is It and Where Is It Stored in San Diego County? Chemistry Professor Brian Leigh provides information about ammonium nitrate to NBC7 Reporter Alexis Rivas.

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