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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.

	Large Amounts of Oxygen Detected in Ancient Star’s Atmosphere An international team of astronomers from UC San Diego, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the University of Cambridge have detected large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere of one of the oldest and most elementally depleted stars known as “J0815+4729.”
	UC San Diego Cosmologists Ramp-Up Exploration of the Universe’s Origin, Evolution Distinguished Professor Brian Keating and his team begin integration and testing of an advanced cryogenic telescope receiver for the Simons Observatory cosmology experiment.
	New Cages to Trap Molecules Push Boundaries of Protein Design New research findings, published in Nature, by UC San Diego Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Akif Tezcan offer a protein architecture that pushes the boundaries of synthetic protein design past what is considered state-of-the-art.
	The Iron Ocean Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Vicki Grassian comments on understanding the environmental impacts of iron-rich dust and ash from natural sources like volcanoes and from manmade pollutants in an article published in Knowable Magazine.
	Materials Research Society Seeks Nominees for Materials Theory Award The Materials Research Society (MRS) calls for nominations for its Materials Theory Award, which recognizes exceptional advances made by materials theory to the fundamental understanding of the structure and behavior of materials. Professor Emeritus of Physics Lu Sham (at left) was the 2019 Materials Theory Award Recipient. The MRS will accept nominations between March 1 and April 1, 2020. Rules and eligibility, nomination package requirements and more are available here.
	Connecting to Student Success through Chemistry From almost not pursuing college education after high school to attending UC San Diego where she studies chemistry, undergraduate Sarah Schwab is considered a superstar in the lab.
	Now Showing: Medicinal Chemistry in 3D UC San Diego’s Seth Cohen and his research team, including colleagues at Germany’s Ruhr University Bochum led by Nils Metzler-Nolte, used a new type of metal-based molecular building block to serve as the basis for developing new therapeutic drugs. Their work is newly published in Chemical Science.
	San Diego Math Circle Widens at UC San Diego Science writer Melissa Miller joins Math Circle for a day to learn about this unique community of students and instructors united by challenge.
	Teaching Growth Mindset Adam Burgasser discusses how the struggles of marginalized students, mentees and peers in astronomy and physics can be amplified by negative, fixed mindsets. He also offers ways to address those mindsets in a recent Nature Astronomy publication titled, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion best practices and solutions.” Additionally, he co-authored a piece called, “Towards inclusive practices with indigenous knowledge.”
	Quenching Water Scarcity with a Good Pore Researchers from UC San Diego and MIT achieved impressive agreement between theory and experiment, shedding light on how water interacts with MOFs and moving closer to developing materials that address global water scarcity.
	Researchers ‘Handed’ $4M to Boot-Up Mirror Cell Synthesis With a new grant of $4 million from the National Science Foundation, UC San Diego’s Neal Devaraj and Yale University’s Farren Isaacs will work to design, construct and safely deploy mirror DNA, RNA, and proteins; predict the physiology of cells with mirror components and assess the risks and rewards of mirror life.
	Mystery of the Origins of Cosmic Rays Solved UC San Diego’s Richard Lingenfelter, a research physicist emeritus at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, confirms the source of the universe’s cosmic rays—the most energetic particles known.
	Three Physical Sciences Faculty Named Newest Hellman Fellows Half of the six 2019 – 2020 UC San Diego Hellman Fellowships in the sciences and engineering went to faculty members in the Division of Physical Sciences. The three new fellows are Elena Koslver, Tianyi Zheng and Alina Schimpf. Each represents one of the division’s three departments.
	Discovering the Magic Number of Earth Ice Molecules UC San Diego researchers lead international team in chemistry milestone
	Artificial Intelligence Tool Predicts Life Expectancy in Heart Failure Patients Algorithm developed by physicists and cardiologists achieved 88 percent success rate.
	Quantitative Biology Opens Trail to Ecological Exploration, Evolutionary Prediction Two studies reveal new insights about movement of bacterial populations.
	Two Postdoctoral Fellows Add Expertise, Diversity to Physics Department New UC President's Postdoctoral Fellows are welcomed into UC San Diego's Physics Department.
	Professor of Mathematics and Breakthrough Prize Winner James McKernan has been named a 2020 Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
	Chemistry at Play Kids of all ages performed experiments that engaged the five senses during National Chemistry Week.
	The Secrets of Ghost Particle Hunting Physics Professor George Fuller chases down mysterious neutrinos.
	Astronomers Catch Wind Rushing Out of Galaxy Researchers observe huge outflow of gas extending far beyond a galaxy for the first time.
	Riding the Third Wave of AI without Quantum Computing UC San Diego Theoretical Physicist Max Di Ventra is catching the next wave of cutting-edge AI with an alternative platform he calls “memcomputing,” which doesn’t require quantum capabilities.
	Outreaching Science Whether designing and building cutting edge technology, mentoring students or communicating the importance of science to the broader community, Nicholas Galitzki represents the next generation of astrophysicists.
	Making Noise to Heat Up Materials Science UC San Diego physicists ‘dope’ crystals to discover novel approach to annealing.
	Exploding Shells Boost Immune Response to Brain Cancer UC San Diego researchers combine ultrasound, hollow particles to produce promising results.
	Wired to Think UC San Diego leads study to advance knowledge of brain signaling with breakthrough sensors.
	Scientists Bask in Glow of Fluorescence Gathering The late Roger Tsien, Nobel Prize-winning UC San Diego chemist, will be celebrated at a symposium in his honor during annual science meeting.
	Like Film Editors and Archaeologists, Biochemists Piece Together Genome History Researchers uncover new evidence for the origin of RNA splicing within human genes.
	Paying it Forward New chemistry student creates science program for kids.
	Get to know 10 early-career theorists: Tongyan Lin Junior faculty in theoretical physics talk about what keeps them up at night, their favorite places to think and how they explain their jobs to nonscientists.
	UC San Diego PhySci at Comic-Con UC San Diego presents its own cast of characters at 2019 Comic-Con International: San Diego.
	UC San Diego Chemists Take Aim at Drug Predictions Targeting computational challenges in drug discovery results in new mode of protein structure analysis.
	Applying the Goldilocks Principle to DNA Structure Scientists consider the form that may be “just right” for scripting gene expression.
	Borrowing from Astronomy to Rob the Twinkle from Brain Imagery Neurophysicists make new recording of nerve signals by adapting tools of astronomers.
	Standing Out among Stand-Outs Sloan Scholar takes time to mentor next-generation scientists.
	The Glam Clan Group of UC San Diego science students confronts social isolation of elderly glamorously.
	Chemists Manipulate the Physics of Digital Devices Researchers lower voltage of electrical current to boost energy efficiency.
	Science Engineering Students Prepare for Careers in Industry UC San Diego hosts third annual Industry Interaction Day.
	A Rocket Man in His Own Right UC San Diego cosmology expert Brian Keating includes next-generation scientists in his orbit.
	Physical Sciences Represents in National Science Foundation Graduate Research Awards UC San Diego students in physics, chemistry, math are among more than 2,000 new fellows.
	Putting a Dent in Food Waste UC San Diego undergraduates receive Lemelson-MIT Prize for novel technology.
	Hardwiring computers for human-brain efficiency UC San Diego scientists work to create materials for neuromorphic computing.
	Supercomputer Simulations Show Black Holes and Their Magnetic Bubbles University of California and Princeton scientists collaborate on computational astrophysics project.
	Physics Professor Honored with Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award Graduate student also earns teaching award bringing department’s total to eight in six years.
	UC San Diego Announces Margaret Burbidge Visiting Professorship Heising-Simons Foundation helps boost participation of women scientists as part of new initiative in the Division of Physical Sciences.
	Scientists Observe Rare Decay Process in the Universe Kaixuan Ni’s group contributed to the study that directly measured nuclear decay a trillion times older than the universe for the first time.
	Alumna Writes Story Featured in NYT Magazine Physical sciences alumna Mallory Picket is a journalist in Los Angeles who writes about science, the environment and technology. Her recent article draws attention to marginalization, hostility in scientific institutions.
	Taking a Bite Out of the Flu The Department of Energy’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research’s ASCR Discovery ran an article in its April edition titled, “Biting back at the flu bug.” Professor Rommie Amaro in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is featured. Professor Andrew McCammon is referenced, too.

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