UC San Diego School of Physical Sciences

Congratulations to Leonid Butov and Wei Xiong on being named fellows of the American Physical Society! 🎉

Congratulations to Haiwang Yong for receiving the Early Career Research Program Award from the Department of Energy! 🎉

Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the prestigious Revelle Medal -- including Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Ed Dennis -- the highest honor awarded by UC San Diego to recognize faculty members for sustained, distinguished and extraordinary service to the campus. https://bit.ly/4hqql6z

There's no place like homecoming 🏀
Celebrate all that makes UC San Diego bold, curious and full of Triton pride. From Division I athletics — including men's and women's hoops — to dynamic campus experiences and moments of discovery, the lineup is packed with excitement. https://homecoming.ucsd.edu/

Natalie is a grad student in Alexis Komor's lab working to make diagnoses for heart disease and cancer easier. Without funding from the NIH, her research would not be possible. #BehindEveryBreakthrough #FundScience

Progress and Pressure: Taking Stock of the CRISPR Landscape Despite setbacks and funding cuts — and a quieting of the hype blaring its arrival — multiple CRISPR-based trials are underway, and life-saving treatments have been developed.

Different types of gene-editing hold the promise of personalized treatment for often fatal genetic disorders. Base-editing was developed by UC San Diego chemistry professor Alexis Komor and is already being used by doctors. https://bit.ly/3W7po9H

The Many FACES of Lipid Research Scientists have long wanted to get a closer look at the movement of lipids around a cell, but it’s tough to visualize with traditional light microscopy. UC San Diego researchers have unveiled a new technology with the power to see cells in unprecedented detail.

Researchers in Itay Budin's lab, incl. William Moore, have created a tool with the power to see lipid movement inside cells in unprecedented detail. The tool uses fluorogens to illuminate certain lipids while other remain dark. Their work appears in Nature Chemical Biology. https://bit.ly/4hnDFZG

⭐Congratulations⭐ to atmospheric chemist Kimberly Prather PhD for receiving the prestigious 2025 Susanne V. Hering Award from the American Association for Aerosol Research. She was awarded for her outstanding contributions to aerosol science, helping us all breathe cleaner, healthier air.

Zack is a grad student in Alexis Komor's lab working to understand how gene point mutations affect genetic diseases like #SickleCellAnemia. Without funding from the NIH, his research would not be possible. #BehindEveryBreakthrough #FundScience

UC wins 5 Nobel Prizes in 3 days — and sets a new world record These discoveries span decades and disciplines, but they all have one important thing in common: They’ve all relied on competitive funding from the federal government.

From immunotherapy to cleaner water to quantum computing, the University of California continues to do the research that matters most. None of it would be possible without funding from the federal government. https://bit.ly/4olPSjS #NobelPrize2025 #Fund Science

Inside UC San Diego’s Out-of-This-World Impact Explore 13 ways our research is extending past Earth’s atmosphere, from astronaut firsts to breakthroughs in orbit and discoveries across the cosmos.

Nothing captures the human imagination quite like space and our alumni and researchers are exploring its farthest reaches and unlocking new discoveries every day. https://bit.ly/471prZu

Advancing Quantum Photonic Technologies UC San Diego researchers show that light-matter hybrids, known as polaritons, not only behave optically, but also quantumly.

UC San Diego Professor of Chemistry Joel Yuen-Zhou's lab has shown that light-matter hybrids, AKA polaritons, not only behave optically, but also quantumly, opening new directions for precision sensing, and quantum photonic technologies. Their work appears in Optica https://bit.ly/4mTqmB5

UC San Diego alum Fred Ramsdell was hiking in the Rockies when the announcement came out that he'd won the 🏅Nobel Prize in Medicine. When he heard his wife screaming, he thought she was being attacked by a bear🧸 Congrats to Fred! https://bit.ly/3KFhzWb

Mallory is a postdoc in Alexis Komor's lab. She brings gene editing to high schools, showing them what a future in science looks like. Without funding from the NSF, this outreach would not be possible. #BehindEveryBreakthrough

China launches ambitious collaboration to map primate brains—including ours 25-year plan will tap brain-mapping prowess in two dozen countries to visualize the organ in unprecedented detail

A project as ambitious as mapping an entire brain requires collaboration from researchers around the world, including UC San Diego physics professor David Kleinfeld. More about the International Consortium for Primate Brain Mapping in this article from Science: https://bit.ly/4pKsr54

Phosphine has been detected in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn and was thought to be in brown dwarf atmospheres too. Yet it's been virtually undetectable...until now. What does this tell us about the universe?

Kara is a graduate student in Alexis Komor's lab where she studies how gene editing can help cure diseases like Huntington's disease and cystic fibrosis. Without funding from the NSF, Kara wouldn't be able to do her life-saving research. #BehindEveryBreakthrough

Detection of Phosphine in a Brown Dwarf Atmosphere Raises More Questions Phosphine has been found in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, and has been recognized as a possible biosignature for anaerobic life. Now a team of researchers, led by UC San Diego, has reported the detection of phosphine in the atmosphere of a cool, ancient brown dwarf Wolf 1130C.

Phosphine is a toxic gas found in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. It has been recognized as a possible biosignature for anaerobic life. Now a team of researchers, led by UC San Diego's Adam Burgasser, has reported the detection of phosphine on an ancient #BrownDwarf. https://bit.ly/4o5LyoJ

UC San Diego Chemists Form Lifelong Bonds Three chemistry professors - Seth Cohen, Joshua Figueroa and Akif Tezcan - all started their careers at UC San Diego. Twenty years on, they have – yes, we have to say it – a unique chemistry in and o...

Three chemistry professors - Seth Cohen, Joshua Figueroa and Akif Tezcan - all started their careers at UC San Diego. Twenty years on, they have – yes, we have to say it – a unique chemistry. Learn more about their friendship in and out of the lab in this Q&A. bit.ly/46AvKmI

💥Congratulations💥 to @kprather.bsky.social for receiving the Women in Chemistry Trailblazer Award by the Women Chemists Committee of the San Diego Local Section of @acs.org.

💥Congratulations💥 to Alexis Komor on receiving the Young Innovator Award from Advanced Science. Alexis's base editing work is already being used to heal patients with genetic disorders.

NSF and UKRI launch $10M quantum chemistry collaborative research effort The U.S. National Science Foundation and United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) are investing in eight joint research projects that could open the door to breakthroughs in quantum computing...

Congratulations to UC San Diego Professor of Chemistry Joel Yuen-Zhou on being a part of the NSF's quantum chemistry collaborative research effort. Joel's group will develop nanophotonic platforms to probe quantum spin states in individual organic molecules at room temperature. bit.ly/421N8zr

Joel Yuen-Zhou Thinks Theory is Fun UC San Diego chemistry professor Joel Yuen-Zhou doesn’t fit neatly into a box and neither does his work. He was born and raised in Mexico City to Chinese immigrants. As a theoretical physical chemist,...

Joel Yuen-Zhou doesn’t fit neatly into a box and neither does his work. Raised in Mexico to Chinese immigrants, he's a theoretical chemist who uses physics, math and chemistry to manipulate photons. Here he talks about his upbringing, his career and his quest for beautiful stories. bit.ly/48kpIsL

The Association for Women in Science San Diego chapter is hosting an open house on Sept 23 at HERA Hub Sorrento Valley! This is a great opportunity to learn more about AWIS-SD and network with fellow STEM professionals. Free and open to all. Food and drinks provided. Register ➡️ bit.ly/4ntuUzz

Congrats to chemistry prof Stacey Brydges on receiving the Women in Chemistry Trailblazer Award by the Women Chemists Committee of the San Diego Local Section of @acs.org. This honor recognizes outstanding contributions by female chemists in the San Diego area. Way to go, Stacey!

12 foods you couldn’t live without — brought to you by the University of California Across university farms and labs, and in partnership with growers and ranchers around the state, research from the University of California is at the root of the nation’s abundance.

It's not all nanoengineering and astrophysics a the University of California. UC is also responsible for the food that shows up on your kitchen table. bit.ly/4msqrMc

Turbulence With a Twist Turbulence is notoriously difficult to forecast. UC San Diego researchers have predicted that if a pipe is sufficiently curved, the transition can become discontinuous, with the turbulent fraction und...

Turbulence is everywhere, yet much about it is unknown. Now UC San Diego researchers Guru K. Jayasingh and @nigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social have published new work about how turbulence behaves around a curved pipe. bit.ly/4mwj1HP

New GEPA Dean Has Deep UC San Diego Roots UC San Diego Today sat down with new Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) Dean Judy Kim, a 20-year Triton, to learn more about her vision for GEPA, her goals for the division...

Associate Professor of Chemistry Judy Kim as been appointed the permanent dean of graduate education. Learn more about her, her work as a biochemist and how GEPA supports our graduate students. bit.ly/41R9fIJ

@kprather.bsky.social was recognized for her research for "establishing for the first time a direct connection between polluted river water and poor air quality across San Diego County." Congrats, Kim. We are grateful for the work you and your team do!

‘We’re Not a Line Item’—A Patient’s Plea to Protect Research Funding Kimberly Peters, who is currently being treated for cancer at UC San Diego Health, has one message for leaders in government: Don't cut science funding.

A powerful plea to protect research funding. Kim Peters not only works at UC San Diego, she's also a patient. bit.ly/4puQo0i #FundScience