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Mayer Hall recognized as the birthplace of density functional theory Is there magic in the walls of Mayer Hall? This is the question Oleg Shpyrko, chair of the Department of Physics at the University of California San Diego, asked the audience gathered in the auditorium for a daylong series of events to celebrate the building’s designation as a historical site by the American Physical Society (APS). Mayer Hall, after all, was named after famed theoretical physicist Maria Goeppert Mayer—...

Honoring a UC San Diego Landmark and Its Lasting Impact on Physics

University of California San Diego Professor of Physics Olga Dudko has been named a 2022 Simons Investigator, one of the most prestigious awards for a theoretical research scientist. Dudko, who was among 16 researchers worldwide to be awarded, is a theoretical physicist whose work seeks to establish unifying physical principles in biology. Simons Investigators are supported by the Simons Foundation, whose mission is to advance the frontiers...

Olga Dudko Receives Prestigious Simons Investigator Award

Natalie Lam, a UCSD undergraduate majoring in Physics with a specialization in Astrophysics, has been named as a recipient of the 2022 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory / Society of Physics Students (LLNL/SPS) Scholarship. Natalie has been active in the leadership of the UC San Diego chapter of SPS and is the current chapter president. UC San Diego SPS is a member of National SPS (https://www.spsnational.org).

Physics Undergraduate Natalie Lam awarded LLNL/SPS Scholarship

UC San Diego Associate Professor of Physics Shelley Wright will receive the 2022 Drake Award from the SETI Institute. Wright will be recognized for her decades-long work in the field of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Wright is the principal investigator of UC San Diego’s Optical and Infrared Laboratory (OIRlab) in the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences. The OIRlab uses optical and infrared astronomical ins...

Shelley Wright Named 2022 SETI Institute Drake Award Recipient

Date: Friday & Saturday, April 22-23, 2022 Location: University of San Diego - Shiley Center for Science and Technology Registration is $10, and covers meals on Friday and Saturday, you can pay when you register or at the meeting.

Society of Physics Students - Zone 18 Meeting - April 22-23, 2022 @ USD

If you touch a hot pan, your hand may instantly recoil. This action happens automatically thanks to synapses, which not only help your body sense that the pan is hot, but also send a signal to your hand to pull away. Synapses are the structures through which neurons speak to each other and help govern many physiological functions—including the ability to process and store memories. Synapses from different biological systems vary greatly in size, speed of signal transmission, and molecular constituents. Despite these variation...

Bridging a Gap in the Theory of Synaptic Transmission

UCSD Physics professors Mischa Fogler and Dusan Keres are among the world’s most influential researchers in their fields according to the 2021 Clarivate listing of Most Highly Cited Researchers in the World. Clarivate’s 2021 list identifies some 6600 researchers from across the globe who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. UC San Diego ranked 9th globally for most highly cited resear...

UCSD Physics Professors Fogler and Keres among the world’s most influential researchers

Earlier this year physics grad student Yu-Hsuan “Eltha” Teng was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the government of Taiwan. It is called the "Government Scholarship to Study Abroad" (GSSA) and is an honor given to only a small number of Taiwanese students pursuing PhD degrees outside of Taiwan. The scholarship comes from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan. Eltha's current research with Prof. Karin Sandstrom is focused on the molecular gas and star formation in nearby galaxy centers. Stars...

Physics Graduate Student Yu-Hsuan “Eltha” Teng Awarded Prestigious Scholarship From The Government of Taiwan

Megan Grace Li is a 2021 Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduate. She will graduate UCSD this Winter with a B.S. in Physics with a Specialization in Astrophysics. At UCSD, she researches the morphology of nearby galaxies under Dr. Karin Sandstrom. Megan also does exoplanet research with Breakthrough Listen at the Berkeley SETI Research Center. In May of 2020, Megan founded Big Sister STEM (

UCSD Physics Undergraduate Megan Grace Li 2021 Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduate

Neuroscientists show that mice can learn to manipulate random dopamine impulses for reward From the thrill of hearing an ice cream truck approaching to the spikes of pleasure while sipping a fine wine, the neurological messenger known as dopamine has been popularly described as the brain’s “feel good” chemical related to reward and pleasure. A ubiquitous neurotransmitter that ca...

‘Feel Good’ Brain Messenger Can Be Willfully Controlled, New Study Reveals