UC San Diego School of Physical Sciences

Phil Low, Purdue drug discovery scholar and impactful innovator whose discoveries saved lives, dies at 78 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University drug discovery scholar and faculty member, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Philip Low, whose life’s work turned laboratory discoveries into therapies that…

Remembering Purdue Chemistry Distinguished Professor Philip Low. An innovative scholar, his research led to the development of life-saving cancer therapies. Low said "I believe that I have an obligation to do whatever I can to relieve pain and suffering.”

https://bit.ly/3N8SMez

New commentary from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains the importance of the latest research from UC San Diego physics professor David Kleinfeld's lab: "deciphering how cerebral blood flow is controlled is central to understanding healthy brain function." https://bit.ly/3NeYVWH

Researchers, incl. Kimberly Prather PhD, have found a direct link between polluted water and the air, potentially exposing entire communities to toxic gases and other pollutants, even if residents don’t come in direct contact with the water itself. https://bit.ly/4aYhg27 #AlwaysUCSanDiego

From Rett and Pitt-Hopkins to ALS: 5 Rare Diseases UC San Diego Researchers are Tackling in the Lab This Rare Disease Day (February 28, 2026), read on to learn more about five orphan conditions, the people they affect and the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute researchers fanning the flames of hope for patients around the globe.

.Sanford Stem Cell Institute UC San Diego is working to find cures for rare diseases, including #ALS and #RettSyndrome. Chemistry professor Alexis Komor's work in base editing is already healing sick children. https://bit.ly/4ufC2Dt #RareDiseaseDay #GeneTherapy

We asked scientists what they think we'll learn from the government's UFO files. Here's what they said. Documents might help scientists shed light on unexplained phenomena and government secrets, experts said.

The U.S. government may soon release a trove of files related to #UFOs and #ExtraterrestrialLife, which may excite the conspiracy theorists among us, but how do scientists feel? UC San Diego astrophysicist Shelley Wright gives her opinion to CBS. https://bit.ly/4qYYVIl

A molecule has its own unmistakable tone, but the voices of individual molecules are so faint that traditional infrared spectroscopy can't detect them. UC San Diego Professor Chemistry Shaowei Li has found a way to hear a single molecule sing, using an approach called IRiSTM. https://bit.ly/46RiTgP

💥Congratulations💥 to astronomy graduate students Devontae Baxter and Ilyse Clark on being named Bouchet Scholars! The Bouchet Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievements and promotes excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. https://bit.ly/4rVE3lY

💥Congrats💥 to the entire UC San Diego SMASH team. Last month they hosted the UCSD SMASH & NSF HDR ML Challenge Hackathon with student hackers working on challenges ranging from climate prediction to monkey motor neuron behavior. Several teams even made it into the top 10 on the global leaderboards!

Four UC San Diego Faculty Earn Prestigious 2026 Sloan Research Fellowships UC San Diego faculty members Valentina Di Santo, Fleur Ferguson, Mattia Serra and Hao Zhang have been named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows. The four scientists represent UC San Diego’s Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI), the School of Physical Sciences and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Congrats to UC San Diego's four newest Sloan Research Fellows, including Mattia Serra and Fleur Ferguson. The fellowships acknowledge researchers whose innovation and research accomplishments set them apart as the next generation of leaders. https://bit.ly/4rgWsK8 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Congratulations to Professor of Chemistry Joel Yuen-Zhou on being appointed the inaugural Kurt and Beatrice Shuler Chair in Theoretical Chemical Physics. Learn more about Joel in this Q&A: https://bit.ly/48kpIsL

#FacultySpotlight
#TheoreticalPhysics

Happy Valentine’s Day from UC San Diego School of Physical Sciences! 💘 Hope you find someone with the right chemistry.

#ValentinesDay
#ScienceHumor

CalTeach Program Director (Academic Coordinator II) University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!

UC San Diego’s CalTeach Program is hiring a Program Director. This 100% academic coordinator appointment will lead the CalTeach undergraduate program, which prepares STEM majors to become secondary math and science teachers. Apply today for full consideration: https://bit.ly/405ErCy

Happy Valentine’s Day from UC San Diego School of Physical Sciences! 💘 Wishing you a day full of positive energy and strong connections!

#ValentinesDay
#ScienceHumor
#PhysicsFun

Brain blood vessels are highly interconnected yet the way it regulates flow is not well-studied. To learn more, UCSD physics professor David Kleinfeld formulated a mathematical model to predict the impact of a change in a single vessel on the flow through the other vessels. https://bit.ly/4trYgl6

Happy Valentine’s Day from UC San Diego School of Physical Sciences! 💗 Our love for science—and for you—is truly irrational.

#ValentinesDay
#MathHumor
#ScienceValentine

The largest #GasGiants blur the line between planets and brown dwarfs. How do these large objects form? A team of researchers, led by the UC San Diego, used spectral data from #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope to find a surprising answer to this longstanding astronomical question. https://bit.ly/3Oe31OY

From Cytoplasm to Nucleus: a New Workflow to Improve Gene Therapy Odds Gene therapy holds the promise of curing disease; however, to be effective, the new gene must make it into a cell’s nucleus—a difficult task. UC San Diego Professor of Biochemistry Neal Devaraj’s lab has unveiled a new method that increases the efficacy of gene delivery while minimizing side effects

#GeneTherapy holds the promise of curing disease; however, to work, the new gene must make it into a cell’s nucleus—a difficult task. Neal Devaraj’s lab at UC San Diego has unveiled a method that increases the efficacy of gene delivery while minimizing side effects. https://bit.ly/4r8GkKU

Blueprints for Designing T Cells that Kill By mapping the varied states of our body's immune cells, UC San Diego researchers are working to empower the next generation of cancer immunotherapies.

A study led by UC San Diego researchers, incl. Wei Wang, have mapped the genetic programs that determine the behavior of powerful white blood cells, called CD8 killer T cells, which are critical for controlling infections and fighting cancer. Their work appears in Nature https://bit.ly/4tnQyZo

Congratulations to UC San Diego Professor of Physics Suckjoon Jun on being named a Pew Innovation Fund Investigator! 🎉

Join UC San Diego's School of Physical Sciences on Feb. 25 for a virtual coffee chat showcasing the breadth and depth of our chemistry department, from atmospheric chemistry and chemical biology to quantum science and materials chemistry--we do it all! Register today: https://bit.ly/3ZtBsUt

Plastic Pollution Promotes Hazardous Water Conditions, New Study Finds A new UC San Diego study reveals that fossil fuel-based plastic pollution may be promoting toxic water conditions by removing animals that keep water at safe levels. Biologically based plastics had a much smaller impact.

A new UC San Diego study reveals that fossil fuel-based #PlasticPollution may be promoting toxic water conditions by removing animals that keep waters safe. Bio-based plastics, like those made in Michale Burkart's lab, had a much smaller impact. https://bit.ly/49RFrjD #SustainableScience

Adventures in Superconductivity: A Conversation with Brian Maple UC San Diego Professor of Physics Brian Maple is an alumnus who has been with the university since the 1960s. In this Q&A, he discusses his work in condensed matter physics, his long tenure at UC San Diego, and a rager of a conference known as the “Woodstock of Physics.”

UC San Diego Professor of Physics Brian Maple is an alumnus who has been with the university since the 1960s. In this Q&A, he discusses his work in condensed matter physics, his long tenure at UC San Diego, and a rager of a conference known as the “Woodstock of Physics.” https://bit.ly/3ZzjH5U

The Heising-Simons Foundation Astronova Fellowship supports ✨astronomy instrumentalists✨ as they begin their careers through funding, professional development and networking. This year, UC San Diego is proud to be one of six host institutions. More about the fellowship here: https://bit.ly/49RGQpa

Congratulations to UC San Diego astronomy professor Adam Burgasser on being named a fellow of American Astronomical Society (AAS). Adam was recognized for his work on understanding the nature of brown dwarfs and for his extensive leadership roles in the astronomy community. https://bit.ly/3NmCjDy

💥Congrats💥 to postdoc Steffani Grondin, selected as the 2026 American Astronomical Society (AAS) Shapley Lecturer. The Shapley Lecture is a prestigious program that brings distinguished astronomers to schools and communities to inspire broader engagement with science. https://bit.ly/4qlNgnx

Congratulations to UC San Diego Professor of Physics Alex Fraño for being a part of the inaugural  Scialog: Quantum Matter and Information cohort! Alex's work will focus on Quantum Differential Spectroscopy: Mapping Entanglement in Solids. https://bit.ly/4qe1LcY

Join us for the NSF HDR & UCSD SMASH Hackathon January 17-18! Apply #MachineLearning to scientific benchmarks in data modeling. Refine your #DataScience skills, network with scientists and have fun! All experience levels welcome, registration is free ➡️ https://bit.ly/49BCO5b

Alexis Komor, Expanding the Gene Editing Toolbox - Advanced Science News Editing DNA may still sound like the stuff of science fiction but, for Alexis Komor, this is business as usual.

UC San Diego chemistry professor Alexis Komor is an Advanced Science Young Innovator awardee. Read about her work developing base-editing methods that are already curing patients and what the future of #Genomics looks like. https://bit.ly/4jofbjI #GeneEditing #MedicalInnovation

As we look ahead to the new scientific discoveries of 2026, we're taking time to look back at 2025 and all we accomplished to make the world a better place for all. https://bit.ly/3KH7RDf

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season.