News Archive

September 5, 2017 — The Fall 2017 exhibition in the Qualcomm Institute’s gallery@calit2 at UC San Diego, Speculative Dolphin Theatre, opens Oct. 5 and runs through Dec. 8. A public reception follows a panel with artist Lisa Korpos and cognitive scientist Christine Johnson.

August 15, 2017 — The University of California San Diego has been ranked the 15th best university in the world by the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). UC San Diego was also named the world’s third best public college. The campus was named the world’s fourth best public college and nationally, UC San Diego was recognized as the country’s 13th best university.

August 2, 2017 — The University of California San Diego Department of Literature ranks among the best in the nation for creative writing. Alumna Kaitlin Solimine’s (MFA, ’11) “Empire of Glass” demonstrates that excellence with its inclusion on The Center for Fiction's 2017 First Novel Prize long list. Her premier novel, which emerged from her MFA thesis, is an investigation into the workings of human memory and the veracity of oral history that pushes the boundaries between language and form in profound ways.

July 14, 2017 — UC San Diego researchers are using a Chancellor’s Interdisciplinary Collaboratories Fellowship to explore Augmented Reality. Department of Visual Arts Professor Sheldon Brown and M.F.A. candidate Jon Paden are partnering with scholars in the departments of Neuroscience, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and NanoEngineering on a project entitled, “Tromper soi-même: Fooling the senses with new techniques of combined visual and afferent Augmented Reality rendering of sight and touch.”

July 10, 2017 — Through an initiative called “KNIT,” the University of California San Diego’s Division of Arts and Humanities is crafting collaboration and community on campus — digitally. By offering online tools collectively referred to as a “digital commons,” KNIT will enable university faculty, students and staff to customize websites for courses; research projects or personal academic portfolios; create or join public and private discussion groups devoted to shared interests; and network with communities both on and off campus. In addition to the KNIT online resource, the division has launched a Digital Arts & Humanities website, featuring initiatives of the Institute of Arts & Humanities (IAH) and related projects and resources on campus.

June 29, 2017 — The University of California San Diego’s footprint is growing. This summer it extends to Canada’s Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity where Steven Schick looms large. The distinguished professor of music, Reed Family Presidential Chair holder, and music director and conductor of La Jolla Symphony and Chorus is serving as co-artistic director of Banff Centre’s 2017 Summer Classical Music Series. In the role, Schick, along with flautist Claire Chase, is creating programming under the theme of “Create, Refine, Amplify” that features a strong focus on chamber music plus new approaches to help develop classical musicians’ skills and careers. The program attracts hundreds of individual participants, established groups and renowned composers from around the world.

June 15, 2017 — The University of California San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance is among the best: Hollywood Reporter recently listed the acting program #5 in the world. Part of its reputation is due to its unique partnership with the world-renowned La Jolla Playhouse. The UC San Diego-La Jolla Playhouse partnership includes a theater and dance residency program that offers students the opportunity to gain practical experience in acting, directing, design and stage management that sets them up for professional success.

May 31, 2017 — The University of California San Diego takes the stage in many programs — its Department of Theatre and Dance easily commanding the spotlight. Ranked among the top five acting programs in the world by Hollywood Reporter, the department’s students graduate well-prepared for the theater profession. Cast with experience — due in part to a dynamic partnership with its acclaimed neighbor, La Jolla Playhouse — UC San Diego graduates consistently take the lead in television, film and stage careers. Proof positive are three recent Tony Award nominations earned by alumni Michael Greif (MFA directing, ’85), nominated for Best Direction of a Musical, “Dear Evan Hansen;” Jefferson Mays (MFA acting, ’91), nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, “Oslo;” and Paloma Young (MFA, costume design, ’06), nominated for Best Costume Design of a Musical, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”

May 26, 2017 — The diversity and talent of graduating University of California San Diego artists is currently highlighted in “A Step Away: Artists from the M.F.A. Program at UC San Diego,” an exhibition showing through May 29 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (MCASD).

May 22, 2017 — When World War II came to a close in 1945, the U.S. Government recruited a few leading German scientists, who it judged could contribute to America’s space and military programs. In addition, the rationale was that if the government hadn't done this, these top scientists, along with their scientific knowledge and military secrets, would have been swept up by the Soviet Union. Journalist Eric Lichtblau, uncovers a series of much more disconcerting findings in his 2014 book, The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men, which reveals that the U.S. allowed approximately 10,000 Nazis—some of whom were directly involved in heinous and genocidal acts—to immigrate and take up residence in the U.S.