Physical Sciences News

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Physics, and Mathematics

The Latest

UC San Diego and TSRI Launch New Consortium to Create ‘Virtual Cell’

Visible Molecular Cell Consortium will build bridges between disciplines and institutions to assemble and simulate a virtual model of a cell, down to an atomic level of detail.

Chemistry Professor Wins National Award

Seth Cohen, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Calfiornia, San Diego, has been chosen to receive a 2016 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award.

New Rankings Name UC San Diego 14th Best University in World

UC San Diego is ranked the 14th best university in the world for the third consecutive year, according to the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The rankings were recently released by the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a public research university located in Shanghai, China, renowned as one of the oldest and most prestigious and selective universities in China. In addition, UC San Diego’s programs in life sciences, engineering, computer science, chemistry, and economics are ranked among the top 20 in the world. Nationally, UC San Diego is listed as the 12th best university.

Astronomers Analyze the Atmosphere of a ‘Young Jupiter’ Exoplanet

The newly discovered planet orbits a nearby star a lot like our own, though brighter and much younger at just 20 million years old. And the planet is a gas giant, like Jupiter, but hotter and even younger than its star. Because the new planet and its star resemble an earlier version of part of our solar system, a closer look could help us understand how planetary systems like ours form.

NSF Gives Green Light to Pacific Research Platform

NSF has awarded Calit2, CITRIS and nearly 20 participating institutions a $5 million, 5-year grant to create the Pacific Research Platform to enable a science-driven data freeway system in the western U.S. with speeds 1,000 times faster that today's traffic between campuses.

Trapped Light Orbits Within an Intriguing Material

Light becomes trapped as it orbits within tiny granules of a crystalline material that has increasingly intrigued physicists, a team led by University of California, San Diego, physics professor Michael Fogler has found.