News
12/12/2007
Lei Wang joins our biochemistry division in the fall of 2007. He also holds appointments at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and in the UCSD Division of Biological Sciences. Dr. Wang earned his Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry in 2002 from the University of California, Berkeley.
12/03/2007
Organic chemistry for the YouTube generation
Organic chemistry for the YouTube generation
11/13/2007
UCSD fifth in nation for federal R&D support for chemistry
Academic R&D spending trends reported in C&E News shows that in 2005, UCSD moved from 11th to 6th in the nation for federally supported chemistry R&D. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/pdf/8545sci1.pdf
10/30/2007
The department mourns the passing of Adjunct Professor Leslie Orgel.
Esteemed colleague and friend Dr. Leslie Orgel passed away on Saturday, October 27th, from pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old. He was a member of the Salk Institute and of this department since 1964. A memorial service was held on December 6, 2007 in the Salk Institute auditorium.
10/12/2007
2007 Nobel Peace Prize, IPCC and Al Gore
As members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), several UCSD/SIO professors shared, with former Vice President Al Gore, the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007. Included in the honor is our own Nobel laureate Mario J. Molina (Chemistry, 1995), and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Professors Talley, Ramanathan, Severinghaus and Somerville.
08/25/2007
The department mourns the passing of Stanley L. Miller, father of 'Origin of Life' chemistry
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the University of California, San Diego, have been deeply saddened by the loss of one of our founding members, <p><b>Professor Emeritus Stanley L. Miller</b><p> Professor Miller died on May 20th, 2007 after a long illness. His obituary has been posted online at: <a href="http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/05-07OriginofLifeKM-.asp">http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/05-07OriginofLifeKM-.asp</a> <p>Photos from the Stanley L. Miller Memorial Tribute held Saturday, October 20th are available online. <a href="http://www-chem.ucsd.edu/administration/StanleyMillerMemorial/index.html">Click here.</a><p>
08/16/2007
New approach to control of quantum systems developed by Peter Wolynes and Martin Gruebele (UIUC)
Distinguished UCSD Professor Peter Guy Wolynes, along with Martin Gruebele (William H. and Janet Lycan Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) have developed a quantum mechanical analog of Ulam's conjecture. Using technology similar to that used to steer spacecraft around the solar system, the new model allows energy-efficient guidance of molecular exploration.
08/10/2007
Leor Weinberger joins our biochemistry division in the fall of 2007. He is currently a Lewis Thomas Fellow at Princeton University. Dr. Weinberger earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics and Computational Biology in 2004 from the University of California, Berkeley.
07/31/2007
Joshua S. Figueroa has been selected to receive the 2007 Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award
Professor Joshua S. Figueroa has been selected by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation to receive a 2007 New Faculty Award. The award provides an unrestricted research grant of $50,000 that is generally made before the new faculty members formally begin their first tenure-track appointment. Recommendations for awards are based on evidence that the nominee has the potential to produce an independent body of scientific scholarship of outstanding quality and will make significant contributions to overall education in the chemical sciences. Nominations are reviewed by distinguished faculty in the field of chemistry.
07/19/2007
Peter Wolynes has been chosen to receive the Founders Award from the Biophysical Society
Professor Peter Wolynes has been chosen to receive the Founders Award from the Biophysical Society for "exceptional, intellectual contributions in advancing biophysical theory and physical sciences." The award was established in 1986, to honor outstanding achievement in any area of biophysics. One test of significance is the acceptance and use of the advance by others in the field. A list of past honorees is available online at <a href="http://www.biophysics.org/opportunities/bpsawards.htm#founders">http://www.biophysics.org/opportunities/bpsawards.htm#founders</a>
06/21/2007
Amanda Lewis has been awarded the 2006-2007 Martin D. Kamen Prize
Dr. Amanda Lewis has been awarded the 2006-2007 Martin D. Kamen Prize for her thesis, "Discovery, Characterization and Pathologic Relevance of Sialic Acid O-Acetylation in Group B Streptococcus." The Kamen Prize is awarded each year for the best thesis in Chemistry and Biology. The winner will receive a monetary prize and will give a seminar on her research. Congratulations, Amanda!
05/31/2007
Ulrich Muller joins our biochemistry division in the fall of 2006. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Müller received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Technology in Darmstadt, Germany.
05/31/2007
Pieter Dorrestein joins our biochemistry division in the fall of 2006. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Dorestein earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Biology in 2004 from Cornell University.
05/31/2007
Mike Tauber joins our physical chemistry division in the fall of 2006. From 2003 to 2006 he was a Research Associate in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. Dr. Tauber obtained his B.A in Physics and Chemistry from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry with Professor Richard Mathies from the University of California, Berkeley.
05/31/2007
John Czworkwoski joins our chemistry education division in the fall of 2006. From 1998 until recently, he was a Science Editor and Senior Scientist with ScienceMedia. He also served as Adjunct Professor at Miramar College. Dr. Czworkowski earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, in 1991.
05/31/2007
Arthur B. Ellis, Vice Chancellor for Research, joins our inorganic division in the fall of 2006. Professor Ellis comes to us from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Meloche-Bascom Professor, and the National Science Foundation, where he was Director of the Division of Chemistry. He received his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
05/22/2007
Mario Molina elected to the American Philosophical Society
Professor Mario J. Molina was elected to the American Philosophical Society, which honors extraordinary accomplishments in all fields. Information about the Society is available online at http://www.amphilsoc.org/about/ Professor Molina holds joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCSD, and in the Graduate Department and the Center for Atmospheric Sciences of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
05/18/2007
Peter Wolynes elected Foreign Member of The Royal Society
Congratulations to Francis H. Crick Professor, Peter Wolynes, who has been elected as a Foreign Member of The Royal Society of the United Kingdom. Other Fellows and Foreign Members include Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein, Dorothy Hodgkin, Francis Crick, James Watson and Stephen Hawking. Information and the announcement are given at this website.
05/18/2007
Joshua Figueroa joins our inorganic division in the fall of 2007. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. Dr. Figueroa earned his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry in 2005 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
05/18/2007
Hector Viadiu joins our biochemistry division in the winter of 2007, after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Viadiu-Ilarraza earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics in 2000 from Columbia University.
05/09/2007
Robert "Skip" Pomeroy joins our chemical education division in the fall of 2007. He is currently an associate professor at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Pomeroy earned his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 1992 from the University of Arizona.
05/09/2007
Prof. Kim Prather's Interview on Local TV/Radio Stations
oin UCSD's Kim Prather to find out about the latest developments in research under way at UCSD to help clean up the air in California.
05/09/2007
A new halide addition reaction represents a previously unrecognized way by which halides can be incorporated into biomolecules. The reaction was discovered by chemistry professors Charles L. Perrin and Joseph M. O'Connor and graduate student Betsy L. Rodgers at the University of California, San Diego.
05/04/2007
Professor Terunaga Nakagawa Named Hellman Fellow
Congratulations to Professor Terunaga Nakagawa who has been selected as a 2007-2008 Hellman Fellow.
05/04/2007
Professor Peter Wolynes has been elected to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
Professor Peter Wolynes has been elected to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He will be a member of the Theoretical Physics subdivision. Founded in 1652, it is the world's oldest academy still in existence. Its current mission is to promote science in interdisciplinary deliberations of scientific insights and their dissemination.
05/01/2007
Molecular Link between Inflammation and Cancer Discovered
A team led by biochemists at the University of California, San Diego has found what could be a long-elusive mechanism through which inflammation can promote cancer. The findings may provide a new approach for developing
04/30/2007
Chemistry of Volcanic Fallout Reveals Secrets of Past Eruptions
A team of American and French scientists has developed a method to determine the influence of past volcanic eruptions on climate and the chemistry of the upper atmosphere, and significantly reduce uncertainty in models of future climate change