On September 27, 2024, members of the department gathered to celebrate the recent promotions of Professors Keriann Backus, Prineha Narang, Ellen Sletten, and Department Chair Alex Spokoyny. Research group members of each faculty member joined the celebration to honor their advisors. We congratulated Spokoyny, who was promoted to full professor, effective July 1, 2024. Spokoyny […]

The department welcomes talented biochemist Dr. Stefan Petrovic, who will join the UCLA faculty as an Assistant Professor on November 1, 2024. Petrovic received a B.S. degree in cell biology and biochemistry from Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA). Afterwards, he received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA), […]

The QUASH event, led by UCLA faculty and CNSI members, explored the potential of quantum sensing to address climate change and public health challenges. From the California NanoSystems Institute News (By Nicole Wilkins): The limits of the laws of physics were explored at a special discussion on quantum sensing and the potential utility of these […]

Prineha Narang, UCLA professor of physical sciences, and computer engineering, has been honored as an American Physical Society Fellow. The APS Fellowship recognizes members for outstanding efforts to advance the field of physics. The APS’ number of recommended nominees in a year cannot exceed one-half percent of the organization’s current membership (excluding students), making the […]

Professor Heather Maynard is co-leader of a group of UCLA researchers who have developed glucose-responsive micelles that encapsulate and protect glucagon, releasing it only when blood sugar levels drop dangerously low, offering a potential new method to prevent hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. From the Maynard group, the first two authors are former postdoctoral researcher […]

UCLA chemistry lecturer and author Dr. Eric Scerri delivers the opening plenary lecture at the annual meeting of the Italian Chemical Society, in Milan, on “A brief historical and philosophical account of the development of the periodic system”.  The Società Chimica Italiana-SCI 2024 – XXVIII National Congress took place this summer at the Allianz MiCo […]

We are sad to report that alumnus Dr. Alfred Herbert Sporer (Ph.D. ’56, Trueblood) passed away at the age of 95 on July 30, 2024. Sporer earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at UCLA in 1956, working with Professor Kenneth Trueblood. Before retiring in 1993, he worked at IBM for 36 years, where he managed an […]

Dr. Melissa Ramirez (Ph.D. ’21 organic chemistry, Garg and Houk groups) has been named a Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) Trailblazer in chemistry with Latin American roots. Ramirez is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and will join the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, as […]