News
10/09/2026
Professor Joel Yuen-Zhou named 2026 Fellow of the American Physical Society
This prestigious honor recognizes excellence in physics and exceptional service to the physics community and is awarded to no more than 0.5% of the total active membership each year. Joel was selected by the APS Division of Chemical Physics and the citation reads: For seminal contributions to polariton chemistry through rigorous many-body theories of molecular ensembles in optical cavities, and for pioneering work on organic spin photophysics for quantum information science.
10/08/2026
Graduate Student Roxanne Naumann receives Inaugural Nicolaou Family Fellowship in Chemistry
In recognition of excellence in research in synthetic chemistry for a graduate student trainee in their final dissertation year
09/16/2026
Professor Joel Yuen-Zhou named one of six Chemical Sciences finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik Awards
Joel is being recognized for his theoretical contributions to understanding how molecules interact with confined light and how molecular electron spins can control chemical reactions and enable quantum technologies.
09/02/2026
Professor Kent Griffith Appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of Chemistry of Materials
Chemistry of Materials, an ACS publication, reports fundamental research at the interface of chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science.
08/31/2026
Professor Clifford Kubiak receives 2027 ACS Award
Professor Kubiak received the ACS award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry.
08/31/2026
Chemistry Students receive ACS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Recognitions
Congratulations to Sarah Ko (Griffith Lab) for Leadership in Mentoring and Ian Leifer (Godula Lab) for Leadership in Science Outreach and Engagement.
08/30/2026
Graduate Student Liya Bi receives Graduate Research Award from the American Vacuum Society
Liya received this award for outstanding work in single-molecule spectroscopy and microscopy.
07/10/2026
Assistant Professor Haiwang Yong Receives NSF CAREER Award
Haiwang Yong is recognized for his theoretical and computational research on diffractive imaging of molecular structure and dynamics with vortex beams.
03/27/2026
Assistant Professor Shaowei Li Receives NSF CAREER Award
From the Division of Chemistry for his research on controlling single-molecule reactivity through engineered nonoscale environments.
02/19/2026
The Article "Single-Molecule Infrared Spectroscopy with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy" was also featured on UCSD Today, Phys.org, Engineeringness, Wiley Analytical Science, Technologynetworks, Mirage News and ScienceBlog.
02/05/2026
Devaraj Lab Featured in Nature Communications
"University of California San Diego researchers, led by Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Professor Neal Devaraj’s lab, have unveiled a new method that greatly increases the efficacy of gene delivery while minimizing harmful side effects to the cell. Their work appears in Nature Communications."
02/02/2026
Professor Kent Griffith Featured in Technology Networks Paramagnetic NMR Article
Griffith discusses why low-field solid-state NMR with fast spinning is ideal for paramagnetic battery materials and enables measurements that high-field methods struggle to access.