Mathematical & Physical Sciences

A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter

November 21, 2024

Artist rendering of a black galaxy with stars and one large star, glowing red and black with blue lights shooting off of itThe search for the universe’s dark matter could end tomorrow — given a nearby supernova and a little luck.

The nature of dark matter has eluded astronomers for 90 years, since the realization that 85% of the matter in the universe is not visible through our telescopes. The most likely dark matter...

The Shining Lights Program

The Shining Lights Program is a unique, experiential, semester-long leadership development program committed to supporting the growth and professional development of women and women-identifying future leaders and their allies in the math and physical sciences.

The Shining Lights Program equips participants with essential skills for successful careers in science through leadership skill building, coaching, networking, and mentoring. This comprehensive initiative encompasses both technical proficiency and interpersonal competencies, providing...

Hannah Larson Talks Intersection Theory at Math on Tap

October 24, 2024

Hannah Larson (left) interacts with guests at Math on Tap.

The College of Letters and Science Division of Math and Physical Sciences hosted a new installment of its Math on Tap lecture series on Friday, October 11, showcasing Mathematics Assistant Professor Hannah Larson. Larson, a recipient of the prestigious ...

AAC Brings “What is Understanding?” Conversation to L&S Staff

October 22, 2024

Aileen Liu (left), Jennifer Johnson-Hanks (middle), and Hernan Garcia speak in a panel.

On Wednesday, October 9, the College of Letters & Science Administrative Advisory Committee (AAC) hosted its inaugural L&S Brown Bag Lunch and Learn. One of several new initiatives by the recently revamped AAC, the Lunch and Learn provides L&S staff members an opportunity to connect with their colleagues and...

Alumnus Gary Ruvkun shares 2024 Nobel Prize for discovering microRNA

October 7, 2024

UC Berkeley alumnus Gary Ruvkun has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Ruvkun, a 1973 graduate with a B.A. in biophysics, shares the prize with Victor Ambros, a professor at the UMass Chan Medical School, for their discovery of microRNA and and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. MicroRNA are tiny pieces of genetic information that play critical roles in helping cells regulate gene expression and control what types of proteins they produce.

The work from Ruvkun and Ambros has influenced scientists worldwide, guiding research for diseases such...

Two UC Berkeley alums awarded 2024 MacArthur 'genius' fellowships

October 4, 2024

The MacArthur Foundation announced the Class of 2024 MacArthur Fellows on Tuesday, October 1. MacArthur Fellowships, often called ‘genius grants,’ provide each recipient with an $800,000 stipend, a "no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential," according to the MacArthur Foundation website.

Of the five University of California alums selected this year, two are...

Physicist Paul Richards, a pioneer in studies of the cosmic microwave background, dies at 90

September 30, 2024

Black and white image of man wearing a tie, sitting in his office

Paul L. Richards, an experimental physicist who built some of the first highly sensitive detectors to probe the faint radiation left over from the birth of the universe, died peacefully at his home in Berkeley on Monday, Sept. 16. A professor emeritus of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Richards was 90.

Richards got his start as a solid-state...

This rocky planet around a white dwarf resembles planet Earth -- 8 billion years from now

September 26, 2024

The discovery of an Earth-like planet 4,000 light years away in the Milky Way galaxy provides a preview of one possible fate for our planet billions of years in the future, when the sun has turned into a white dwarf, and a blasted and frozen Earth has migrated beyond the orbit of Mars.

This distant planetary system, identified by University of California, Berkeley, astronomers after observations with the Keck 10-meter telescope in Hawaii, looks very similar to expectations for the sun-Earth system: it consists of a white dwarf about half the mass of the sun and an Earth-size...

Meet Our Faculty

The outstanding faculty in the Division of Mathematical & Physical Sciences are pushing the boundaries in the fields of astronomy, earth & planetary science, mathematics, and physics. Read below to learn more about their groundbreaking work.