Mathematical & Physical Sciences

Kevin Yang: “What drives me is doing hard things”

November 2, 2026
by Alexander Rony

Kevin Yang joined the math and statistics departments in July as an assistant professor. It’s Yang’s second stint at UC Berkeley, following a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship during the 2022-23 academic year.

Yang’s research resides at the intersection of probability and partial differential equations. He is particularly interested in analyzing the large-scale properties of microscopic many-body...

SEED Scholars showcase their research in annual symposium

October 29, 2026
by Alexander Rony

While some of her peers were relaxing over the summer, Megha Ramachandran was conducting statistical research at Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology. Her lab’s principal investigator was very supportive and even let her come up with her own research project.

“That was a new experience,” said Ramachandran, a second-year undergraduate at UC Berkeley majoring in data science and molecular and cell biology. “It was...

State Workforce Board Invests $1 Million in UC Berkeley-led Northern California Quantum Training Pipeline

October 28, 2026
by Alexander Rony

The California Workforce Development Board awarded $5.7 million last week to five projects that will help Californians access quality jobs in the state’s booming quantum and fusion sectors. UC Berkeley will receive $1 million in funding to develop and pilot a regional quantum workforce pipeline that connects...

Alexandre Chorin, who revolutionized computational fluid dynamics, dies at 88

October 27, 2026

UC Berkeley mathematicians paid tribute to Alexandre Chorin, a longtime faculty member whose work underlies modern computational fluid dynamics. Chorin passed away on October 19 at the age of 88.

Chorin was an applied mathematician who developed seminal methods to simulate the flow of fluids. His computational approaches are now widely used to design everything from cars and aircraft to wind turbines and combustion...

How Berkeley shaped NASA’s newest space telescope

October 15, 2026
By Robert Sanders

The Roman Space Telescope realizes an idea conceived at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab. A Berkeley astronomer now leads a large group of scientists who hope to reap the benefits.

Berkeley helped make IceCube a success — and earn its leader the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics

October 8, 2026
By Robert Sanders

When Francis Halzen first proposed an experiment in the Antarctic ice to detect high-energy neutrinos, Berkeley’s Buford Price was all in.

Hernan Garcia receives 2026 Schmidt Polymaths award

September 25, 2026

Hernan Garcia, associate professor of molecular & cell biology and physics at UC Berkeley is among the eight 2026 Schmidt Polymaths who will receive a combined total of up to $20 million to take their research in ambitious new directions. Dr. Garcia will adapt rapid gene-editing and screening methods for use in plants to develop more climate-resilient crops.

The Schmidt Polymaths award recognizes proven records of...

In new paper, first-year astrophysics student discovers three potential backsplash galaxies

October 6, 2026
by Alexander Rony
A UC Berkeley freshman’s high school research leads to a rare astrophysical discovery

Hitoshi Murayama becomes the new director of the Leinweber Institute for Theoretical Physics

October 5, 2026
by Alexander Rony

UC Berkeley’s Leinweber Institute for Theoretical Physics entered a new chapter last Thursday. Professor Hitoshi Murayama succeeded his colleague, Yasunori Nomura, whose ten-year tenure profoundly shaped the institute’s trajectory.

“I’m honored to be named the director of the Leinweber Institute for...

The eruption that destroyed Pompeii is helping scientists date Earth’s history

September 25, 2026
Historical accounts of the eruption nearly 2,000 years ago provide a precise timeline that allowed recalibration of one of the most versatile dating methods.