Mathematical & Physical Sciences

Berkeley Letters & Science announces 2nd annual L&S Faculty Award winners

May 8, 2024

The College of Letters & Science Advisory Board has announced the recipients of the second annual L&S Faculty Awards, which recognizes and celebrates exceptional faculty in the College of Letters & Science. Awardees were selected for their exceptional scholarship, service to the College and community, and transformational teaching. These extraordinary individuals not only embody the excellence of the College of Letters & Science, but they...

Tutoring at San Quentin helped UC Berkeley's top senior define his future

May 7, 2024

Growing up in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood, Christopher Ying had vague plans to become a lawyer and began prepping by joining the speech, debate and mock trial teams at Lowell High School.

But he credits the University of California, Berkeley, and the opportunities it provided — in particular, to report and edit for the Daily Californian and to tutor inmates at the former San Quentin State Prison — with helping him find his true passion in the legal field: giving a voice to marginalized members of society.

Those only-at-Berkeley experiences — plus a 3.981 grade...

A great leap forward for MPS scholars’ careers

April 23, 2024
Standing on Asilomar State Beach just west of Monterey, Marius Castro talked with dozens of his fellow UC Berkeley students for hours under the moonlight. The moment felt special to Castro, like he was in a movie. In actuality, he was attending the first annual MPS Scholars retreat.

“Everybody I met had such good vibes,” said Castro, a third-year student double majoring in applied mathematics and computer science. “I probably...

Yuno Iwasaki selected as 2024 Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellow

April 19, 2024

Yuno Iwasaki has been awarded a 2024 Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellowship and will pursue a Ph.D. in physics at UC Berkeley. As a Fellow, Yuno will receive up to $90,000 to support her graduate education.

The Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellowship is a program for "outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants from all over the country and world who are pursuing graduate school here in the United States." The 2024 class is comprised of 30 honorees, out of a competitive pool of more than 2300 applicants, and Yuno is one of two UC Berkeley students included in this...

Berkeley researchers celebrated at star-studded Breakthrough Prize Awards ceremony

April 15, 2024
Hannah Larson and John Cardy, two Berkeley researchers affiliated with the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, were recognized at the 10th annual Breakthrough Prize Awards ceremony.

This past weekend, Hollywood stars and academic luminaries alike gathered at the 10th annual Breakthrough Prize Awards ceremony. Hosted by performer James Corden, this illustrious event cast a spotlight on the 2024 Breakthrough Prize laureates alongside a select group recognized from 2020-2023.

Hannah Larson, an assistant professor of mathematics at UC Berkeley, was among this year’s...

Opinion: Science prepared us to witness the eclipse. Why do we feel estranged by it?

April 8, 2024

One hundred thousand years ago, you live in a small tribe preparing for the day’s hunt when suddenly a shadow crosses the sun, and all goes dark. For long terrifying minutes you ask yourselves: Is this the end? How can we survive? What will we eat? The sun returns, but the terror remains: What did we do to provoke the wrath of the gods?

The same location, 5,000 years ago, another tribe, another eclipse. But this time, an elder recalls a story she heard as a child about “a short day and a short night.” She announces that it has happened again, but that the sun will return. The tribe...