Briefs

With its 100 billion neurons connected in a sprawling and complex network, the human brain offers many challenges to scientists hoping to comprehend its structure. For a study published recently in Nature Communications, researchers at UCI, the University of Minnesota and other institutions employed an abstract geometric concept known as “network curvature” to elucidate the conduits […]

David Fedman, assistant professor of history, has received the 2019 Joel A. Tarr Envirotech Article Prize from the Society for the History of Technology’s Envirotech special interest group. His article, “The Ondol Problem and the Politics of Forest Conservation in Colonial Korea,” was published in The Journal of Korean Studies. It explores the ondol, a […]

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument aimed its robotic array of 5,000 fiber-optic eyes at the night sky for the first time recently to capture images showing its unique view of galaxy light. Mounted on a telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, DESI was designed to explore the mystery of dark energy, which […]

UCI has posted a new podcast episode featuring an interview with the recently appointed dean of the School of Physical Sciences, James Bullock. Arriving at UCI in 2004, Bullock established a reputation as a leading researcher in astronomy and cosmology. He served as chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy prior to being named […]

Kristen Monson has pledged $1.5 million in legacy giving, bringing her campaign commitment to The Paul Merage School of Business to more than $3 million. She’s the double UCI alumna – with a bachelor’s degree in economics (’82) and an MBA (’86) – for whom the third-floor terrace of the business school building is named. […]

Chang Liu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has been named a 2019 Moore Inventor Fellow by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. He will receive $825,000 over three years in support of his pioneering efforts to engineer synthetic genetic systems capable of rapid mutation and evolution in living cells. Liu is one of five fellows […]

According to a new UCI-led study, it’s not just how much media exposure an individual has to collective trauma but also the graphic quality of what one sees that may make a person more vulnerable to trauma-related mental and physical health problems over time. The team analyzed the results from more than 3,000 anonymous online […]

The National Institutes of Health has granted 2019 Director’s New Innovator Awards to three UCI early-career researchers: Han Li and Timothy Downing of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Kevin Beier of the School of Medicine. The faculty members will receive more than $2.2 million each over five years to support their work. Li, […]

Radiation therapy is one of the most widely used cancer treatments, but a drawback of the procedure is that it can cause collateral damage to healthy tissue in proximity to cancerous growths. Identifying organs at risk via CT scans is a difficult and labor-intensive process, but UCI computer scientists and researchers from other institutions have […]

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected the National Alliance for Water Innovation – a public-private partnership with more than 35 members, including UCI – to lead an energy and desalination hub addressing water security issues in the U.S. The organization will conduct early-stage research and development on energy-efficient and cost-competitive water treatment technologies. “Desalination […]