The School of Physical Sciences is an academic unit of the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

(UCI) that conducts academic research and teaching in the field of

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

. It offers both pre-professional training and general education in the departments of chemistry, earth system science, mathematics, and physics and astronomy. The school enrolls 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students and is one of the top schools in the nation in the number of degrees it confers in the area of physical sciences. It also offers specializations such as biochemistry, statistics, math for economics, applied and computational mathematics, astrophysics, applied physics, biomedical physics, and education. In 1995, the school gained international prominence when

Frank Sherwood Rowland Frank Sherwood "Sherry" Rowland (June 28, 1927 – March 10, 2012) was an American Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His research was on atmospheric chemistry and chemical kinetics. His b ...

, a professor in chemistry and

Frederick Reines Frederick Reines ( ; March 16, 1918 – August 26, 1998) was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment. He may be the only scientist in ...

, a professor in physics, won the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

in their respective fields. It was the first time two people won the prize in the same year in two different fields at the same public university.

History

The School of Physical Sciences was established in 1965, as one of the founding schools of the

Departments

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Earth System Science Earth system science (ESS) is the application of systems science to the Earth. In particular, it considers interactions and 'feedbacks', through material and energy fluxes, between the Earth's sub-systems' cycles, processes and "spheres"—atmosp ...

Programs and degrees

There were 1208 Undergraduate students and 516 Graduate students as of Fall 2014.

Degrees conferred

All four departments confer

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

, and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degrees.

Undergraduate

The school possesses 5 undergraduate majors, each providing either a

degree or a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. The majors that are available are

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

earth system science Earth system science (ESS) is the application of systems science to the Earth. In particular, it considers interactions and 'feedbacks', through material and energy fluxes, between the Earth's sub-systems' cycles, processes and "spheres"—atmosp ...

, environmental science,

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Graduate

The School of Physical Sciences provides 1 masters level graduate program in

and 4 doctorate level graduate programs, including programs in chemistry,

, physics and astronomy, and

. The Department of Chemistry offers Ph.D. degrees in all major sub-disciplines of

, along with several interdisciplinary programs. These programs include analytical chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, chemical biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, chemicals and materials physics, and medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. As of fall 2014, there were about 40 faculty members, 240 graduate students, and 50 postdoctoral fellows in the chemistry program. There is also a master's degree program in chemistry offered, along with a master's degree program in chemistry with a teaching credential. The Department of Mathematics offers a Ph.D. degree in mathematics as well as a master's degree in mathematics. As of fall 2014, there were about 36 faculty members and 100 graduate students. The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers both Ph.D and master's degrees in physics, as well as an interdisciplinary degree in chemical and material physics. The Department of Earth System Science offers a Ph.D. degree program in earth system science.

Associated bodies

UCI Math Circle

The UCI Math Circle is an institution operating under the Department of Mathematics. The UCI Math Circle, like many others, is oriented towards developing mathematical skills and thinking in youth populations. The UCI Math circle covers numerous topics such as

Number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

Graph theory In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of ''graph (discrete mathematics), graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of ''Vertex (graph ...

Topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

, Statistics,

Combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many ...

functional equations In mathematics, a functional equation is, in the broadest meaning, an equation in which one or several functions appear as unknowns. So, differential equations and integral equations are functional equations. However, a more restricted meaning ...

. These topics are often taught in sessions through games and analogies to the real world, professors from various institutions may also come and speak at certain sessions.

Student organizations

The ''American Chemical Society Student Affiliates'' is the student-run Chemistry Club at UCI. It provides academic and career guidance to undergraduates, as well as opportunities to meet and interact with guests or professors from the field of Chemistry. The ''Anteaters Mathematics Club'' is the student-run Mathematics Club at UCI. It provides weekly guest lectures from professors, graduate students, or others in the field of

. The ''Anteaters Math Club'' also provides a quarterly panel with Mathematics professionals for a Q&A with students. The ''UCI Earth System Club'' is a student-run club based on

. The club provides students with information regarding the

major as well as networking opportunities. The ''Society of Physics Students at UC Irvine'' is UCI's chapter of the

Society of Physics Students The Society of Physics Students (SPS) is a professional association with international participation, granting membership through college chapters with the only requirement that the student member be interested in physics. All college majors a ...

. The club conducts and organizes events to help students develop interest in physics, as well as providing areas for study. The ''Astronomy Club at UCI'' is a student-run club based on

. The club provides students with opportunities to meet other students interested in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, and often utilizes the UCI Observatory as well as the grounds of Aldrich Park for stargazing.

Nobel faculty

Frank Sherwood Rowland

was one of the original professors for the University of California, Irvine and became the first Chairman of the Chemistry Department in August 1964. He retired from his Chairman position five years later, but by 1973 Rowland changed his research focus from radiochemistry to atmospheric chemistry. In 1995, atmospheric chemist Rowland, along with his colleague

Mario Molina Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (19 March 19437 October 2020) was a Mexican physical chemist. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role ...

received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for predicting and then proving that the ozone layer was being depleted by

chlorofluorocarbons Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F). They are produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, ...

, common compounds found in aerosol sprays of the time. He continued to research their chemical effects on the environment.

Frederick Reines

Dr. Frederick Reines (1918-1998) along with his colleague

Clyde Cowan Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr (December 6, 1919 – May 24, 1974) was an American physicist and the co-discoverer of the neutrino along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956 in the neutrino experiment. Reines received the Nobel Prize in ...

in 1956 developed a method to detect, and confirmed the existence of, the

neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that i ...

, one of the most elusive subatomic particles. When he became the founding Dean of Physical Sciences of the University of California, Irvine in 1966 he brought his research along with him. In 1974 Reines stepped down as Dean in order to focus on his research and teaching as a professor. Their discovery of the neutrino eventually led to Reines and his colleague receiving the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics. As a faculty member for UCI he received the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 1979 and the Medal for Outstanding Research in 1985, predating his Nobel Prize.

Irwin Rose

Irwin Rose Irwin Allan Rose (July 16, 1926 – June 2, 2015) was an American biologist. Along with Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. Educat ...

was a researcher within the School of Medicine but did extensive collaboration with the School of Physical Sciences. In 1997, Rose moved to the facilities in UCI while sharing a space with Ralph Bradshaw. Dr. Rose, along with colleagues at the Israel Institute of Technology discovered a major pathway in the body which proteins are regulated by degradation. Because

ubiquitin Ubiquitin is a small (8.6 kDa) regulatory protein found in most tissues of eukaryotic organisms, i.e., it is found ''ubiquitously''. It was discovered in 1975 by Gideon Goldstein and further characterized throughout the late 1970s and 19 ...

is an important molecule that impacts cell growth and division, malfunctions or improper breakdowns of ubiquitin causes diseases such as

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

. In 2004, Dr. Rose received a Nobel Prize in the field of Chemistry for his discoveries. Since then, he received the Nobel Laureate Parking Permit at UCI, which gives him free parking for a lifetime.

Other Notable Faculty

Chemistry

* Don Blake * James Pitts *

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

Earth System Science

Ralph Cicerone Ralph John Cicerone (May 2, 1943 – November 5, 2016) was an American atmospheric scientist and administrator. From 1998 to 2005, he was the chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. From 2005 to 2016, he was the president of the Nati ...

Mathematics

* Karl Rubin

Physics

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

* Liu Chen

References

External links

* {{coord, 33.64454, -117.84420, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title

Physical Sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

Science education in the United States Science and technology in Greater Los Angeles University subdivisions in California Educational institutions established in 1965 1965 establishments in California