News from the College of Sciences
Three Students Find Community in Chemistry Research
Read how three students have benefited from participating in the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program, which provides funds and mentorship for undergraduates conducting biomedical research and interested in pursuing a PhD.
Planarians, Sea Anemones, and Acoels, oh my!
Biology professor Ricardo Zayas received a Whitman Fellowship to conduct research on organisms that regenerate their nervous systems at the Marine Biological Laboratory
Students Get Hands-On Research Experience with Stem Cells through SDSU’s BSCRIP
The Bridges to Stem Cell Research Internship Program (BSCRIP) gives students extensive, paid research experience in the field of regenerative medicine.
Are You New Here? Tracing the Origin of Viruses
With support from a grant, SDSU’s Viral Information Institute is exploring theories on whether some viruses pop up spontaneously.
Kim Olsen Featured in National Geographic Episode
What led to an unusual string of shark attacks in San Diego in 2009? Geological Sciences professor Kim Olsen explains whether earthquakes were to blame.
Two College of Sciences Projects Selected as Big Ideas Finalists
Two project proposals led by College of Sciences professors were recently selected as finalists for SDSU President Adela de la Torre’s Big Ideas initiative. These interdisciplinary teams aim to solve society’s toughest challenges.
Cathie Atkins Retiring After Nearly 50 Years at SDSU
Dr. Cathie Atkins, former Associate Dean for the College of Sciences, and professor of Psychology is retiring after an illustrious career of cultivating collaborations across San Diego State University.
Homeland Security Students Recognized by County Supervisor
While interning with the Red Cross, SDSU graduate students provided assistance to multiple families after large apartment fire.
Computer Science Students win Startup Pitch Competition
Chance encounters lead to victory and a potential business venture
Biologists Devise Arks to Save Coral Reefs
Ph.D. candidate Jason Baer and the Rohwer Lab team are deploying first-of-their-kind floating structures in an attempt to rebuild damaged reefs.
SDSU Leads Collaboration to Detect Oil Spills Sooner
Researchers and alumni with the firm InterOcean Systems aim to develop sensors that use ultraviolet light to pick up traces of oil on the ocean surface.
Research Horizons: A Better Way to Make Life-Saving Drugs
SDSU chemistry professor Yong Yan, developed a new way to produce the critical chemical bonds necessary to make drugs using renewable solar energy. Yan’s novel process uses a solar cell material called perovskite to act as a catalyst.
Thomas B. Day Awards for Excellence in Physics
President Day was a tremendously accomplished man, and in many ways, most well-known for his work as President of SDSU. Less known is that he was a widely published and successful physicist.
40 Years of Frost— No end in site.
Dr. Eric Frost was recently celebrated for completing 40 years at San Diego State. He received a special award from the dean of Sciences for his outstanding career and accomplishments over the past 40 years. When asked about his milestone …
Head Start to Microbiology Research as a Rising Sophomore
Sama Rakin Michael began as a teaching assistant and is now working on genetically modifying bacteria in a lab that focuses on how bacteria induce the metamorphosis of tubeworms, and how this can inform research to develop therapeutic drugs
Binaries are for Computers
“The message that I’d like to deliver to other trans students is this: nothing is more important than who you are. Nothing…” —Brienne Hayes, First Transgender/Nonbinary Person to Graduate with Distinction from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Ancient Baleen Whales Had a Mouthful
A strange phenomenon happens with modern blue whales, humpback whales and gray whales: they have teeth in the womb but are born toothless. Replacing the teeth is baleen, a series of plates composed of thin, hair- and fingernail-like structures growing from the roof of…
SDSU Computer Science Grad Raises $1.6 million to Invest in Underrepresented Entrepreneurs
A newly graduated San Diego State University alum has raised $1.6 million — largely through her Twitter following — to invest in startups founded by diverse people rarely seen in the entrepreneurial world.