UCSB Professors Elected to Academy

UCSB professors Joseph G. Polchinski and William W. Murdoch have been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, bringing the number of UCSB faculty who are a part of the academy to 23.

The academy was formed in 1780 by John Adams and John Hancock, among others, and currently includes more than 150 Nobel Laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners. Polchinski and Murdoch are among 177 fellows elected to the academy this year.

Polchinski, who has been a research physicist at UCSB since 1990, has spent much of his career working with string theory. The theory proposes that matter consists of tiny vibrating strings at its most basic level.

Murdoch, a UCSB faculty member since 1965, has an extensive background in population dynamics, particularly in the interactions between predators and prey and parasites and their hosts. He established the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at UCSB and is the Charles Storke II Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology. He is also the director of UCSB’s seven natural reserves.

Polchinski and Murdoch will be formally inducted alongside other newly elected fellows on October 5 at a ceremony in Cambridge, Mass.

UC Faculty Members Receive National Award for Science

President George W. Bush announced five UC faculty recipients of the National Medal of Science for 2001 yesterday. This honor is the nation’s highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research fields and was given to just nine other scientists and one engineer this year.

“These awards are a testament not only to the extraordinary scientific accomplishments of these individuals but to the tremendous impact the University of California has on our state and nation,” UC President Richard Atkinson said.

The UC faculty members are Francisco Ayala of Irvine, Marvin Cohen of Berkeley, Charles Keeling of San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Cabor Somorjai of Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Harold Varmus of San Francisco. They will receive their medals at the White House in the near future.

“Each one of these individuals has helped advance our country’s place as a leader in discovery, creativity and technology,” Bush said. “Their contributions have touched all of our lives and will continue to do so.”

Journal Seeks Undergraduate Submissions

Undergraduates who would like to see their research published can submit their work to Discovery, an undergraduate journal for all fields. Submissions should be original research writing and must have a recommendation from a faculty member, usually the student’s supervisor.

Submissions will be accepted until June 21. Information on the editorial process, publication and copyright protection can be obtained in South Hall 6607.

Students can submit research papers, critical essays and expanded term papers up to 20 pages in length, though longer papers will be considered.

-Compiled by Cameron Balakhanpour and Diana Ray