Student News

Ph.D. Student Tours Through Europe with UCBSO

August 28, 2025
Donez Horton-Bailey

Donez Horton-Bailey with bassoon

Donez Horton-Bailey with his bassoon, in Europe. Photo: Petr Dyrc

Donez Horton-Bailey is a Ph.D. student in the Frances Hellman Lab. He is also a bassoonist for the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.


I started taking piano lessons in the fifth grade. I went on to try saxophone, trombone, upright bass, bass clarinet. In high school, I saw a bassoon in...

Segre Interns Power Upgrades and New Experiments in the 111 Lab

September 11, 2025

2025 Segre Students in blue lab coats

The 2025 Segrè Students (from left to right): Ariyan Jazaeri, Auden Young, and Karla Eleonora Morales De Leon.

Over the summer, Segrè Interns Auden Young, Karla Eleonora Morales De Leon, and Ariyan Ryan Jazaeri made significant improvements to the 111 Lab. The bulk of their time was focused on...

Astronomers Release Massive Dataset to Accelerate AI Research in Space Science

December 2, 2024
Webb telescope and stars seen as earth rotates

The James Webb Space Telescope; tracks of stars photographed as earth rotates. JWST credit: NASA/Chris Gunn; star rotation image credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/AURA

A global team of astronomers and machine learning researchers today announced the release of the "Multimodal Universe" - a groundbreaking 100 terabyte dataset that brings together hundreds of millions of astronomical...

Grad student Marco David invited to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

May 15, 2024
Berkeley Physics

Marco David on the UC Berkeley campus

Graduate Student Marco David. Photo: Sarah Wittmer

Each year, between 30 and 40 Nobel Laureates gather in Lindau, Germany, to meet the next generation of scientists — some 600 undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from around the world — for an active exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience.

First year Berkeley Physics...

The 2023 Pi2 Summer Scholar Symposium

August 25, 2023

Two students discussing a science poster

The 2023 Pi2 Summer Symposium, where undergraduate scholars from the Pi2 Summer Scholars Program present their research posters to faculty, donors, and students was held on August 22. The symposium was the capstone event for the undergraduate scholars that spent the summer months conducting research alongside a graduate student on a topic they...

Ph.D. Student Roger Romani Becomes First Person to Ski All 15 of California’s 14,000′ Peaks

July 20, 2023
Brent Thomas

Roger Romani waving on skis at the top of a snowy summit

Roger Romani at the summit of the last of his California 14er projects.

A 14,000-foot peak is a spectacle to be seen. Because of their towering rarity, they have earned their own nickname and are referred to as “14ers.” The massive height and beauty of 14ers attract the most ambitious mountain enthusiasts looking for an adrenaline challenge. There...

https://snowbrains.com/uc-berkeley-ph-d-student-becomes-first-person-to-ski-all-…

Berkeley Physics scientists honored with Frontiers of Science Award

July 18, 2023
Elizabeth Ryan

Graphic from the Basic Science award website

Berkeley Physics congratulates Physics faculty members Ehud Altman and Geoff Penington, along with Physics Postdocs Aavishkar Patel and Tom Rudelius and Physics Graduate Students Erik Aldape and Tessa Cookmeyer for their achievements in Condensed Matter Physics and Theoretical Physics.

They have been recognized with a Frontiers of Science Award at the Inaugural...

https://www.icbs.cn/en/web/index/18009_1581229__

Graduate Student Jeremy Axelrod Teaches DeCal Course for Aspiring Pilots

February 22, 2023

Jeremy Axelrod with headphones on, at the controls of an airplane

As a freshman undergrad at Berkeley, Jeremy Axelrod took the DeCal course “Learn to Fly: Private Pilot Ground School” the first semester it was offered, in 2011. The following summer he acquired his pilot’s license and returned as a co-instructor for the class in 2013. He's been an instructor ever since.

...

Morgan Cole, Elena Vasquez Lead First Friday Workshop

February 14, 2023

Morgan Cole on left, Elena Vazquez on right

Two physics majors, Morgan Cole (left) and Elena Vasquez (right) designed a First Friday Workshop that was held on February 3. They based their workshop on the concept that a student’s sense of belonging in the department is a significant factor in their pursuing a...

2022 Pi2 Summer Scholars Helps Undergraduate Students Find New Worlds of Research Experience

January 6, 2023
William Schulz

Undergrad student working on laser equipment with graduate student in the lab

The Berkley Physics Innovators Initiative (Pi2) is the department’s new vision for modernizing, streamlining, and strengthening the path students follow as they pursue their undergraduate careers. An important component, says faculty member Feng Wang, is the Pi2 Summer Scholars Program, in which undergraduates can participate in a research...