Category: Academics-Menu

Professor Peng Ni’s hands-on class provides students with valuable experience This spring, students in the Igneous Petrology class participated in a four-day field excursion near Bishop, California, from May 22nd […]

EPSS research done by Vassilis Angelopoulos and colleagues has solved a decades-old mystery on how electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies at plasma shock waves, in front of Earth’s bow […]

We are pleased to announce that Professor Jon Aurnou has been appointed the next Chair of the UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences (EPSS), effective July 1, 2025. […]

Most known comets come from either the Kuiper belt (beyond Neptune) or the Oort cloud (out towards the stars).  So-called Halley type comets (HTCs) are a very under-studied group intermediate […]

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To our 2025 Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Scholars! To those who spent countless hours bent over microscopes, or hunched over map boards under the blazing sun.To those who decoded […]

Please continue to check this website for updates as we may have to make modifications. Join the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences (EPSS) for our annual Commencement Ceremony […]

We are pleased to announce that our faculty member, Dr. Tina Treude, has recently been confirmed as a corresponding member of the prestigious Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Founded […]

Jerry Xuan, a postdoctoral fellow joining the Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Department,  was recently awarded a 51 Pegasi b Fellow by the Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program. One of only […]

Jean-Luc Margot is appointed as Interdisciplinary Scientist for the European Space Agency’s EnVision mission to Venus (in partnership with NASA). EnVision is a Venus orbiter with a planned launch in […]

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The Sloan Foundation has announced this year’s 126 Sloan Research Fellows! These scholars are our prospective next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada. Winners receive $75,000 over […]

We are proud to announce EPSS Professor Amy Mainzer has been named a 2025 Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. This major international organization of astronomers selected 24 members as […]

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Björn Benneke to our community! Dr. Benneke’s research addresses the questions: “How did we get here?” and “Are we alone in the universe?” aligned with […]

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Stacy Larochelle to our community! Dr. Larochelle is an accomplished geophysicist whose work delves into the fascinating mechanics of hydrological and glaciological systems and […]

Freshman & Transfer Open House October 30, 2024 12-2PM Geology 3680 Curious about the EPSS department? Come meet our students, faculty, and clubs! Learn about our majors and minors and […]

What is EYU? Exploring Your Universe (EYU) is a science fair started in 2009 and held every year on the first Sunday in November. The goal of EYU is to […]

The UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences (EPSS) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Geobiology at the Assistant Professor rank. Competitive candidates will have expertise in […]

The Europa Clipper mission is currently scheduled to launch at 9:06 AM PDT this Monday, 10/14/24. You can watch the live stream on NASA+ here: https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/europa-clipper-launch/ Europa Clipper is NASA’s […]

Now through November 4, 2024, NASA is encouraging applications for its 2nd Biennial Astrophysics Mission Design School. Offered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, AMDS is a 3-month long […]

UCLA will host Observe the Moon Night on Thursday, October 10, 2024. This event  is part NASA’s annual International Observe the Moon Night, which brings together people from hundreds of […]

Los Angeles, CA – Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles, along with international collaborators, have conducted a pivotal study on the complex mechanisms behind the 2024 Noto earthquake in […]

The Heising-Simons Foundation is accepting applications for their 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship program in Planetary Astronomy.  UCLA is one of the host institutions.  Applicants should apply directly to the […]

The Meteorite Gallery of UCLA is currently seeking two highly motivated undergraduate students to help with our meteorite collection. The position could start as early as in August and expect […]

UCLA’s ELFIN student team, part of the Experimental Space Physics (ESP) lab of Professor Vassilis Angelopoulos, is one of the three finalists winning the 2024 NASA TechLeap Prize, a challenge […]

Please join us in congratulating Professor Vassilis Angelopoulos on receiving the NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal for 2024. The Agency Honor Awards are NASA’s most prestigious form of recognition and […]

EPSS Commencement Celebration Date: June 16, 2024 Time: 12:45 p.m. Location: Faculty Club   The Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences (EPSS) invites all of our graduating students and […]

The long-term surface carbon cycle is a balance of carbon fluxes between sources (e.g., volcanoes) and sinks (primarily carbon burial by carbonate-bearing minerals following surface weathering, which are then recycled […]

A collaborative effort between UCLA and Caltech has led to a significant contribution to seismic research in Mexico. Forty broadband seismic stations from the UCLA-Caltech portable network have been donated […]

EPSS Associate Professor Lingsen Meng has been at the forefront of scientific outreach in the wake of recent seismic events around the world. His commitment to scientific outreach and public […]

 7 pieces of artwork by Teresa Derdiarian now hang on the first floor of the Geology building in honor of Emeritus Professor David Jackson, donated by his daughter Kelly Rojas. […]

Denise A. Battles is the current president of SUNY Geneseo campus since 2015. This appointment caps her 25 year career as a professor and education administrator. Dr. Battles received her […]

Earth, Planetary & Space Sciences Distinguished Alumni LectureThe Case for Public Higher Education: A Personal Perspective on a Public Good   with  Dr. Denise A. Battles ’90 Geology President, SUNY Geneseo Wednesday, February 21, 20246:00 […]

APPLICATION WINDOW Open date: December 15, 2023 Next review date: Thursday, Feb 1, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee. Final date: Monday, Apr 1, […]

APPLICATION WINDOW Open date: December 15, 2023 Next review date: Friday, Mar 1, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee. Final date: Monday, Apr 1, […]

Jiarui Liu, 5th year EPSS PhD student in the labs of Dr. Tina Treude and Dr. Edward Young, recently revealed that microbes produce more methane in petroleum reservoirs. Jiarui’s paper […]

source: NASonline.org Congratulations to EPSS Professor Edward Young, who was chosen for the 2024 J. Lawrence Smith Medal, awarded by the National Academy of Sciences every 3 years for recent […]

EPSS held a memorial event honoring An’s life and scientific legacy at the UCLA Faculty Center on September 23rd. In a well attended event we honored his main scientific contributions […]

We are beyond excited to welcome interdisciplinary field geologist John He (pictured) to the EPSS team! Joining us in July 2024, Dr. He brings with him field and modeling experience […]

The UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences (EPSS) invites applications for two tenure-track faculty positions at the Assistant Professor Rank in Geophysics and Exoplanet Characterization. Geophysics: We welcome applicants […]

EPSS alum and researcher Mike Hartinger was recently featured on NASA’s Curious Universe Podcast, providing an entertaining overview of heliophysics through a conversation on musical instruments such as the “magnetic […]

Three UCLA professors contributed to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a report emphasizing the pervasive and inequitable nationwide harms of climate change, which was released by the White House on […]

IOTMN 2023 attracted about 300 people to the roof of the Math Sciences building on Saturday night. Between 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm, and under perfect skies, visitors were able […]

Candy Hansen, courtesy of David Paige. Congratulations to EPSS Ph.D. alum Candy Hansen on winning the 2023 G.K. Gilbert Award, the Geological Society of America’s top honor in the field […]

Xiyuan Bao, an EPSS graduate student studying planetary science under Department Chair Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni, has been selected for the AGU Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Section Award for Graduate […]

This week, there will be two open-to-the-public events happening in association with the 86th annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society, which we are hosting at the Luskin Center (https://metsoc2023-la.com/).   The […]

By Distinguished Research Professor Mark Harrison Professor An Yin in Eastern Washington, September 2022 Professor An Yin, Distinguished Professor of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, passed away suddenly on July […]

Hubble photographs boulders flung off asteroid Dimorphos | Credit: NASA UCLA EPSS professor and planetary scientist David Jewitt has used the Hubble Space Telescope’s extraordinary sensitivity to discover a swam […]

Dr. Kevin Shao, a researcher with UCLA EPSS, has been interviewed by Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) about his work on using artificial intelligence to more deeply understand landslides. Read JPR’s […]

Megalodons, which went extinct 3.6 million years ago, are believed to have grown to lengths of 50 feet. | Credit: Alex Boersma/PNAS EPSS Professor Aradhna Tripati is co-leader in a project […]

The UCLA researchers gathered data on various landslides, including one that occurred on this mountain in the eastern Himalayas. | Credit: Peter Haproff Excerpt from UCLA Newsroom: A new technique […]

Israel Carrillo is a native of Los Angeles and first-generation college student graduating this week with a degree in Physics | Photo courtesy of Israel Carrillo At UCLA, Israel Carillo, […]

Martinez has been able to share his UCLA experience with his son, Bryce, 7. “It’s beautiful, because while he works on adding and subtracting and I work on my derivatives, […]

Dear all, On June 28 at 6:00 PM the EPSS department will hold a memorial for Dave Jackson at the Faculty Center, with speeches from 6-7 PM, and a buffet […]

Calling all undergraduates staying in the UCLA area over the summer! Are you organized, a hard worker, and good with a computer? Want to learn more about EPSS and get […]

If you were listening to ABC Radio National last Friday, you may have heard a familiar voice: UCLA EPSS Professor Jean-Luc Margot, speaking as a featured guest on Robyn Williams’ […]

Megan Li poses with her family. Over 50 years ago, EPSS PhD student Megan Li’s grandfather immigrated from Taiwan to pursue a PhD at UCLA. His dissertation, complete with hand […]

By Emmanuel Masongsong, UCLA EPSS, SPACE Institute Listen to space: new HARP app lets the public help researchers hunt for magnetic waves Learn about the HARP project, where you can […]

Congratulations to UCLA EPSS PhD student Ashley Schoenfeld for doing a radio interview for The Science Show on ABC Radio National! Her segment aired on Friday, April 14th, and included […]

Photo Credit: NASA The UCLA Division of Physical Sciences and UCLA Anderson Forecast invites you to  The SPACE Economy Forecast  By 2040, the space economy could be the next trillion dollar […]

Image Credit: iStock.com/24K-Production A recent UCLA EPSS study has found that water on Earth–and Earth-like planets–may not exist through accidental delivery by comets and asteroids, as previously thought, but rather as […]

Photo Courtesy of Akash Gupta As a child, Akash Gupta read about the enigmas of space. Drawn into the endless mysteries of our universe, he set his sights skyward towards […]

Attention all geoscientists: The AGU/AGI Heads and Chairs webinar series is pleased to offer our next free webinar and discussion, Introducing GROW, a new career tool for the geoscience community on this Friday, […]

By Emeritus Professor Paul Davis, with contributions from Emeritus Professor Peter Bird Professor David Jackson passed away on 30 March 2023 at his home in Pacific Palisades, California. He is […]

Image Credit: Ben Paul and UCLA SETI On February 14, 2023, UCLA SETI launched its citizen science collaboration to “crowdsource the search for extraterrestrial civilizations” (UCLA Newsroom). Spearheaded by EPSS […]