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Q&A With Rebecca Riley
Q&A With Rebecca Riley
Rebecca Riley, Physics PhD, Theoretical Particle Physics
Rebecca Riley Flourishing After Grad Slam 2020 Win
UCI is a special place where innovative research takes place every day. It is a place where leaders are shaped for the future and life-changing discoveries are made. Whether it’s research to find a cure for cancer or an effort to finally support long term life on Mars, big things are happening at UCI. Rebecca Riley was the UCI Grad Slam 2020 winner and successfully defended her PhD in the summer of 2021.
You just successfully defended your PhD: congratulations! How has the PhD experience changed you?
Thank you! I like to think it hasn’t changed me too much. To earn a PhD, you have to become totally engrossed in the minutiae of your field, and it can be easy to lose sight of where you fit into the process of scientific discovery. I tried to make sure that didn’t happen. I still love particle physics and am in awe of the mysteries it reveals about our Universe. I’m less reverent towards the giants of physics now, though.
You won UCI Grad Slam 2020 – congratulations! How has the experience helped you in your real life?
Very personally, actually. My Grad Slam pitch allowed my family and friends to connect with and understand what I do — I didn’t expect that. Before Grad Slam, most of the people in my life thought my work was completely beyond their comprehension. Now they ask, “Tell me about that funky particle you study. It’s so cool!”
If you had advice or tips to give this year’s Grad Slam finalists, what would you say?
Do you remember the “wow” moment that sparked your journey to grad school? Aim to tap into the wonder and fascination that first made you fall in love with your field and telegraph that to your audience. That’s where the magic of a great pitch happens.
You can register to watch the UCI Grad Slam 2022 Finals here!
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Q&A With Vivian U
Q&A With Vivian U
Vivian U, Assistant Research Astronomer, Astronomy / Astrophysics
Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes, Everyday Life for Vivian U
UCI is a special place where innovative research takes place every day. It is a place where leaders are shaped for the future and life-changing discoveries are made. Whether it’s research to find a cure for cancer or an effort to finally support long term life on Mars, big things are happening at UCI. Vivian U was a postdoctoral scholar at UCI and is now an assistant research astronomer.
You’re an astronomer. Why did you choose that field?
I chose to be an astronomer primarily because of the lure that space presents. I’ve always been fascinated by the night sky, and was inspired by how physics and chemistry explain the way the world works around us. When I participated in astronomy research for the first time during undergrad — stumbling over coding but marveling at images taken with the Keck Telescope, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. The prospect of advancing human knowledge about how the universe came about coupled with the appreciation of physical laws at work at all scales have drawn me to this field.
In addition, I have also enjoyed taking the road less traveled. I’ve always been up for challenges and something different, and being an astronomer was a far-fetched career for me growing up. The night sky was not very accessible to city-dwellers in skyscraper-filled Hong Kong where I spent my childhood, and my family had associated observatories with meteorology rather than astronomy. After I developed my passion for astronomy from reading books, the rebel in me set off on this path less traveled (until I met like-minded peers in college) and has since fulfilled a sense of accomplishment learning about our universe and overcoming hurdles along the way.
What is your research on, and what questions is it trying to answer?
My research focuses on understanding the co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. Specifically, how do galaxies contribute to the growth of their central supermassive black holes, and how do supermassive black holes, in turn, impact their host galaxies? I’m particularly interested in studying these feeding and feedback processes in galaxy mergers, where gas-rich spiral galaxies interact and merge with one another during an ephemeral but life-changing stage of a galaxy’s lifetime.
Endless Possibilities
The night sky was not very accessible to city-dwellers in skyscraper-filled Hong Kong where I spent my childhood … the rebel in me set off on this path less traveled.
– Vivian U
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a revolutionary space telescope that was placed nearly 1 million miles away from Earth. Can you tell us why scientists decided to place the JWST so far away? How do astronomers like yourself hope it’ll revolutionize our view of the Universe?
One main consideration for sending JWST to L2, or the second Lagrangian Point, is that as an infrared telescope, JWST has to be kept cool for optimal sensitivity so that it can detect faint infrared emission over low background noise. At L2, the Sun and the Earth are in the same direction where JWST’s sunshield can effectively keep the telescope and instruments cool for the duration of the mission. JWST is also sufficiently far away from the Earth’s thermal radiation.
Your proposal for time on the JWST was approved, congratulations! How will you be using the time you were awarded, and what do you hope to learn from the JWST for your specific research questions?
For my GO-1 proposal, I will be observing several nearby infrared-luminous galaxy mergers with the MIRI instrument aboard JWST. By observing the distribution and kinematics of several key mid-infrared diagnostic lines in targets we have previously identified to host molecular outflows, I hope to quantify the impact of AGN feedback on the interstellar medium via shock heating or other mechanisms, and determine how this may depend on intrinsic AGN properties whether the supermassive black hole is active or obscured.
If you have students at UCI working with you, what will they be doing, and what can they learn from the experience?
I am currently co-advising UCI graduate student Raymond Remigio on a project looking at ionized gas kinematics in nearby Seyfert galaxies. Raymond is learning how to analyze 3D data cubes taken with KCWI on Keck. The technique of analyzing integral-field data is very transferrable among new integral-field instruments coming online like those on JWST.
I will also be hiring postdocs to work on the JWST data this Fall, and would welcome any interested graduate student to get in touch if they would like to participate in our JWST research.
When you aren’t working, what do you like to do?
I like to spend quality time with my children; we enjoy going to the beach, biking, reading, or playing board games among different outdoor and indoor activities.
Any last words?
We as a community have been very pleased with the successful launch and deployment of JWST over the past month, and are looking forward to getting data starting this summer. But what I’m particularly grateful to learn is that the fuel will be sufficient for the mission to last for 20 years, much longer than the originally anticipated 5-10 year lifespan. This is really fantastic news because not only will JWST be able to provide valuable data for a long time, it will likely still be working while the extremely large telescopes become operational in the 2030s. The prospect of what synergistic science will be achieved with both JWST and the next-generation large ground-based telescopes is exhilarating.
Washington, DC — Today the University of California, Irvine announced funding from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) to encourage innovative ideas about preparing humanities Ph.D.s for diverse careers following their graduation. Through a competitive process, a committee selected UCI to join The Humanities Coalition, which will develop and assess initiatives for better supporting humanities Ph.D. students transitioning from graduate programs into the workforce, including outside academic institutions.
Universities will be working in one of two areas: grant-writing and resource development, and building professional networks. UCI will focus on grant-writing and resource development for School of Humanities graduate students. Starting summer 2022, the UCI Humanities Center will host a series of grant-writing workshops in partnership with university and local community partners to train graduate students how to seek support for their scholarly and extracurricular projects.
“Graduate students from the humanities go on to work in a variety of professional areas, including, of course, academic employment, but also in cultural institutions, government, business, entrepreneurship, and the non-profit sector,” said Tyrus Miller, dean of the School of Humanities. “Garnering the resources to realize one’s goals is critical to all of these, so having a deeper and broader knowledge of grant-writing represents great career preparation, whichever professional direction a graduate student wishes to pursue after they earn their Ph.D.”
“We’re honored to join The Humanities Coalition,” said Gillian Hayes, Vice Provost for Graduate Education. “Our humanities Ph.D. students are some of the brightest on campus and providing them with more resources is only going to help ensure their academic and professional success.”
This latest project is an expansion of prior work that included developing and supporting a network of 75 U.S. doctoral institutions as they collected data from STEM and humanities Ph.D. students and alumni about their professional aspirations, career pathways, and career preparation. In general, data from the project yield a positive picture of humanities doctoral education. Most alumni reported that they are engaged in meaningful work and believe their doctoral work prepared them for their current job responsibilities. However, data also indicate that humanities Ph.D.s who were employed in business, non-profit, or government, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, feel less adequately prepared than their peers working at universities.
“Building on the extraordinary work of the Ph.D. Career Pathways project, The Humanities Coalition will develop, expand, and scale up a suite of programs and practices in key areas of need. We’ve been conducting research in career diversity for nearly a decade, and this work will take the next logical step from better understanding aspirations to preparing for successful careers,” said Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools. “We know that humanities Ph.D.s have many possible career paths in front of them. We need to make sure they know their options, how to access them, and that they’ve developed the skillsets necessary for success.”
UCI will join a network of other grantees as well as universities that submitted competitive proposals to participate, including: Arizona State University; CUNY Graduate Center; Howard University; Indiana University Bloomington; Loyola University Chicago; Michigan State University; Purdue University; Texas A&M University; The University of Southern Mississippi; The University of Texas at El Paso; University of Arizona; University of Arkansas; University of California, Irvine; University of Missouri; University of Rochester; University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Wayne State University.
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About CGS
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is an organization of approximately 500 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada engaged in graduate education, research, and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. The organization’s mission is to improve and advance graduate education, which it accomplishes through advocacy in the federal policy arena, research, and the development and dissemination of best practices.
Information for this release was gathered with the help of ucirvinesports.com
IRVINE, Calif. – One current graduate student and one former UCI grad student are among the 16 UCI representatives to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games held July 23-August 8 in Tokyo, Japan. The games were postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UC Irvine men’s water polo player and current graduate student Jason Evezard will play for South Africa in the games. Evezard is in the process of completing his Master’s of Finance at UCI. Amber Neben will compete as a member of Team USA’s Olympic Women’s road race cycling team. She graduated with her Master’s in Biology from UCI.
Evezard is utility player for the Anteater water polo team and was selected as a part of the 13-man roster for the South African Men’s National Team. This marks the first Olympics for Evezard.
Evezard, who has played two seasons at UCI, was named the Golden Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2018 and has led the Anteaters in scoring in back-to-back seasons with 59 goals in 2018 and 50 in 2019. He holds the UCI single game school record, scoring nine goals in 2019. Evezard also is a GCC All-Academic Team selection.
He is no stranger to the South African National Team as he represented South Africa at the 2019 FINA World Championships where he helped the team to a 12th place finish.
Evezard will become the 15th Anteater in men’s water polo history to compete at an Olympic Games.
Evezard will kick off Olympic action Sunday, July 25th against Italy.
Neben is already a household name when it comes to Olympic glory, as she’ll be making her third appearance for Team USA in the Summer Games (2008, 2012, 2020). She competed in the 2008 road race event in the Beijing Olympics, placing 33rd.
She also placed seventh in the time trail event at the 2012 Olympics in London and took home a 36th place finish in the road race event.
Neben did not compete collegiately while at UCI, but she was on a track and field scholarship at the University of Nebraska as an undergraduate. She’s already proven to be a winner off the bicycle as well, as she defeated cancer in 2007 after being diagnosed with melanoma. In addition, Neben also survived spinal meningitis after being in a coma for three days at age four.
For updates, be sure to follow ucirvinesports.com throughout the Olympics.
Photo Credit: Jiri Turek/Forbes
The UCI community mourns the loss of beloved alumnus, friend and supporter Vincent Steckler ‘80. The former CEO of Avast Antivirus Software passed away in a tragic car accident on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at the age of 62.
Steckler earned both a B.S. in information & computer science and a B.S. in mathematics at UCI in 1980. He joined Avast as CEO in 2009 and transformed the company from a small regional business into a global provider of internet security. Steckler remained active in the Orange County community and was a strong advocate for equity and inclusion in the computing industry.
Steckler donated $1 million to the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences to support women in computing and endowed fellowships and scholarships. Most recently, a $10.4 million gift was made to UCI from the Steckler Charitable Fund, formed by Vincent and Amanda Steckler, to support art history students and to establish the Center for Responsible, Ethical, and Accessible Technology.
About half of the donation – $5 million – will establish the Center for Responsible, Ethical and Accessible Technologies within the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences. The unit will focus on creating a computing industry that’s inclusive, accessible, safe and equitable for all.
The other half of the gift – nearly $5.4 million – will largely be allocated to endowed funds that support graduate and undergraduate students pursuing coursework in art history by providing experiential learning, research-related travel, mentoring, career-building opportunities and fellowships.
The UCI community extends its sincerest condolences to the Steckler family and friends. Vince Steckler will hold a special place in the hearts of many at the UCI campus.
Per the family’s request, those who would like to share memories can do so by emailing condolences@avast.com.
Nearly 1,500 graduate degrees were conferred during the 2020-21 academic year, marking a monumental accomplishment for UCI graduates and their families.
In a year of such uncertainty, tragedy, loss, and adversity, UCI graduate students rose to the challenge. But maybe most importantly, limited family and friends (2 guests) were allowed to be at the Bren Events Center for priceless onstage moments during Sunday’s Graduate Hooding Stage Moments, which took place from 4-7 pm PT. While it certainly didn’t take the place of the full in person ceremony, graduates were able to walk the stage and be hooded. This was something that was sorely missed last year due to the global pandemic.
“This year’s ceremony was unique, but almost fittingly so,” said Vice Provost for Graduate Education Gillian Hayes. “These graduates have navigated challenges no scholar has ever had to deal with before. While the rest of the world was trying to stay afloat amid a global pandemic, social injustice, and other treacherous obstacles, UCI graduate students pushed through. This has been an inspiration for all of us.”
In addition to the on-stage moments, graduate students took part in a virtual Graduate Hooding Reception on Saturday.
The graduate degree breakdown for the 2020-21 academic year is below:
- Master’s degrees: 845
- Doctoral degrees: 289
- Law degrees: 220 (conferred May 8)
- Medical degrees: 105 (conferred June 5)
Stories of outstanding UCI graduates are available at the #IamUCI special report site: https://specialreports.news.uci.edu/iamuci.
IRVINE, Calif. — This year, four incredible UCI Graduate students, Janielle Vidal, Sophia Metcalf, Elissa Cobian, and Herschell Valenova Dayag earned Dynamic Womxn of UCI Awards. These prestigious awards celebrate and honor womxn leaders who leverage their graduate education to make a positive difference in the world. Each student has gone above and beyond to initiate change and fight for causes they believe in.
“These four scholars are incredibly impressive, both inside the classroom and in the community,” said Gillian Hayes, Vice Provost for Graduate Education. “We’re lucky to have such great ambassadors to UCI, and I know all four of them will continue to impact the world in positive ways.”
Janielle Vidal and Sophia Metcalf received the Academic Achievement Award, which honors members of the UCI community who have contributed academic research/theory that advances knowledge, narratives, and/or pedagogy that elevates Womxn and BIWOC (Black, Indiginous, Womxn of Color) issues in their field.
Janielle is a PhD candidate in Environmental Health Sciences and deeply cares about advocating for underserved populations at UCI.
“She has repeatedly been called on to do extra-curricular racial bias training as one of a handful of Black PhDs in UCI’s Medical School. Her work has contributed to several substantial changes at UCI’s Medical School,” writes UCI’s Womxn Hub.
Janielle sincerely hopes to be an inspiration and role model for other Black women.
“I wish for others to see me (a Black woman from Jamaica) and know they can reach similar, if not better heights given the resources to do so,” said Janielle.
After graduating from UCI, Janielle hopes to use the insights from her graduate education to help agencies make critical decisions to improve human health.
Sophia, who just graduated with her MFA in Acting, co-founded UCI’s first queer theatre company, Brick Theatre, and has been actively involved in Students Mobilizing Change (SMC). She also serves as an Inclusive Excellence Ambassador for UCI’s Office of Inclusive Excellence.
“UCI has an impressive cadre of high achieving and community engaged leaders, and it was an honor to be nominated with them,” Sophia said.
As a teaching assistant, Sophia has continuously created a safe and collaborative learning space. Post-graduation, they plan to continue teaching and engaging in the New York City social justice community with the goal of changing students’ lives for the better.
Elissa Cobian, an MA candidate in Public Policy, received the Outstanding Social Justice Activist Award. Elissa worked tirelessly to promote CalFresh, a federally-funded nutrition assistance program that provides financial resources to people experiencing food insecurity, as a way to combat malnourishment and poverty. Elissa created tutorial videos, handouts, and guides to help break down the application process for students and eliminate any barriers. Her work has been instrumental in helping students ensure their basic needs are met.
Herschell Valenova Dayag, an MPH student in Public Health and advocate for preventative care, received the Dynamic Womxn of the Year Award, which honors individuals who have gone above and beyond to make a significant contribution to the UCI community.
“To me, this award represents the momentous hurdles I have overcome to earn my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while actively making a difference in the UCI community for over 7 years,” said Herschell. “Being bestowed with this prestigious accolade is a culmination of the first-rate education I received from UCI’s Public Health Program’s cutting-edge training, its esteemed faculty, and the guidance of my distinguished medical mentors. I am proud to be honored as a fellow UCI trailblazer alongside such inspirational womxn on our campus.”
Herschell’s experiences at UCI have fueled her continued dedication to education, research, mentoring, and community service. After graduating, she is committed to using her skills to empower others and create a healthier future.
These phenomenal students exemplify how UCI graduate students are the future leaders of the world. On behalf of the UCI Graduate Division, congratulations to all of the award recipients and thank you for your incredible work!
The 2021 Latinx Excellence and Achievement Awards took place April 1 as a virtual gala. In its fourth year, UCI’s LEAD remains the only celebration and awards event in the University of California system focused on Hispanic and Latinx graduate student success.
This year’s event welcomed remarks by Chancellor Howard Gillman and UCI Foundation Trustee Gaddi Vasquez and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. It recognized graduate research excellence and achievement in all 15 academic units at UCI based on nominations from the senior leadership in the units. Here is a list of the recipients.
The Latino Excellence and Achievement Awards began in 2018 as the inspiration of Ph.D. in Education graduate Veronica Ahumada Newhart, who believed that as a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution, the time had arrived to celebrate the accomplishments of UCI’s Hispanic and Latinx community. Currently, Latinos are 39.4% of the state population in California but are only 11.4% of the graduate student population at UCI. LEAD aims to raise awareness of challenges in the graduate community, increase visibility of success, and inspire the Hispanic/Latinx community to advance in graduate and postdoctoral programs.
In addition to recognizing a graduate student in each academic unit, LEAD recognized 5 campus-wide awardees: Outstanding Community Builder Award to José Mayorga, M.D., assistant clinical professor of family medicine; Distinguished Staff Leadership Award to Burt Alvaro Slusher, M.S., director of recruitment and admissions for specialty masters programs, Merage School of Business; Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award to Leo R. Chavez, PhD, distinguished professor and chair of anthropology, and Regina Ragan, Ph.D., professor of materials Science & engineering; and Outstanding Alumni Leadership Award to Héctor Tobar, M.F.A., UCI alumni and associate professor of literary journalism and Chicano/Latino studies.
Something new this year was the addition of a ZotFunder award to honor José Flores Velázquez, a former UCI Physics & Astronomy PhD student who passed away in 2019. Student LEAD awardees will receive fellowships from a memorial fund in honor of Velázquez.
The mission of LEAD is to: celebrate graduate student research excellence and achievement; recognize faculty, staff and alumni who provide support for excellence and success; and create a sense of community and institutional memory of academic and professional achievement in the UCI Hispanic and Latinx community.
Irvine, Calif., March 30, 2021 — The University of California, Irvine’s Ph.D. program in criminology, law & society placed second in the nation overall in U.S. News & World Report’s annual graduate school rankings – published online today – with 10 other fields of advanced study in the top 10 among public universities. Overall, 31 programs landed in the top 25 among publics, marking UCI as one of the leading locations in the country for students to pursue graduate degrees.
“UCI has established itself as a world-class public research university in a wide range of fields,” said Gillian Hayes, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate Division. “These rankings confirm that our campus offers challenging and intellectually rich opportunities for students of all backgrounds to achieve academic and professional excellence.”
Students in UCI’s interdisciplinary criminology program study and conduct research under renowned faculty who probe the causes and consequences of crime, its impact on society and its interplay with the law. Additionally, in January, UCI’s Master of Advanced Studies in criminology, law & society was named the nation’s best online criminal justice master’s program by U.S. News & World Report for the second year in a row.
The newly released rankings also highlight the continued rise of UCI’s School of Education, which improved from 20th overall last year to 15th – and seventh among public universities. It offers a world-class doctoral program featuring the benefits of an internationally acclaimed research and teaching faculty, a supportive scholarly community and selective cohorts admitted annually. As of June 2020, School of Education faculty served as principal investigators on grants exceeding a combined total of $96 million. This represented an all-time high for the school, the ninth consecutive year in which it established such a milestone.
Broad-based excellence in graduate study
Top 10 graduate programs at UCI include:
- Criminology, second among publics and second overall
- Literary criticism & theory, second among publics and seventh overall
- Education, seventh among publics and 15th overall
- English, eighth among publics and 20th overall
- Sociology, ninth among publics and 20th overall
Top 10 School of Law specialty programs are:
- Clinical training, second among publics and sixth overall
- Tax law, third among publics and sixth overall
- Legal writing, fifth among publics and ninth overall
- Intellectual property law, seventh among publics and 19th overall
- Constitutional law, eighth among publics and 20th overall
- International law, eighth among publics and 22nd overall
Other top 25 UCI schools and programs include: part-time MBA (12th among publics and 26th overall), law (15th and 35th), history (15th and 30th), economics (20th and 40th), medicine – research (20th and 48th), political science (21st and 41st), engineering (22nd and 38th) and public health (22nd and 41st).
Other law specialty programs in the top 25 are: dispute resolution (11th among publics and 24th overall), criminal law (11th and 27th), contracts/commercial law (16th and 34th), healthcare law (16th and 37th), environmental law (17th and 32nd) and business/corporate law (19th and 44th).
Other engineering specialty programs in the top 25 are: aerospace engineering (17th among publics and 25th overall), biomedical engineering (12th and 29th), environmental engineering (19th and 28th), computer engineering (20th and 33rd), materials engineering (20th and 35th), civil engineering (23rd and 34th) and mechanical engineering (23rd and 41st).
U.S. News did not evaluate any arts or sciences programs this year, as these are ranked in alternate years.
UCI is one of the top doctorate-granting institutions in the U.S. and has nearly 3,000 students engaged in advanced scholarship and world-class research.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit wp.communications.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.