Accomplishments: College of Sciences

Ashkan Salamat (Physics and Astronomy) and a team of researchers have made a breakthrough in the long-sought-after quest for a room-temperature superconductor, what they call the “holy grail” of energy efficiency. The research team, which includes Ranga Dias from the University of Rochester, established room temperature superconductivity…
Zhaohuan Zhu (Physics and Astronomy) coauthored the article "A Triple-Star System with a Misaligned and Warped Circumstellar Disk Shaped by Disk Tearing," which has been published in Science. 
Qing Wu, Yingke Xu (both Epidemiology and Biostatistics), and Jovan Alvarez (Life Sciences) published an article on “Tricyclic Antidepressant Use and Risk of Fractures: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies through the Use of Both Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches” in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. This meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively…
Qing Wu, Jongyun Jung (both Public Health), and Mira V. Han (Life Sciences) recently published an article on “Machine Learning Approaches for Fracture Risk Assessment: A Comparative Analysis of Genomic and Phenotypic Data in 5130 Older Men” in the journal Calcified Tissue International. The study aims were to develop fracture prediction models by…
Jef Jaeger (Life Sciences) and Kathy Longshore, '03 PhD Biology, were among a group of researchers spearheaded by collaborators at Oregon State University that recently published, "Genetic and Environmental Indicators of Climate Change Vulnerability for Desert Bighorn Sheep." The research, featured in Frontiers of Ecology and Evolution, has…
Helen Wing (Life Sciences) received her fourth consecutive R15 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The $444,540 award is for the project titled, "Understanding Transcriptional Silencing & Anti-silencing Mechanisms in Shigella." Wing now has received a total of $1.6 million from NIH to research this topic at UNLV.
Steve Rowland (Geoscience) recently published "Early Adaptation to Eolian Sand Dunes by Basal Amniotes is Documented in Two Pennsylvanian Grand Canyon Trackways" in PLOS One. The study confirmed the oldest vertebrate tracks in the Grand Canyon. The two sets of fossilized tracks are approximately 313 million years old and are lying in…
Sarah York and MaryKay Orgill (Chemistry & Biochemistry) published an article, "ChEMIST Table: A Tool for Designing or Modifying Instruction for a Systems Thinking Approach in Chemistry Education," in the Journal of Chemical Education. 
MaryKay Orgill (Chemistry and Biochemistry) recently was selected as a fellow of the American Chemical Society. She is one of 53 people named fellow for 2020.  Orgill was recognized for contributions to biochemistry education research, for making theoretical frameworks accessible to the chemistry education research…
Cindy X. Kha (Life Sciences) was selected by the Nevada Space Grant Consortium to receive the prestigious Nevada NASA Space Grant Graduate Research Opportunity Fellowship for 2020-21. This highly selective award is focused on innovation through projects that will generate advancements in STEM that will directly contribute to NASA’s current and…
Simon Jowitt (Geoscience) was featured in an Ars Technica article on the rare earth elements, covering demand for these elements that are critical for modern technology, green energy, and defense. The article highlights recent UNLV geoscience research on the geology and potential recycling of the rare earth elements, and how developments in this…
Mary Blankenship (Chemistry and Economics) recently co-authored "From the George Floyd Moment to a Black Lives Matter Movement, in Tweets" with Richard Reeves of the Brookings Institution. They analyzed protest-related tweets between May 27 and June 4 to display the development of the Black Lives Matter movement. Blankenship is pursuing…