Natural Sciences

Santiago Morales, assistant professor of psychology and pediatrics, has received the 2024 Kucharski Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology. This award recognizes early-career researchers making significant contributions to the field. Morales’ research explores how early differences in emotion regulation and temperament shape socioemotional development and risk for psychopathology. Honoring the memory of David Kucharski, the award includes a cash prize, an engraved plaque and an invitation to present at the society’s annual meeting, highlighting Morales’s innovative work and its impact on advancing developmental psychobiology.

Morteza Dehghani, professor of psychology and computer science, has been named a 2024 Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. This honor recognizes his outstanding contributions to personality and social psychology, including his leadership, research, pedagogy and advocacy for the field. Dehghani’s work combines machine learning and natural language processing to uncover cognitive and psychological patterns in social discourse, offering new insights into moral cognition. The fellowship celebrates his dedication to advancing understanding in the discipline and his role in shaping its future through innovation and influence.

Remo Rohs, founding chair of the Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology and professor of quantitative and computational biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy and computer science, has been elected a fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA). Rohs is one of four fellows from the quantitative and computational biology department to receive this honor. Fengzhu Sun, professor of quantitative and computational biology and mathematics, was also elected this year, and Nobel laureate Arieh Warshel, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Quantitative and Computational Biology and Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Chemistry as well as University Professor Michael Waterman were previously elected. AAIA is a global, academic, nonprofit organization formed by scholars who share a focus on advancing artificial intelligence.

Fengzhu Sun, professor of quantitative and computational biology and mathematics, has been elected a fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association. The association is a global, academic, nonprofit organization formed by scholars who share a focus on advancing AI. Sun is one of four fellows from the quantitative and computational biology department to have received this honor, joining Remo Rohs, founding chair of the Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology and professor of quantitative and computational biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy and computer science, who was also elected this year, as well as Nobel laureate Arieh Warshel, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Quantitative and Computational Biology and Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Chemistry, and University Professor Emeritus Michael Waterman, who were previously elected.

Anna Krylov, USC Associates Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry, has been awarded the Kolos Medal from the University of Warsaw and the Polish Chemical Society for her outstanding contribution to the theoretical chemistry of open-shell and electronically-excited molecules in complex environments. The Kolos Medal is awarded every two years in recognition of achievements in chemistry.

Greta Panova, Gabilan Distinguished Professor in Science and Engineering and professor of mathematics, has been named a 2024 Fellow in Mathematics by the Simons Foundation. Renowned for her expertise in combinatorics, probability and theoretical computer science, Panova’s selection underscores her exceptional contributions to the field. The Simons Fellows program extends academic leaves from one term to a full year, aiming to enable recipients to focus solely on research for the long periods often necessary for significant advances.

Fengzhu Sun, professor of quantitative and computational biology and mathematics, has been conferred the distinguished title of 2024 Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology. The prestigious accolade recognizes outstanding contributions to the fields of computational biology and bioinformatics. Sun was honored for his contributions in advancing the frontier of biological and biomedical sciences through the ingenious use of probability and statistical methodologies, most notably for his work elucidating the intricate realms of protein interaction networks and metagenomics.

Moh El-Naggar, divisional dean for the physical sciences and mathematics, Dean’s Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and professor of physics and astronomy and chemistry, and Eric Webb, professor of biological sciences and environmental studies, have been elected Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Kelly Luo, Gabilan Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, was elected to the executive committee of the American Physical Society Forum on Early Career Scientists. The forum provides support and mentorship to post-doctoral fellows as they navigate through the early stages of their career and helps them increase inclusion and participation in the activities and decision-making of the physics community worldwide.