Newsroom’s Faculty Bulletin Board is a biweekly roundup highlighting awards, honors and notable achievements by UCLA faculty members. Consider it a snapshot of the many ways Bruin scholars and researchers are advancing knowledge, shaping their fields and powering progress on campus and around the world. See previous issues of the board.
UCLA awarded $300,000 state grant to launch Public Interest Technology Pathways
UCLA DataX and the UCLA Center on Resilience & Digital Justice have been awarded a two-year, $300,000 grant from the California Education Learning Lab (Learning Lab) to launch Public Interest Technology Pathways, a project that will expand access to public interest technology education and prepare students to address society’s most pressing challenges through data, artificial intelligence and public-interest approaches to technology. The project, led by principal investigator Safiya Noble, was selected as part of Learning Lab’s Building California’s Resilient Workforce initiative.
UCLA physiologist Navid Bavi named Pew Biomedical Scholar
UCLA physiologist Navid Bavi, an assistant professor of physiology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, has been named as one of 21 researchers to join the Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences. As part of the designation, the scholars will each receive four years of funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts to research new insights into human health and diseases. Bavi’s lab studies how membrane proteins function in human sensory processes with the new research funding, it will study how sensory membrane proteins in specialized cells in the ear boost sound sensitivity.
Jessica Rett named inaugural Thomas Bye and David Bohne Professor of Linguistics
Jessica Rett, whose research combines formal semantics, pragmatics and the philosophy of language, has been named the inaugural Thomas Bye and David Bohne Professor of Linguistics. The endowed chair was established following a $1.5 million gift from Thomas J. Bye, who earned a doctorate from UCLA in 1976, and his husband, David R. Bohne. The gift is intended to support linguistics research that not only advances linguistic theory, but also demonstrates its applications and relevance beyond academia. In her research, Rett uses logical frameworks to model how people understand meaning in real time.
Paul Weiss, Naihao Chiang honored with 2026 American Vacuum Society Awards
Paul Weiss, a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry, bioengineering, and materials science and engineering at UCLA, has been selected to receive the 2026 Medard W. Welch Award, the top research award from the American Vacuum Society (AVS). Postdoctoral alumnus Naihao Chiang, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Houston, has been selected for the AVS 2026 Peter Mark Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding theoretical or experimental work by an early-career scientist or engineer. Weiss and Chiang will receive the awards and give lectures at the AVS 68th International Symposium and Exhibition, slated for Nov. 8–13, in Pittsburgh.
UCLA Health’s neuropathy program receives Center of Excellence designation
The UCLA Neuropathy Program led by Dr. Anasheh Halabi has earned a Center of Excellence designation from the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, recognizing the program’s tailored care for patients living with genetic neuropathies, including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a progressive condition that affects the peripheral nervous system. Halabi, an associate clinical professor of neurology and neuromuscular medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, founded the program in 2020. Patients often need a comprehensive approach to diagnosis, treatment and long-term symptom management.
Judea Pearl named AI pioneer by Boston Global Forum in honor of America's 250th
Judea Pearl, a chancellor’s professor emeritus of computer science at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has been named one of 50 AI Pioneers by Boston Global Forum and its AI World Society initiative. The recognition honors prominent U.S. scientists, technologists, scholars and business leaders who are described as “most powerfully shaping America’s role in the Age of Artificial Intelligence — and, through America, the governance of AI for the world.” The announcement was released to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary. Pearl is recognized for his contributions to AI research from the 1980s to the present that are foundational to how AI reasons under uncertainty.
Xiangfeng Duan recognized with the 2026 Nano Research Award
Xiangfeng Duan, a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, has been selected to receive the 2026 Nano Research Award for his pioneering contributions to the synthesis, integration and discovery of novel properties in low-dimensional materials, including two-dimensional materials, heterostructures and superlattices. Presented annually by the journal Nano Research and sponsored by Tsinghua University Press, the Nano Research Award honors scientists who have made outstanding contributions to nanoscience and nanotechnology. This year’s award is shared by Duan and Japanese chemist Akira Fujishima.
Matthew Nava receives NSF Early Career Development Award
Matthew Nava, an assistant professor in UCLA's department of chemistry and biochemistry, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, which recognizes early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. The award will support Nava’s efforts to develop new ways to transform the basic building blocks of chemicals into valuable products, including medicines, agrochemicals, material precursors and chemical fuels.
Scientific American names Steven Chavez to early-career honors list
Steven Chavez, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has been selected as one of Scientific American’s inaugural class of Young American Scientists for improving the effectiveness of catalysts used in industrial processes. He is one of 28 early-career researchers recognized for innovative work with the potential for long-term impact. Chavez joined UCLA Samueli in 2024, where he leads a research group developing custom reactors and spectroscopic tools to advance understanding of dynamics in heterogeneous catalysts with applications in energy production, chemical manufacturing and emissions mitigation.
Hiroshi Motomura honored as a Great Immigrant by the Carnegie Foundation
Hiroshi Motomura, the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and the faculty co-director of the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, has been named part of the 2026 Class of Great Immigrants, Great Americans by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. Widely regarded as one of the most influential legal scholars in immigration today, Motomura's contributions have helped shape modern U.S. immigration policy and advocacy. He was part of the legal team that led the Obama administration to implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012.
