2024 Keynote Speakers

URSA Lecture

Heavily influencing the emblems and symbols of the UC system, the bear also has been chosen to represent the iconic nature of our conference and our opening keynote address. The invitation for this talk is decided upon by graduate student and post-doc attendees to honor and hear from someone who they consider to be one of the most influential members of our field. It is the opening keynote address for the University of California Chemical Symposium and addresses the career and work of the speaker and serves to address the state of chemical sciences as a field.

Prof. Neal Devaraj

University of California San Diego

A major research thrust of our lab involves understanding how non-living matter, such as simple organic molecules, can assemble to form life. Lipid membranes are required to organize cellular reactions and regulate the exchange of matter and energy with the environment. State-of-the-art approaches to mimic cell membranes have relied on using static lipid structures that are at thermodynamic equilibrium, formed from hydrating dried lipid films or using microfluidic techniques. However, we currently do not understand the rules for reconstituting and maintaining lifelike lipid membranes that function far from equilibrium. Along these lines, my research group has developed approaches for the in-situ synthesis of synthetic cell membranes by using selective reactions to “stitch” together lipid fragments. This work has enabled the demonstration of self-reproducing lipid vesicles and artificial membranes that can remodel their chemical structure. Recently, our lab has developed techniques to synthesize lipid species within living cells, enabling studies that decipher how lipid structure affects cellular function. 

LUx Lecture

The motto of the University of California system is “Let there be light”; this call to action serves as the origin of the name of our closing keynote address. This lecturer must be nominated by former UCCS attendees in recognition of their roles as a researcher, a mentor, and an inspiration to strive ever further. This lecture addresses the career and work of the speaker as well as should serve as an inspiration to return to our universities and continue our noble pursuits.

Prof. Prineha Narang

University of California Los Angeles

We are an interdisciplinary group at UCLA at the vibrant intersection of computational science, phenomena away from equilibrium, and control of dynamical correlations in materials and molecules, connecting between the different branches of the physical sciences. Topics in our group unify and push new directions in ab initio materials theory and transport methods, ultrafast and nonequilibrium dynamics, computational condensed matter physics, and topological materials science. We also have an active and growing effort in quantum information science, spanning quantum algorithms for quantum computation as well as fundamental directions in quantum network science.