Three exceptional UCLA scientists -- including two from the College of Letters and Science -- have been honored with Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers by President Barack Obama.

Life scientists from the College and their colleagues have discovered the first evidence of the H1N1 virus in animals in Africa. In one village in northern Cameroon, a staggering 89 percent of the pigs studied had been exposed to the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu.

David Schaberg, chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, has been appointed interim dean of the Division of Humanities.  Schaberg assumes the post from Tim Stowell, who has served leadership roles in the Humanities for three decades and will return to the faculty in the Department of Linguistics.  

The size of leaves can vary by a factor of 1,000, but until now, the reason why has remained a mystery. A new study by an international team led by UCLA life scientists goes a long way toward solving it.

A new book by a historian in the College makes the case that Caribbean influence -- and not the politics and culture of the Harlem Renaissance -- was a major key to success for Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association, which advocated self-help and the unity for blacks in the early 20th century.

A new study produced by scholars in the College suggests that warfare between the fifth century B.C. and the first century A.D. likely shaped the development of the first settlement that would classify as a civilization in the Titicaca basin of southern Peru.

The Dawn spacecraft, with a science team directed by UCLA principal investigator Christopher Russell, has started its observations of the second-largest asteroid in our solar system with a stream of dazzling photographs.

Many students in the College participate in research as undergraduates, taking major roles in important studies and publishing their findings even before they graduate.

Chris Johanson from the Department of Classics takes his studies of ancient Rome into the electronic realm, using powerful digital technology to study historical phenomena.

The sun and the solar system's inner planets, including the Earth, may have formed differently than previously thought, according to UCLA scientists and colleagues analyzing samples from the NASA's Genesis mission.

A new advance by biochemists in the College has brought scientists one step closer to developing treatments that could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and prevent the sexual transmission of HIV.

Visit the home page for the College's Commencement home page to see video of the full 2011 ceremony, plus highlight photos.

Through the College's CityLab Program, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, undergraduates bring students from low-performing high schools to UCLA, and in five hours make science both understandable and appealing.

The best-selling book about a poor black farmer and how the cells taken from her became some of the most important tools in medicine has been chosen for the university's 2011 Common Book Program, a reading experience that involves every new UCLA student in their first week on campus.

The Da Ponte Library Collection at UCLA -- the first of its kind in North America -- has received a three-year grant from the NIAF that will help fund the Library's goal of preserving Italian American culture and heritage through translating and publishing works by Italian authors.

Jonathan Ditty, Gabriel Gomez, and Andrew Kaddis were honored with the 2011 Charles E. Young Humanitarian Award for their outstanding commitment to public service.

Geochemist T. Mark Harrison, molecular biologist Steven Jacobsen, and astronomer Edward L. Wright have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors awarded to a scientist in the United States.

Harryette Mullen, professor of English and winner of the Jackson Prize for Poetry, uses her writings to explore globalism, the African American experience, women's issues, and a love of wordplay.

Squamous cell cancers, which can occur in multiple organs in the body, can originate from hair follicle stem cells, according to biologist and senior study author William Lowry.  The finding could result in new strategies to treat and potentially prevent the disease.

Biologist Jeffrey H. Miller and archaeologist Lothar Von Falkenhausen are among the 212 new fellows chosen nationally this year for distinguished contributions to their fields of study.

Kay Ryan, who received her B.A. and M.A. in English at UCLA, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for her book showcasing 45 years of work, "The Best of It: New and Selected Poems."

Four UCLA professors -- including two from the College of Letters and Science -- are among 180 artists, scholars and scientists chosen from nearly 3,000 applicants to receive 2011 Guggenheim Fellowships on the basis of "prior achievement and exceptional promise."

In a feat of manipulating substances at the nanoscale, UCLA researchers and colleagues demonstrated a method to isolate two molecules and control how they react when excited with ultraviolet light, making detailed observations both before and after the reaction.

It may seem paradoxical, but being part of a crowd is what makes you unique, according to UCLA life scientists Kimberly Pollard and Daniel Blumstein.

An team of astronomers has identified for the first time a thick stellar disc in the Andromeda galaxy, the nearest large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way.

Aaron S. Williams, director of the Peace Corps, will be the keynote speaker this June at the public service-themed commencement ceremony for the UCLA College of Letters and Science.