School of Physical Sciences

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The School of Physical Sciences vaulted to international prominence in 1995 when two professors, Frederick Reines and F. Sherwood Rowland, accepted Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry, marking the first time a public university received the prestigious award in two fields within the same year.  Reines was recognized for discovering the neutrino, a new elementary particle of nature that was thought to be undetectable.  Rowland’s prize was for the discovery that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) deplete the ozone layer, work that sparked a worldwide and triumphant effort to close the ozone hole. Taken together, these efforts are emblematic of the broad mission of this school: to uncover fundamental truths and to provide transformative discoveries that tangibly improve the world.  Reines, who was also our founding dean, said he was motivated by the fact that “everybody said you couldn’t do it.” This undeterred, unbending spirit continues to flourish to this day.