Natural Sciences & Mathematics - College of Arts and Sciences

View a list of departments in natural sciences & mathematics.

shot of the bell tower at an angle with a beautiful blue sky and orange and yellow flowers in the foreground

College of Arts & Sciences recognizes 12 new distinguished professors

Congratulations to the 12 faculty who were recently appointed distinguished professors or distinguished term professors in the College of Arts & Sciences. Their new appointments take effect July 1.

Photo of Old Well with campus seal in the foreground by Donn Young

A Message from Dean Rhodes

This has been a deeply painful and disturbing week for our nation, with the video that has emerged of George Floyd and his horrible death in police custody in Minneapolis.

Artist’s interpretation of the explosion of a recurrent nova, RS Ophiuchi. This is a binary star in the constellation of Ophiuchus and is approximately 5,000 light-years away. It explodes roughly every 20 years when the gas flowing from the large star that falls onto the white dwarf reaches temperatures exceeding ten million degrees.

Class of stellar explosions found to be galactic producers of lithium

A team of researchers has combined theory with both observations and laboratory studies and determined that a class of stellar explosions, called classical novae, are responsible for most of the lithium in our galaxy and solar system.

Closeup of a hand in a purple glove administering drops into a lab beaker

UNC team receives NSF RAPID grant for lung-mucus strategy to mitigate COVID-19 transmission, infection

An interdisciplinary team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received funding to explore the critical role of airway mucus in the transmission, infection and spread versus protection from COVID-19.

Yurco named 2020 Manager of the Year

Laura Yurco in the department of chemistry has been named 2020 Manager of the Year. She joined the department of chemistry in 2017 with over 13 years of experience with the University.

graphic illustration of a brain inside of a robot

Machine Morality

As machines become more autonomous, humans must define the limits of their decision-making. UNC postdoctoral researcher Yochanan Bigman addresses this topic, suggesting where to draw the line when self-governing technology is required to make life-or-death decisions. After a late-night shopping trip one Sunday evening in Tempe, Arizona, Elaine Herzberg loads her grocery bags onto her bicycle. She approaches a four-lane … Read more

The Fast and the Autonomous

In a small corner of Sitterson Hall sits a fleet of pint-size cars that can see and navigate independently, winning races for the team of UNC computer science students that created them.