JIFRESSE would like to welcome the appointment of the new dean of the Division of Physical Sciences, Professor Miguel A. García-Garibay. We are confident that our Institute will continue to thrive with Dr. García-Garibay as our new dean. We look forward to many more auspicious collaborations involving NASA JPL/Caltech and UCLA JIFRESSE. 

As background, Professor García-Garibay received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 1988 and a B.S. in pharmaceutical chemistry and biology from Michoacan University of Saint Nicholas of Hidalgo in 1985. Professor García-Garibay joined UCLA as a faculty member in 1992 and has served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 2012, vice chair of the department from 2005-2008, as well as diversity advisor for the Division of Physical Sciences from 2009-2012. Professor García-Garibay is also author or co-author of over 200 publications, an associate editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and serves on the editorial advisory boards of Crystal Growth & Design and The Journal of Organic Chemistry. In recognition of his research endeavors and successes regarding organic photochemistry, solid-state organic chemistry, and physical organic chemistry, Dr. García-Garibay has received numerous honors from the National Science Foundation (NSF), American Chemical Society (ACS), and Inter-American Photochemical Society (I-APS), as well as awards including the Herbert Newby McCoy Award (1999), Academic Advancement Program Faculty Recognition Award (2008), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award (2013), and the Faculty-Staff Partnership Award (2015). He has also been a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 2007.

JIFRESSE would also like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Joseph Rudnick, Professor of Physics, for his support and leadership since his appointment as dean of the Division of Physical Sciences beginning in 2006 and senior dean of the College of Letters and Science since 2013.