A mathematician working in the life sciences and an astrophysicist studying dark matter from the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis are among the recent cohort awarded Chancellor’s Fellowships for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Selected by Chancellor Gary S. May and the Academic Senate's Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity, they are among five faculty members campuswide who will each receive $5,000 in one-time Academic Enrichment Funding. The fellowships recognize exceptional contributions in supporting, tutoring, mentoring and advising underrepresented students and/or students from underserved communities. In letters to the recipients, Chancellor May cited their “commitment to reducing opportunity gaps.”

Both F. Javier Arsuaga and David Wittman say closing those opportunity gaps is crucial for scientific discovery. Learn more about the awardees from the College of Letters and Science below.

F. Javier Arsuaga
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology 

Arsuaga was an undergraduate student studying at the Universidad de Zaragoza in Spain when he first learned that mathematical knots were being used to study the nuances of DNA. Though his chosen major was mathematics, Arsuaga was always fascinated by molecular biology and the sciences.

“It was then that I realized that I wanted to pursue a career at the intersection of mathematics and molecular biology studying the properties of DNA,” Arsuaga said.

And that’s exactly what Arsuaga, a professor who holds joint appointments in the Department of Mathematics at the College of Letters and Science and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the College of Biological Sciences, is doing today. His research focuses on developing mathematical models for biological processes that occur at the molecular level, like the packaging of DNA. Disruptions of this packaging, and the 3D structure of the genome, can lead to myriad diseases, including cancer.

“I have spent most of my career studying how DNA molecules and chromosomes organize in viruses and cells,” Arsuaga said. “Most recently, I have also studied the spike (S) protein of coronaviruses and used data science to determine molecular features of the S protein that help predict spillover events.”

Spillover events occur when a virus jumps from one species to another.

Coronaviruses are characterized by spike proteins that line the exterior of each virus, giving it a crown-like (the corona) appearance. These spike proteins act like keys, allowing the virus to infect human cells via the ACE-2 receptor, which lies on the surface of the target cell. As the coronavirus spreads, spike proteins accumulate mutations, potentially providing the virus with new keys to hijack human cells. In 2020, Arsuaga’s research in this area received a RAPID grant from the National Science Foundation.

Beyond research, Arsuaga is heavily involved in DEI efforts at UC Davis and the national level. He served first as chair of the Affirmative Action and Diversity Committee at UC Davis and subsequently as chair of the systemwide University Committee on Affirmative Action, Diversity and Equity. He also participated in the task force that led to the Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative, has been a member of the Cal- Bridge program leadership, and organized a workshop on the role of DEI in STEM fields. He currently directs the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Math, which aims to increase the presence of underrepresented students.

“It is an honor to receive this fellowship,” Arsuaga said. “To me, it means that our campus values the work that I and many others do to advance DEI. Becoming a Chancellor’s Fellow further motivates me to pursue new DEI projects.”   

Arsuaga’s commitment to DEI efforts stems from his belief that they create a better teaching, working and learning environment, leading to innovative thinking and solutions. 

“I believe that DEI efforts will translate into solutions to the most pressing problems of our society,” Arsuaga said. “Many aspects of DEI percolate at all levels of our institution and society, and they are often very complex. DEI requires passion and a serious long-term commitment. This is why DEI efforts have become part of all aspects of my work today.”   

David Wittman 
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy 

For as long as he can remember, Wittman always wanted to be an astronomer. Raised in central Wisconsin, his upbringing was rural, with one of the benefits being minimal light pollution in his hometown. At night, he’d grab a pair of binoculars and gaze upwards into the sky, marveling at the celestial bodies countless lightyears away.   

Today, Wittman’s childhood ambition is a reality. A first-generation college student, he’s now a professor in the UC Davis Department of Physics and Astronomy, where he studies galaxy collisions and dark matter. 

“One of the big puzzles in astrophysics is, what is this stuff that we call dark matter?” Wittman said. “Do dark matter particles interact with each other at all? We know there’s a lot of mass in the universe that’s not emitting light and it also doesn’t absorb light, so it’s very hard to study other than gravitationally.”  

To unravel the nature of dark matter, Wittman and his colleagues take cues from particle physicists who use instruments like the Large Hadron Collider to smash atoms together.  

“They’re probing the nature of what’s inside the atom,” Wittman said. “Similarly, if nature smashes dark matter blobs together, we might be able to figure out something about dark matter. … This is the large dark matter collider.” 

Instead of using a human-designed laboratory for his experiments, Wittman relies on the universe, with galaxy clusters, which are largely composed of dark matter, performing the same function as atoms in a particle accelerator. The timescale for these collision experiments is long, on the order of 1 billion years. 

“In our lifetime, we don’t actually see the collision play out,” Wittman said. “We have to look at a bunch of different systems in the sky that are in different stages and sort of piece together the puzzle of what the process is.”    

As the galaxy clusters fall together gravitationally, Wittman and his colleagues monitor them for any downshifts in speed. “If they slow down a little bit, that means they’ve exchanged some momentum,” Wittman said. “That means there’s some sort of interaction going on and we want to look at that.” 

Wittman’s passion for research extends to sharing that joy with future generations of scientists. In 2010, he created the Northern California Graduate Physics Admissions Bootcamp, which is designed to help students navigate the graduate school application process. He also helped found Cal-Bridge North, which recruits diverse scholars, supports their progress and matches them with suitable mentors. He’s participated in the creation and implementation of a departmental climate survey, led the formation of a UC Davis team for the American Physical Society Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Alliance (APS-IDEA), and contributed to his department’s proposal to become a partner in the APS Bridge Program. Currently, he serves on the Department of Physics and Astronomy DEI faculty committee.  

“It’s quite an honor,” Wittman said of his appointment as a Chancellor’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “There are so many people doing great work on this campus, so it’s really an honor to be included among them.”