I'd like to introduce myself as the Dean of the College of Chemistry at Berkeley. I've been on the faculty since 1967 and have specialized in physical chemistry. For more information about me, please visit my website.

I am pleased to be working with Jeffrey Reimer and Michael Marletta, who are both highly decorated teachers and researchers, to make good things continue to happen for the college. Together, the three of us and our colleagues, along with our dedicated staff members-and with your support-will maintain our outstanding programs that make this the best place in the world to study chemistry and chemical engineering.

I would like to tell you about the recent selection by global energy firm BP to partner with the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) , and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to lead an unprecedented $500 million research effort to develop new sources of energy and reduce the impact of energy consumption on the environment. A significant number of College of Chemistry researchers will likely participate in the institute, with an emphasis on the processing of biomass feedstocks, including enzymatic and catalytic techniques for fuel production.

New for 2007, the college is now offering a Materials Chemistry concentration for the B.S. Degree in Chemistry.  The concentration is intended for students interested in the application of basic chemical principles to the discovery, design, and characterization of materials (including polymers, inorganic solids, nanoscale materials, and biological materials).

One of our priorities at the College of Chemistry is keeping in touch with our alumni — check the website for upcoming alumini events. In addition, the MIT-Stanford-UC Berkeley Nanotechnology Forums in the south bay will continue, and I encourage you to check out the website for the topics and speakers.

I look forward to seeing you at future college events and to hearing from you about your ideas for improving the college.

Charles B. Harris
Dean and Gilbert Newton Lewis Professor