Advancing Society Through Education And Research
Academic Excellence
Nobel Tradition
Faculty
College Resources
Students
Tomorrow's Leaders
Partnering with Industry
Private Support
The College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of only three institutions in the nation that synergistically combine chemistry and chemical engineering in a single unit. Closely integrating research and education, the college is dedicated to educating the next generation of leaders in the chemical sciences and to creating, applying, and disseminating new knowledge and technology to advance society.
As a public institution, the college seeks to use these disciplines to address issues of broad social and economic concern, including health, energy and the environment, new materials, and enabling technologies for sustainable growth.
The College of Chemistry was created as an instructional unit within the university in 1872, and it continues to provide its top-ranked faculty and students with opportunities to work at the frontiers of knowledge. The college prides itself on a balanced approach to science, emphasizing both fundamental and applied studies.
Chemistry faculty members are involved in work that encompasses all areas of chemical research, including the traditional fields of analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry as well as such diverse areas as nanoscience; nuclear, biophysical, materials and atmospheric chemistry; and structural and chemical biology.
The chemical engineering faculty has established world-renowned research programs in fields such as thermodynamics, surface catalysis, electrochemical processes, fluid mechanics, separation and transport processes, polymer processing, and control systems, and in promising research fields such as biochemical engineering, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and the study of electronic and optical materials.
College faculty and students frequently conduct research at the nexus of multiple disciplines, collaborating with researchers from other Berkeley departments, universities, national laboratories, and private industry.
The National Research Council ranked thirty-five of Berkeley's thirty-six doctoral programs in the top ten in terms of overall scholarly quality in its last rankings.
Chemistry |
Chemical Engineering |
| 1. Berkeley | 1. U. of Minnesota |
| 2. Caltech | 2. MIT |
| 3. Harvard/Stanford | 3. Berkeley |
| 4. MIT | 4. U. of Wisconsin |
| 5. Cornell | 5. U. of Illinois |
College faculty and alumni have been awarded eleven Nobel Prizes in Chemistry.
| Faculty |
| 1949 - William F. Giauque (B.S.'20, Ph.D '22) |
| 1951 - Glenn T. Seaborg (Ph.D.'37) |
| 1961 - Melvin Calvin |
| 1986 - Yuan T. Lee (Ph.D.'65) |
| Alumni |
| 1934 - Harold C. Urey (Ph.D.'23) |
| 1960 - Willard F. Libby (B.S.'31, Ph.D.'33) |
| 1983 - Henry Taube (B.S.'35, Ph.D.'40) |
| 1989 - Thomas Cech (Ph.D.'75) |
| 1995 - Mario Molina (Ph.D.'72) |
| 1996 - Robert F. Curl, Jr. (Ph.D.'57) |
| 1999 - Ahmed Zewail (Postdoc.'74) |
| Chemical Engineering | ||
| Full Professors* | 17 | |
| Associate Professors | 1 | |
| Assistant Professors | 3 | |
| Adjunct Professors | 2 | |
| Lecturers | 2 | |
| Chemistry | ||
| Full Professors* | 43 | |
| Associate Professors | 5 | |
| Assistant Professors | 7 | |
| Lecturers | 4 | |
| Honors and Awards** | ||
| National Medals of Science | 5 | |
| National Academy of Engineering | 7 | |
| National Academy of Sciences | 26 | |
| American Academy of Arts & Sciences | 28 | |
| Distinguished Teaching Awards | 7 | |
*includes Professors of the Graduate School
**includes active emeriti professors
The college complex consists of six buildings surrounding a central plaza that house facilities for instruction, research, and administration as well as the chemistry library, shops, and analytical services. The new Stanley Hall, completed in 2007, houses research groups from several campus departments, including chemistry and chemical engineering, all working in the health sciences. The college also uses adjacent Pimentel Hall for lectures. College researchers have access to numerous specialized campus facilities, such as the microfabrication laboratory and the brain imaging center, as well as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), located on the hill above campus, which houses state-of-the-art charged particle accelerators, the Advanced Light Source, and the Molecular Foundry.
Chemistry |
Chemical Engineering |
Chemical Biology |
|
| Majors, 2008-2009 | |||
| Undergrad Students | 186 |
369 |
257 |
| Graduate Students | 399 |
119 |
— |
| Postdocs | 250 |
42 |
— |
| Degrees Awarded, 2007-2008 | |||
| Bachelor of Science | 71 |
94 |
75 |
| Bachelor of Arts | 6 |
— |
— |
| Master of Science | 15 |
12 |
— |
| Doctor of Philosophy | 87 |
27 |
— |
In the College of Chemistry, both undergraduate and graduate students are educated to be leaders for the next generation—academia, the professions, industry, and government service.
Chemistry |
Chemical Engineering |
Chemical Biology |
|
| Graduate School | 47% |
18% |
33% |
| Industry | 37% |
78% |
39% |
| Professional School | 6% |
— |
17% |
| Government | 3% |
2% |
6% |
| Other | 7% |
2% |
5% |
Chemistry |
Chemical Engineering |
|||
M.S. |
Ph.D. |
M.S. |
Ph.D. |
|
| Academia** | 10% |
27% |
39% |
47% |
| Industry/Business | 90% |
57% |
39% |
35% |
| Goverment | — |
15% |
4% |
15% |
| Other | — |
1% |
4% |
3% |
*based on total number of self-reported positions, graduates of 2000-2007.
**includes postdoctoral researchers
The Industrial Friends Program promotes interaction between industry and the college. Through the IFP, corporate representatives develop ties with faculty and students, are kept abreast of new research and have priority access to in-house recruiting.
With only about one-third of its budget coming from the state, UC Berkeley must rely on private support to help fulfill its public mission.
| Individuals | $2.95 (33.3%) |
| Private foundations/non-profit organizations | $3.11 (35.1%) |
| Corporations/corporate foundations | $2.80 (31.6%) |
| Total | $8.86 |
Operating |
Endowment |
|
| Unrestricted/Programs | $0.62 (17.8%) |
$0.11 (2.1%) |
| Chairs/Professorships | $4.51 (83.7%) |
|
| Student Support | $0.46 (13.3%) |
$0.76 (14.2%) |
| Research | $2.32 (66.9%) |
|
| Instruction/Seminars | $0.06 (1.6%) |
$0.01 (<1%) |
| Capital | $0.01 (0.4%) |
|
| Subtotal | $3.47 (39.2%) |
$5.39 (60.8%)* |
| Total | $8.86 |
* Includes matching funds from the Hewlett Foundation Challenge and the Chancellor's Challenge.