The central mission of the College of Chemistry is to advance society through education and research, and we have made it our responsibility to fulfill this mission, year in and year out, for more than 140 years.
Our two departments provide fundamental and applied studies of an outstanding caliber. The remarkable breadth and depth of resources available to our students readies them as chemists and chemical engineers to address society’s most urgent 21st-century issues.
College faculty have been leaders at the frontiers of knowledge since 1872. Current pioneering research includes premier programs in catalysis, thermodynamics, chemical biology, atmospheric chemistry, the development of polymer, optical and semiconductor materials, and nanoscience, among others.
Check out College of Chemistry news articles and featured videos, as well as our biannual college magazine, Catalyst.
The College of Chemistry is consistently ranked as one of the best places on earth to learn, teach, and create new tools in the chemical sciences. This is no accident. It’s the direct result of exceptional scholarship as well as thousands and thousands of donations from our loyal alumni and friends.
The latest rankings list Berkeley chemistry dept. as world's top program.
Read the article.Read more about UC Berkeley ranked #3 globally by U.S. News and World Report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is awarding a $1 million prize to Jay Keasling for biofuel research and John Goodenough (University of Texas) for his work in...Read more about Keasling wins Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation
A profile of Fermi Award winner Charles Shank.
Read the article.Read more about A passionate scientist, a picosecond pioneer and a Presidential Honoree
DOE's Joint BioEnergy Institute has filed for 100 patents and published 500 scientific papers
...Read more about JBEI joins elite 100/500 club
How the use of Ivermectin in Africa sparked Richmond Sarpong's interest in chemistry.
Read the article.Read more about Why the 2015 Nobel Prize In Medicine was the boyhood inspiration for a chemist from Africa
Jennifer Doudna has been named one of five laureates of the 2016 L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards in the field of life sciences.
...Read more about Doudna receives Women in Science Award from L’Oreal-UNESCO
Peidong Yang explains how his work led to the development of "leaves" capable of artificial photosynthesis.
Heather Buckley, of the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, travels to India to report on chemical safety....Read more about Safer chemicals would benefit both consumers and workers
Yang and fellow researchers produce first ultrathin sheets of perovskite hybrids...Read more about A Different Type of 2D Semiconductor