This article appeared in Catalyst Magazine, Spring 2025
Dean's Desk
I wrote my first column as Dean of the College of Chemistry for the fall 2013 issue of Catalyst. Over the last nearly 12 years, it has been a great honor, to say the least, to showcase to donors and guests exemplars of our college's rich history, such as G. N. Lewis's original bookcase and rolltop desk and Melvin Calvin's 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and handwritten acceptance speech. I have no doubt my successor will feel similarly energized by the incomparable record of achievements and the tradition of excellence that flows through the hallways of our college. I am so very proud to be a part of the legacy of this institution. It is a legacy that will continue to champion new knowledge and discovery for the benefit of all.
A prime example of our community's ability to innovate is our leading NIH-funded Chemical Biology Graduate Program (CBGP), which has grown in size, scope, and impact over the last 20 years. In this issue, you can read about how the program's success, popularity, and effectiveness prompted other institutions across the nation to adopt a similar model. In this rapidly changing research funding climate, now more than ever programs like CBGP need your support to sustain its vital training, development, and cohort-building activities.
We are delighted to have two new faculty members joining the Department of Chemistry in July: Assistant Professor Margaux Pinney, whose research focuses on developing microfluidic-based technologies for dissecting protein function in high throughput; and Assistant Professor Colin Gould (highlighted in this issue), whose work addresses longstanding challenges in pharmaceutical and fine chemical synthesis through an interdisciplinary approach. In the following pages, you can also read about Assistant Teaching Professor Laura Hirshfield, whose arrival in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering I announced in the last issue of Catalyst.
Likewise, our mid-career faculty, like Professor Markita Landry, continue to make an impression on the national level as trailblazers in the chemical sciences. Last fall, I was fortunate to attend the award ceremony for the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, where Markita was honored for her work in pioneering nanoscale chemical tools to address disparate challenges in human health and sustainability. Her From the dean's desk, then and now—part two fascinating and important research is further described in the accompanying Women in STEM profile.
Also in this issue, we highlight the Pitzer Family Foundation, a generous and longtime supporter of the college. Professor Kenneth (Ken) Pitzer, former dean of the College of Chemistry and one of the most influential physical chemists of his era, began his academic career at Berkeley as a faculty member in 1937 and pursued a dynamic and distinguished career as a scientist, educator, administrator, and public servant until his retirement in 1984. His world-famous research spanned almost all of the important fields of physical chemistry, including thermodynamics, spectroscopy, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, molecular structure, and more. Ken's achievements were widely recognized during his career in academia, and his legacy lives on in the Pitzer Family Foundation.
As we navigate this turbulent and ever-changing university landscape, I am heartened by the recent message from UC President Dr. Michael V. Drake:
"I also want to reassure you that certain truths remain steadfast despite constant change—including our UC mission. For more than 150 years, the University of California has focused on teaching, research, and public service for the greater good.... No matter what, we can find strength in our institutional integrity. And we will keep working to make sure the University remains a beacon of hope for California and the world."
And while I still don't know the answer to the question that I posed in my first Catalyst column; namely, "How would Lewis have handled this?", I am pleased to say that his original desk and all those notable awards are still in the same place, and the College of Chemistry is still in the same place as the preeminent institution of its kind. Of that, G. N. Lewis would have approved.
Thank you to everyone out there who made the last decade the pinnacle of my professional career.
Fiat lux, and Go Bears!
DOUGLAS S. CLARK
Dean, College of Chemistry, Gilbert N. Lewis Professor