150th Celebration

James Andrew Harris and element discovery at Berkeley Lab

February 1, 2021
by Darryl Boyd | C&EN

Element 104 discovery team

The Berkeley lab team that discovered elements 104 and 105, April 1969. From left: Matti Nurmia, James Harris, Kari Eskola, Pirkko Eskola, and Albert Ghiorso. (Photo: Berkeley Lab)

The discovery of an element is a rare occurrence. Defying racial and academic expectations, James A. Harris played a prominent role in the discovery of two elements.

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Richard Edward Powell

March 11, 2020
By George Jura, R. E. Connick, A. E. Hutson, and G. A. Somorjai
Powell was born in Chicago in 1917. He earned his B.S. at Berkeley in 1939, and his Ph.D. at Princeton in 1942.

George Claude Pimentel

March 3, 2020
Robert E. Connick, Frederick C. Crews, C. Bradley Moore, Kenneth S. Pitzer, and Loy L. Sammet

George Claude Pimentel pointing to a blackboard while lecturing

With the death of George Pimentel (1922-1989), the Berkeley campus has lost an eminent scientist, a great teacher, a...

Earl Leonard Muetterties

March 20, 2020

Earl Muetterties

By K. N. Raymond, R. A. Andersen, R. G. Bergman, and A. M. Stacy

Earl Muetterties died of cancer on January 12, 1984, at the age of 56. Although he had been at Berkeley for only six years, his contributions to the Berkeley Chemistry Department were important and lasting. His lifetime contributions to the science of chemistry, first as a research worker and later as a teacher, have an...

Gilbert Newton Lewis

March 25, 2020
by Raymond G. Gettell, Joel H. Hildebrand, Wendell M. Latimer, and G. E. Gibson
Scientist in a laboratory

Gilbert N. Lewis in his lab at UC Berkeley, 1937.

“Gilbert Newton Lewis was born near Boston, October 23, 1875. At the age of nine he was taken by his parents to live in Lincoln, Nebraska, where...

William Francis Giauque

January 1, 2020
College of Chemistry News

William Francis Giauque

By D. N. Lyon, K. S. Pitzer, and D. A. Shirley

The death of William Francis Giauque, 1949 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, on March 28, 1982, ended the career of one of Berkeley's most illustrious scientists. His 66-year association with U.C. Berkeley--unbroken by leave, sabbatical leave, or absences other than short illnesses and summer...

Melvin Calvin

March 28, 2020

By Les Prix Nobel, edited by Nobel Lectures

man in laboratory

Photo: Melvin Calvin in his Lab.

Melvin Calvin was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, April 8, 1911, of Russian emigrant parents. He received the B...

Bruce H. Mahan, 1930 - 1982

February 18, 2021
Yuan T. Lee, Rollie J. Myers, Kenneth Sauer, and Ignacio Tinoco Jr.

Bruce Mahan posing on a tree log

Bruce Mahan was born in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1930. He attended Harvard University both as an undergraduate and as a graduate Ph.D. student. After completing his bachelor's degree in the chemistry department, he decided to carry out his doctoral studies with George Kistiakowsky in physical chemistry...

In memoriam: Alum Harvey Itano and the journey to sickle cell research

July 13, 2021
Jackie Carr | UC San Diego

Harvey Itano photographed by Dorethea Lange

Image: Harvey Akio Itano, 21, 1942 graduate from the University of California where he received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree. He was chosen by the faculty as University Medalist for 1942 and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. Mr. Itano went to the Japanese Assembly center prior to...

The first women chemists at Cal

February 5, 2018
by Marge d'Wylde | College of Chemistry
The College salutes the pioneer women chemistry faculty at Cal. Both as scientists, and as early faculty members at the University, they helped to pave the way for the next generations of women faculty and students.