150th Chemistry

In Memoriam: Norman Edgar Phillips

July 20, 2021
by C. Judson King

Norman E. PhillipsNorman's photo for the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation award, 1963.

Norman Phillips, Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, (1928-2019) was born December 20, 1928 in Detroit, Michigan. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 1949 and 1950, followed by the Ph.D., also...

Plutonium: The scary element that helps probe space's secrets

June 28, 2021
By Justin Rowlatt | BBC News

Atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki, WWII

Plutonium may be the most feared and fearsome substance in the entire periodic table. Photo: via BBC News

This story first appeared in the BBC News Magazine September 20, 2014.

It's best known as the main ingredient of atomic bombs like the infamous Fat Man, dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945,...

Ernest Lawrence's cyclotron:
 Invention for the ages

May 26, 2021
By Lynn Yarris |Berkeley Lab

Ernest O. Lawrence, Glenn T. Seaborg, and J. Robert Oppenheimer in early 1946

Ernest O. Lawrence, Glenn T. Seaborg, and J. Robert Oppenheimer in early 1946 at the controls to the magnet of the 184-inch cyclotron, which was being converted from its wartime use to its original purpose as a cyclotron. (archive...

David Chandler, pillar of physical chemistry, dies at the age of 72

April 26, 2017
Courtesy of the Chandler family

Prof. Philip Geissler and the late Prof. David ChandlerDavid Chandler, pillar of the physical chemistry scientific community and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, died April 18, 2017 at the age of 72 at his home in Berkeley, CA after a valiant twenty-year battle with prostate cancer.

William A Lester, Jr., Ph.D. Gets the Star Treatment!

April 2, 2021
Interview with Star Jones | Marquis Who's Who

Professor Emeritus William A Lester, Ph.D. has participated in The Star Treatment, a prestigious video series hosted by renowned lawyer and television personality, Star Jones.

Dr. Lester, a professor emeritus at the Department of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley, is no stranger to hard work and dedication. His work has inspired generations of students to love science and strive for excellence. Dr. Lester's journey as a scientist began as an outgrowth of "radio-only" entertainment - he was intrigued by a commercial for DuPont, which stated, "Better things,...

Shop supervisor Eric Granlund retires

June 25, 2018
by Marge d'Wylde


Shop supervisor Eric Granlund retiresThe College is saying farewell to Eric Granlund, Shop Supervisor. Eric has been at the College since July 1985, concluding 33 years of service with his retirement this month.

Isadore Perlman

March 31, 2020

Isadore Perlman (left) Frank Asaro (right) Berkeley Lab

Isadore Perlman (left) with associate and Frank Asaro (right), taken January 15, 1964 at Berkeley Lab. Photographer: Donald Cooksey

By Frank Asaro, Joseph Cerny, Samuel S. Markowitz, John O. Rasmussen, and Glenn T. Seaborg

...

David Nathaniel Lyon

March 18, 2020
By C. Judson King, Harry Chiladakis, and Norman E. Phillips

David Lyon with Dorothy Lyon and Clayton Heathcock

David lyon, his wife Dorothy Lyon, and Clayton Heathcock. Photo: College of Chemistry.

David Nathaniel Lyon died December 10, 2008. He was living with his second wife, Dorothy, in a...

Gerhard Krohn Rollefson

March 31, 2020

By T. D. Stewart, R. E. Connick, and R. E. Powell

Gerhard Rollefson

Gerhard Krohn Rollefson was associated with the University of California at Berkeley as a graduate student and as a member of...

Ermon Dwight Eastman

July 29, 2020

By J.H. Hildebrand, S.C. Pepper, and T.D. Stewart

Ermon Dwight Eastman

Ermon Dwight Eastman, Professor of Chemistry, was born in Marysville, California, November 30, 1891. He attended the Marysville schools through the lower grades and graduated from high school after a final year in the Fremont High School, Oakland. He entered the College of...