Awards and Honors

College of Chemistry awards and honors featured in the news.

Diamond Jubilee celebration at IIT Kanpur honors Nitash Balsara

November 4, 2019

Nitash Balsara

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), one of the first Indian Institutes of Technology and a globally acclaimed Institute of national importance, has just completed celebrating its diamond jubilee. As part of the celebrations, alumni from the College, including Professor Nitash Balsara were honored for their academic excellence, professional excellence and entrepreneurship.

Alumni Klaas Bergmann and Lisa Onishi awarded industry prizes

November 4, 2019

Alumni in the news

Professor Emeritus Klaas Bergmann has been awarded the 2020 Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics by APS Physics “for the invention of Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage (STIRAP) that became universally used for coherent transfer in quantum systems with unprecedented efficiency and robustness."

Dr. Lisa Onishi, Chemical Engineer, Researcher and Senior Process Engineer at Intel, has been recognized with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for her "dedication, achievements, and leadership as a professional engineer".

Kwabena Bediako among recipients of Air Force award granted to 40 scientists and engineers through young investigator research program

October 16, 2019

Kwabena Bediako

ARLINGTON,VIRGINIA – The Air Force Office of Scientific Research — the basic research component of the Air Force Research Laboratory — today announced it will award approximately $17.8 million in grants to 40 scientists and engineers from 30 research institutions and businesses who submitted winning research proposals through the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program (YIP).

Distinguished European Academy elects new faculty member Polly Arnold

September 24, 2019

Polly Arnold

Prominent heavy-element chemist Polly Arnold has been elected a member of Academia Europaea. Her research focuses on advancing our understanding of the bonding and reactivity of heavy elements, the elements of the f-block of the periodic table. Arnold was recently appointed Chemical Sciences Division Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Concurrent with her role at Berkeley Lab, she will also join the Chemistry Department faculty at UC Berkeley in January 2020.

Paul Alivisatos announced as 2019 Welch Award in Chemistry recipient

September 13, 2019

Paul Alivisatos and Charles Leiber

The Welch Foundation, one of the nation’s largest sources of private funding for basic chemical research, has announced that Drs. Armand Paul Alivisatos and Charles M. Lieber are the 2019 recipients of the prestigious Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry. Highly-respected and influential leaders in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology, Drs. Alivisatos and Lieber are being recognized for their important research contributions which have had a significant, positive impact on humankind.

Jay Keasling awarded Doing a World of Good Medal

September 12, 2019

AIChE Gala graphic

AIChE has announced the 2019 Doing a World of Good Medal will be presented to Jay D. Keasling, Professor, University of California, Berkeley and Senior Faculty Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Jay, is a pre-eminent scientist in the field of synthetic biology. AIChE is pleased to have the opportunity to honor Jay’s contributions and achievements for this most deserving recognition.

CBE faculty announced as Bakar Fellows

September 6, 2019

carbon nanotube

Two faculty scientists in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) at UC Berkeley including Professor Roya Maboudian and Assistant Professor Markita Landry, have been named to the 2019-20 cohort of Bakar Fellows, an honor that gives the named fellows the money and time to translate their laboratory breakthroughs into technologies ready for the marketplace. The Bakar Fellows Program was launched at UC Berkeley in 2012 and fosters faculty entrepreneurship in fields including engineering, computer science, the biological and physical sciences and architecture.

Tom Maimone and Wenjun Zhang receive Presidential Early Career Awards

July 8, 2019

Tom Maimone and Wenjun ZhangPresident Donald J. Trump has announced the newest recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.

Kwabena Bediako receives Office of Naval Research (ONR) 2019 Young Investigator Award

December 20, 2018

Kwabena BediakoKwabena Bediako has been named a recipient of The Office of Naval Research (ONR) 2019 Young Investigator Award for his research in Van der Waals engineering for electrochemically tunable quantum materials.

Clayton Radke Awarded Ruben Medal

August 30, 2019

Clayton Radke

Clayton Radke, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UC Berkeley has been awarded the Ruben Medal by the International Society for Contact Lens Research. The medal is awarded by a vote of the previous recipients to an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the field of contact lens-related research.