Awards and Honors

College of Chemistry awards and honors featured in the news.

The American Chemical Society announces 2020 Awards

August 26, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

American Chemical Society logoThe American Chemical Society has announced their 2020 award recipients. College of Chemistry faculty, students and alumni are being honored at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in conjunction with the ACS Spring National Meeting in Philadelphia.

Alumna JoAnne Stubbe named 2020 Priestley Medalist

August 26, 2019
Celia Arnaud | C&E News

JoAnne Stubbe

Alumna JoAnne Stubbe (Ph.D. '71, Chem), the Novartis Professor of Chemistry and Biology, emerita, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will receive the 2020 Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society’s highest honor.

Graduate student Jose Roque awarded Bristol-Myers Squibb Fellowship

August 20, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Jose Roque

Jose Roque, a PhD student in the chemistry lab of Professor Richmond Sarpong, has been awarded a 2019–2020 Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Graduate Fellowship in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. BMS fellowship awardees are chosen based on the fellow's demonstrated academic and research achievements as well as the potential for significant future accomplishments.

David Limmer awarded Department of Energy Early Career Research Program funding

August 7, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Richmond Sarpong

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science has announced this year’s selection of scientists to receive Early Career Research Program funding. David Limmer, UC Berkeley Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been chosen as one of 73 scientists from across the country for his project entitled: Understanding and Controlling Photoexcited Molecules in Complex Environments.

2019 Reaxys PhD Prize winners announced

July 30, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

2019 Reaxys PhD Prize winnersFive UC Berkeley Ph.D. students have been announced as finalists of this year's Reaxys PhD Prize. The Prize celebrates innovative and rigorous research by ambitious young chemists. The Review Committee examined over 360 entries from around the globe to arrive at the 45 finalists.

Professor William Lester awarded lifetime achievement award

July 29, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

William Lester receives top awardProfessor William Lester a chemist and educator at UC Berkeley has been awarded the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for 2019 for his outstanding leadership and commitment to the field of chemistry. This special honor is given based on longevity and contributions the honoree has made to society, and the impact on their industry. Professor Lester will be honored at IAOTP’s annual award gala at the end of this year.

Richmond Sarpong awarded the A.R. Katritzky Junior Award in Heterocyclic Chemistry

May 22, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry press release

Richmond Sarpong

Richmond Sarpong, Professor of Chemistry and Executive Associate Dean at the College of Chemistry has been awarded the 2019 A. R. Katritzky Junior Award in Heterocyclic Chemistry. Professor Sarpong will be given the award during a lecture presentation at the 27th International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry Congress in the fall of this year in Kyoto, Japan.

Students from UC Berkeley excel at "Big Ideas"

May 23, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

students win with big ideas

Exciting ideas come out of interactions between students at UC Berkeley on a regular basis. But some of those good ideas make it a step farther and become "Big Ideas" thanks to support from the Andrew & Virginia Rudd Family Foundation. This year, two teams from UC Berkeley, including students from the College of Chemistry have won first place for their projects.

Peidong Yang's lab awarded CO2 challenge grant from NASA

May 22, 2019
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

A team of researchers from the lab of Peidong Yang have received a phase one grant for their project to develop an integrated system to synthesize sugars from CO2. NASA is preparing to land humans on the Moon in 2024, the agency is keeping a keen eye on technologies needed for Mars missions that will follow. New technologies will be needed to sustain human life as we move out into the stars.

Frances Arnold: from graduate student to Nobel Laureate

March 3, 2019
by Michael Barnes | College of Chemistry

Frances ArnoldIn the early 1980s, the lab of College biomolecular engineer Harvey Blanch brought together an adventurous group of young researchers and launched them on long and successful careers. One of them, Caltech professor Frances Arnold, has won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discoveries in the directed evolution of enzymes. Arnold is the fifth woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry since it was first awarded in 1901.