Awards and Honors

College of Chemistry awards and honors featured in the news.

Omar Yaghi awarded the German Chemical Society gold medal

March 4, 2020
College of Chemistry Press Release

Omar Yaghi

Omar Yaghi has been awrded the the 2020 August-Wilhelm-von-Hofmann-Denkmünze. The German Chemical Society bi-annually presents this prestigious award to an outstanding national and international chemists in a wide range of fields. Among the oldest chemistry awards, the August-Wilhelm-von-Hofmann-Denkmünze gold medal was first awarded in 1903. The award is intended to recognize outstanding achievements in chemistry; in particular by scientists working outside of Germany.

Professor Christopher J. Chang awarded the Humboldt Research Award

January 8, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Christopher J. Chang

Christopher J. Chang, Class of 1942 Chair Professor of Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Berkeley, has been awarded the Humboldt Research Award. The award, honoring internationally recognized researchers, includes a stay at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg where Professor Chang will be hosted...

Watch Jennifer Doudna's Nobel Prize award ceremony

December 4, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

For Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna, the highlight of this most extraordinary Nobel Prize Week was a socially distanced award ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 8, on her patio in Berkeley with 11 people in attendance, followed by takeout. But if the glow surronding her was any indication, she could have been receiving the medal and citation from the King of Sweden on the stage at Stockholm Concert Hall. The traditional celebration has been rescheduled for next year.

A videographer and photographer captured the intimate gathering with the highlight being the presentation of the Nobel gold...

College of Chemistry announces lectureship in honor of professor William Lester

December 7, 2020
by David Villani | Daily Californian

William Lester

William Lester during his time at IBM. (photo: courtesy William Lester)

UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry established a new lectureship for research from traditionally underrepresented scholars in honor of campus graduate professor William Lester.

Lester is a longtime campus faculty...

Undergraduate students compete in national L'Oréal Brandstorm competition

May 24, 2019
by Marge d'Wylde | College of Chemistry

L'Oréal Brandstorm competition

Two talented undergraduate teams, with members from the College of Chemistry and Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, competed in this year's USA national L'Oréal Brandstorm Competition in New York City in April. Both teams made it to the final round, with a third place tie out of approximately 150 teams nationwide.

Peidong Yang and Sunjay Kumar named AAAS Fellows

November 30, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Sanjay Kurmar and Peidong Yang

Photo: Sanjay Kumar and Peidong Yang. (File photos UC Berkeley)

Congratulations to Professors Sanjay Kumar and Peidong Yang on being elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. The distinction was awarded this year to 489 scientists, engineers and innovators for...

AIChE student chapter wins Western Region title

November 19, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

2019-2020 executive board AIChE student chapter

AIChE UC Berkeley Student Chapter leadership pose during their weekly ZOOM meeting to discuss club events. Members include Jeremy Murphy-Ortega, Ashutosh Bhadouria, Julia Glasser, Stephen Chang, Esther Leem, Sancialita Sathiyamoorthy, Andrea Chen, Samantha Yang, Meagan Macavinta, Ariana Dunlap,...

The College of Chemistry celebrates Jennifer Doudna

November 12, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

The College of Chemistry was delighted to host an informal discussion with Nobel Laureate, and College faculty member, Jennifer Doudna. Hosted by Dean Douglas Clark and Chair of Chemistry Matthew Francis, Jennifer discussed a wide range of topics from what it was like finding about the award to some really great advice on how to manage your education and career. The session was moderated by graudate students Max Sosa...

David Schaffer named Acrivos Professional Progress Award recipient

November 12, 2020
Gordon Ellis | AIChE press release

David V. Schaffer

This fall, ChEnected is introducing readers to the recipients of AIChE’s 2020 Institute and Board of Directors’ Awards, which are AIChE’s highest honors. Recipients are nominated by the chemical engineering community and voted on by the members of AIChE’s volunteer-led Awards Committee. These awards recognize outstanding achievements and world-class contributions across a...

The College of Chemistry announces new lectureship in honor of William Lester

November 10, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

William Lester, BerkeleyImage: Professor William Lester in his office at the College in the 1980s. Photo: College of Chemistry.

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that a new lectureship has been established and named for Professor of the Graduate School William Lester. The lectureship is...