Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Prioritizing battery storage to bolster US national security

March 8, 2021
Christopher Jackson | New America Policy Essay

batteries

The urgent threat of climate change, driven by the burning of carbon fuels, requires bold and drastic action on a global scale. Communities in high-risk areas that are increasingly subject to natural disasters, such as recent wildfires in California and flooding in Texas, must adapt and relocate. Food supply chains are struggling as increased drought or volatile weather reduce crop yields and force the...

Nano-sized sensors learn new biological tricks

September 23, 2020
By Christopher Jackson | Landry Lab

fluorophore labeled DNA

Rebecca Pinals mixes SWNTs with fluorophore-labeled DNA to create a nanosensor, then measures their optical response as they interact with biomolecules. (Photo credit: Rebecca Pinals).

In spite of the tremendous advances in modern medicine, there are still mysteries about routine processes in the human body that continue to elude scientists. For example, researchers have...

PDP student research becomes white papers for Givaudan

October 31, 2022
Sudhir Joshi

Fruit processing

Berries being processed for the marketplace. (photo Adobe Stock)

The Product Development Program (PDP) at UC Berkeley is a master’s level – non-traditional degree program. The program focuses on using real-world product development practices such as those practiced with pharmaceuticals, specialty materials, high...

Introducing our new faculty members and their lab groups

September 3, 2019
by Michael Barnes | College of Chemistry

Fall semester at UC Berkeley brings cool air, sunny skies and hordes of nervous incoming first-year undergrads to the campus. At the College of Chemistry, the beginning of the semester also triggers a sudden epidemic of goofy handmade posters that seem to multiply and cover every available vertical surface.

Lab promotional posters for UC Berkeley College of Chemistry

Recruiting posters for...

Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality cannabinoids

February 27, 2019
By Robert Sanders, Media relations
UC Berkeley synthetic biologists have engineered brewer’s yeast to produce marijuana’s main ingredients—mind-altering THC and non-psychoactive CBD.

Markita Landry awarded Bakar Prize for nanotechnolgy innovations

February 23, 2023
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release
Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Markita Landry is one of four UC Berkeley faculty members to be awarded the 2023 Bakar Prize.

Targeting tryptophan: New technique opens door to novel drug synthesis

March 28, 2024
Bob Sanders | UC Berkeley
Chemists have devised a novel method to selectively tag tryptophan residues within proteins, potentially leading to the development of new types of drugs and engineered proteins.

Molecular Sciences Software Institute launches open-source data sharing project for COVID-19

May 26, 2020
Virginia Tech Press release
The Molecular Sciences Software Institute has launched an open-source website that will allow biomolecular scientists from around the world to share computer-aided drug-testing simulations targeting the protein at the center of COVID-19.

Berkeley’s Jeffrey Reimer will receive AIChE’s Warren K. Lewis Award for ChE education

October 16, 2023
Gordon Ellis | AIChE press release
Professor Jeffrey Reimer is being recognized for outstanding contributions to chemical engineering education based on accomplishments in classroom teaching, course development, authorship of teaching texts, and departmental chairmanship, as well as excellence in research.

We are all made of the same components

August 24, 2021
Anne Brice | UC Berkeley Public Affairs

Liliana Rojas

Liliana Rojas is a first-year student majoring in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Liliana Rojas states, “In high school, I knew I wanted to study chemistry in college. Chemistry is all around us, literally everywhere. I will be walking down the street, and I’ll stop for a moment and think, ‘Oh, wait a minute, these huge obstacles...