Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Microbes provide sustainable hydrocarbons for petrochemical industry

January 7, 2022
By Robert Sanders | UC Berkeley media relations

Illustration of a bio-petroleum process

Researchers from UC Berkeley and the NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers have developed a chemical technology that combines fermentation and chemical refining (center panels) to produce petroleum-like liquids (right) from renewable plants (left). (Image by John Beumer, courtesy of NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers)...

In Memoriam: J. Frank Valle-Riestra

December 6, 2021
by George Tyson, Judson King, and Jeffrey Reimer

Joseph Frank Villa-RiestraJ. Frank Valle-Riestra (1924-2021). Undated photo.

We are sad to report that J. Frank Valle-Riestra passed away in April of this year. Frank was a first generation American born on November 12, 1924 in Oakland, California. He was the son of Carlos and Milena (Pudil) Valle-Riestra. Carlos was originally from Peru. Milena was from the...

Markita Landry awarded Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

September 7, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Markita Landry

Markita del Carpio Landry, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley has been announced as a 2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science recipient. The...

In Memoriam Rolf Hugo Muller, 1929-2020

November 1, 2021
by C. Judson King and Elton J. Cairns | College of Chemistry
Rolf Muller, Chemical Engineering, 1966

Rolf Hugo Muller, long time lecturer in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley, was born August 6, 1929 in Aarau, Switzerland. Pursuing his interest in science, he obtained his degrees in chemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. He emigrated to the United States in 1957, seeking wider...

Cerium carbonate catalyst protects against harmful oxidation

October 29, 2021
Mitch Jacoby | C&EN

Microscopic particles of cerium carbonate are potent antioxidation catalysts.

Microscopic particles of cerium carbonate are potent antioxidation catalysts. Illustration courtesy ACS Appl. Nano Mater.

Titanium dioxide and other metal oxides are widely used as bright white pigments and sunscreen agents, but they...

3D View Reveals Shadow Effect after Rapid Battery Charging

September 30, 2021
Advanced Light Source press release

Illustration of “shadow effect” observed in a graphite electrode

Figure: The “shadow effect” observed in a graphite electrode after fast (1 hour) intercalation to a state of charge (SOC) of 100%. Lithium plating on the graphite is shown in turquoise and the black region underneath shows where the SOC is less than 30%. Image courtesy Balsara Lab.

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Using light-initiated radical reaction to break the carbon-heteroatom bond

August 26, 2021
Kira Welter | Chemistry World

Man with blue light

Image courtesy of Chemistry World.

A reaction that kicks out a single nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur atom from six-membered rings using only blue light has been developed by US scientists.

The method involves breaking the C–N, C–O or C–S bond in saturated heterocycles and reclosing the ring to create smaller cyclic structures. "This avoids having to...

Building a better chemical factory—out of microbes

August 26, 2021
Leigh Buchanan | MIT Technology Review

Professor of Chemical Engineering Kristala Jones Prather

Professor Kristala L. Jones Prather. Photo courtesy MIT.

Metabolic engineers have a problem: cells are selfish. The scientists want to use microbes to produce chemical compounds for industrial applications. The microbes prefer to concentrate on their own growth.

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Atom computing raises $15M and launches first-generation quantum computer

July 22, 2021
Jason Parker | WRAL Tech Wire

Illustration of quantum computer

Atom Computing announced its first-generation 100-atom quantum computer on July 21, 2021. (Image courtesty Atom Computing.)

Quantum computing company Atom Computing, co-founded by Jonathan King (Ph.D. '12, ChemE), will base...

Enrique Iglesia appointed to the Royal Academy of Sciences

July 16, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Enrique Iglesia

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Enrique Iglesia, Theodore Vermeulen Professor in Chemical Engineering, and been appointed as a Foreign Academic member of the Real Academia de Ciencias of Spain (Academy), during a meeting in Plenary...