Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Cannabinoids are the next big thing in the pot industry

July 5, 2021

marijuana leaf

It’s 2021 and regular THC isn’t going to cut it for the budding weed industry. Neither will CBD. Instead, a host of startups are betting that weed consumers will be clamoring for something that nature alone can’t provide.

In Berkeley, California, the startup Demetrix, is preparing to manufacture “metric tons” of...

Markita Landry receives Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars award

May 11, 2021

Markita Landry

Markita Landry, Asst. Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been named a 2021 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. This award recognizes faculty within the first five years of their academic careers, who have created an outstanding independent body of scholarship, and are deeply committed to education.

Prof. Landry’s current research focuses on the...

Authors John Newman and Nitash Balsara release 'Electrochemical Systems', Fourth Edition

April 1, 2021

John Newman and Nitash Balsara

The long-anticipated fourth edition of Electrochemical Systems by John Newman and Nitash P. Balsara is now available.* The fourth edition updates all of the chapters, adds content on lithium battery electrolyte characterization and polymer electrolytes, and includes a new chapter on impedance spectroscopy. Topics covered include...

David Schaffer Harnesses 'Directed Evolution' for Gene Therapy

March 18, 2021

David Schaffer

David Schaffer, Hertz Fellow, gene therapy researcher, and The Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biochemical Engineering at UC Berkeley says he “plays Darwin” in his Berkeley lab, using high throughput genetic sequencing technology to test over a billion genetic samples for the desired biological activity.

He mutates promising genes and selects...

Meet our faculty: Alexis T. Bell

August 10, 2020
Alexis T. Bell: A Career in Catalysis and University Administration at UC Berkeley

Alex Bell

Alexis T. Bell in UC Berkeley classroom, circa 1990.

Alexis T. Bell is the Dow Professor of Sustainable Chemistry in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular...

Podcast: Nobel Laureates Frances Arnold and Jennifer Doudna on prizes, pandemics, and Jimmy Page

February 18, 2021

Frances Arnold and Jennifer Doudna

The recent Nobel chemistry-prize winners, alumna Frances Arnold and Professor Jennifer Doudna, tell Stereo Chemistry about what comes after that momentous call from Stockholm. Credit: Frances Arnold photo (Caltech); Jennifer Doudna photo (Lauran Morton Photography)

Where do you take your career after you’ve won...

Alumna and Nobel Laureate Frances Arnold tapped by President Biden to be co-chair of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology

January 19, 2021

Frances Arnold speaks at announcement ceremony

Professor Arnold speaks on the importance of science during a press conference.

President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday introduced key members of his White House science team, including his nominee for director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

"These are among the brightest,...

Tracing the many paths of vision

December 23, 2020

zebra fish eye under fluorescent lighting

A new study reports results on decodeing the molecular diversity of neurons in the zebrafish retina. The resulting catalog documented studying individual cell types in the retina and linking them to a specific structure, function and behavioral...

AIChE student chapter wins Western Region title

November 19, 2020

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,...

David Schaffer named Acrivos Professional Progress Award recipient

November 12, 2020

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...