College of Chemistry

Emeritus professor Jean Fréchet awarded King Faisal Prize in Science

February 27, 2019

Jean Fréchet named 2019 King Faisal Prize in Science winnerProfessor Jean M. J. Fréchet, UC Berkeley professor emeritus and Allen Bard, Professor of Chemistry at UT Austin have been named co-Laureates of the 2019 King Faisal Prize in Science. The award, announced on January 13, cites Fréchet's pioneering work and seminal contributions in the areas of convergent synthesis of dendrimers and their applications, chemically amplified photoresists and organic photovoltaics. A ceremony honoring the Laureates will be held in March.

Undergraduates kickoff mentorship fundraising initiative

February 26, 2019

Undergraduate annual fund student leaders our undergraduate students are raising funds for a peer mentorship and alumni advising program. The campaign goals include: Expand the role of the current Peer Advisors to include tailored peer-to-peer student mentorships; grow the peer-to-peer mentorship program to include alumni and professional affiliates along with the student mentors to help with career advice; and establish a fund to aid in the expansion of support for career networking events, panels, and seminars in order for undergraduates to gain additional business perspectives. Please consider giving generously to this initiative.

Daniel Nomura receives ASPIRE Award from The Mark Foundation

February 21, 2019

Daniel NomuraThe Mark Foundation has announced $3.4 million in ASPIRE Awards to support high risk, high reward approaches to solving complex problems in cancer research. Associate Professor Daniel Nomura has received an ASPIRE award for his project Chemoproteomics-Enabled Covalent Ligand Discovery Platforms for Accessing Novel Druggable Modalities.

Stephen Leone and Norman Yao receive Keck Foundation funding

February 19, 2019

Stephen Leone and Norman Yao, UC BerkeleyProfessors Stephen Leone and Norman Yao have been awarded a $1m science and engineering research grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation. The two scientists will utilize a new technique, ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy, to address important unanswered questions about the formation of non-equilibrium topological phases.

Meet scientist Markita Landry

February 13, 2019

Markita LandryIn this engaging article, meet Markita Landry, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, who runs the Landry Lab at UC Berkeley. Her lab works on developing nanomaterials to assist in the delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 systems in plants.

Douglas S. Clark elected to the National Academy of Engineering

February 11, 2019

Douglas Clark UC BerkeleyDouglas Clark, Dean of the College of Chemistry, and professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UC Berkeley has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineer for advances in biocatalyst and bioreaction engineering for drug discovery, drug screening, and bioprocessing.

Graduate students kick off diversity crowdfunding initiative

February 4, 2019

Graduate life crowdfunding appeal is openThe Chemistry Graduate Life Committee and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee have jointly launched a new crowdfunding campaign to support diversity, equity, wellness, and inclusion initiatives for graduate students at the College of Chemistry. The program's purpose is to help combat some of the issues that underlie underrepresentation, as well as support overall equity and wellness within the College's graduate community. They plan to do this through sponsoring social hours, educational events, seminars and speaker programs. But, in order to be able to make these events a reality they need your financial help.

Scientists find new and smaller CRISPR gene editor: CasX

February 5, 2019

new gene-editing protein CasX announcedAccording to a newly published study in Nature, CasX is a potent and efficient gene editor in both bacteria and human cells. Its design is similar to Cas9 and its well-studied cousin, Cas12, but is different enough that it appears to have evolved in bacteria independently of the other Cas proteins. It can cut double-stranded DNA like Cas9, can bind to DNA to regulate genes, and it can be targeted to specific DNA sequences like other Cas proteins.

Professor Christopher Chang awarded the 2019 Sackler Prize in Chemistry

February 1, 2019

Christopher Chang wins Sackler PrizeChristopher Chang, Professor of Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley has been awarded the Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Chemistry from Tel Aviv University. The prize recognizes distinguished scientists under age 45 who have made outstanding and fundamental contributions in their fields. Chang’s research interests include inorganic, organic, and biological chemistry. His research laboratory pursues new concepts in sensing and catalysis to study metals in biology and energy.

Congratulations to Jeffrey Long and Daniel Neumark on receiving 2019 ACS awards

January 25, 2019

Jeffrey Long and Daniel NeumarkUC Berkeley College of Chemistry professors Jeffrey Long and Daniel Neumark have been announced as 2019 American Chemical Society (ACS) awardees for their pioneering chemical research. They will be honored at a ceremony at the spring ACS national meeting in Orlando, Florida, March 31–April 4, 2019.