College of Chemistry

UC Berkeley Chemists and the Periodic Table

January 9, 2019
by Marge d'Wylde | College of Chemistry

Seaborg, Ghiorso and other 104 discovery colleagues.

Photo: The Rutherfordium (element 104) discovery team in 1969: (l to r) Matti Nurmia, Jim Harris, Kari Eskola, Glen Seaborg, Pirkko Eskola and Albert Ghiorso.

Dimitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist who in 1869 wrote out the known...

College History

150th Anniversary Celebration Video

For our 150th Anniversary, check out our video below as we celebrate the past, present, and future of UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry:

Chemistry Nobelist Carolyn Bertozzi’s years at UC Berkeley

October 5, 2022
By Robert Sanders | UC Berkeley media relations

Professor Bertozzi standing at whiteboard.

Carolyn Bertozzi as a young professor at UC Berkeley. (Photo: courtesy of College of Chemistry)

Carolyn Bertozzi, a professor at Stanford University who today shared the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, spent her formative and most creative years at UC Berkeley.

After graduating from Harvard University in 1988, she earned her Ph.D. in chemistry...

Bruce H. Mahan, 1930 - 1982

February 18, 2021
Yuan T. Lee, Rollie J. Myers, Kenneth Sauer, and Ignacio Tinoco Jr.

Bruce Mahan posing on a tree log

Bruce Mahan was born in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1930. He attended Harvard University both as an undergraduate and as a graduate Ph.D. student. After completing his bachelor's degree in the chemistry department, he decided to carry out his doctoral studies with George Kistiakowsky in physical chemistry...

The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic

April 22, 2021
by Aliyah Kovner | Berkeley Lab
A study that shows what can be accomplished if manufacturers began using PDKs on a large scale. The bottom line? PDK-based plastic could quickly become commercially competitive with conventional plastics, and the products will get less expensive and more sustainable as time goes on.

A big step toward ‘green’ ammonia and a ‘greener’ fertilizer

January 17, 2023
By Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley Media relations
University of California, Berkeley, chemists have taken a big step toward making ammonia production more environmentally friendly: a “greener” ammonia for “greener” fertilizer.

Peidong Yang and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners announce research partnership

August 19, 2022
University of California Berkeley and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
In a new partnership, The Peidong Yang research group will work with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) to develop technology that will convert air into sugar.

Meet our alumni: David Liu

March 29, 2023
Manuel Ansede | El Pais
Alumnus David Liu

Photo of David Liu via wikipedia. Uncredited.

"We can correct the vast majority of DNA errors that cause genetic diseases"

The Harvard University magazine published almost a couple of decades ago that one of its professors, the chemist...

To battle climate change, scientists tap into carbon-hungry microorganisms for clues

November 30, 2022
By Theresa Duque | Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Illustration of carbon reduction cycle

New technique could fast-track future carbon-free solar fuels. (image: 3rdtimeluckystudio/Shutterstock)

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have demonstrated a new technique, modeled after a metabolic process found in some bacteria, for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid acetate, a key...

Solar beats nuclear at many potential settlement sites on Mars

May 10, 2022
UC Berkeley, Robert Sanders, Media relations

Illustration of colony on Mars

An artist’s rendering of a crewed Martian biomanufactory powered by photovoltaics and capable of synthesizing food and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing biopolymers and recycling biological waste. (Artwork credit: Davian Ho, UC Berkeley)

The high efficiency, light weight and flexibility of the latest solar cell technology means photovoltaics could provide all the power needed for...