College of Chemistry

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 professional opportunities. He first worked in...

Surprisingly simple explanation for alien comet ‘Oumuamua’s weird orbit

March 29, 2023
By Robert Sanders | UC Berkeley media relations

Artist's rendering of an interstellar comet

An artist’s depiction of the interstellar comet ‘Oumuamua, as it warmed up in its approach to the sun and outgassed hydrogen (white mist), which slightly altered its orbit. The comet, which is most likely pancake-shaped, is the first known object other than dust grains to visit our solar system from another star. (Image credit: NASA, ESA and Joseph Olmsted and Frank...

Watering Deserts: new ways to pluck water from desert air

February 19, 2020
Science & Technology | economist.com

water adsorption

Adsorption is a process which plucks water molecules from air that has less than 100% relative humidity by attaching them to the surface of a solid material. The molecules are held there by electrostatic connections called Van der Waals forces that link them with the molecules of the pertinent surface. To collect a lot of water this way therefore requires a material that has two properties. One is a large surface area. The other is an appropriate Van der Waals response. Experimental traps that employ this principle have been made using substances called metal-organic frameworks.

Learning goes totally virtual thanks to COVID-19

March 24, 2020
By Robert Sanders | UC Berkeley media relations

Andy Lin demonstrates online learning

Andy Lin (top right) interacting with GSI colleagues as he prepares for online ‘virtual’ office hours using Zoom. (Image courtesy Andy Lin)

When the growing coronavirus pandemic compelled campus officials to halt all lectures and most in-person classes as of March 10, most faculty and lecturers were caught off guard. Few had experience teaching...

A behind-the-scenes look at the longevity vitamin PQQ

July 27, 2020
By Wen Zhu | Judith Klinman Lab

fruit and vegetables

PQQ has been found in fruits and vegetables, such as papaya, kiwi fruit, spinach, green pepper, parsley, celery, and more. Photo: Wen Zhu.

We love food, not only for the joy of eating and sharing meals, but also for the nutrients that our bodies depend on to thrive. Beyond the essential vitamins that everyone needs regularly, scientists have found more...

John Hartwig awarded 2018 Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry

September 27, 2018
Professor Hartwig, is the youngest person to receive the prize since Stuart Schreiber, and the only faculty member from UC Berkeley to have won.

Circular plastic, the utopia of environmentalists, is a reality

March 3, 2020
Dimas Ibarra | Cambio16
A team of researchers have designed a recyclable plastic that can be disassembled then reassembled without loss of performance or quality.

Karthik Shekhar awarded 2023 teaching awards

June 1, 2023
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release
Shekhar has been awarded the 2023 Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching along with the Department of Chemical Engineering Teaching Award.

The College of Chemistry celebrates Jennifer Doudna

November 12, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release
An informal discussion with Nobel Laureate, and College faculty member, Jennifer Doudna.

UC Berkeley researchers awarded Pew Innovation Funding

September 15, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release
Pew Scholars Polina Lishko and Ke Xu will collaborate to investigate the role of steroid hormones in Alzheimer’s, a disease affecting more than 5.8 million Americans aged 65 or older in 2020.