College of Chemistry

Alumna Carol Burns receives Garvan-Olin Medal

September 3, 2020

Carol Burns, alumna, Los Alamos Lab

(Photo: Los Alamos Lab)

Carol Burns (Ph.D. '87, Chem) executive officer for the Deputy Director for Science, Technology & Engineering at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was selected as the recipient of the 2021 American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Francis P. Garvan‒John M. Olin Medal. This national award recognizes distinguished service in the field of...

With nanotubes, genetic engineering in plants is easy-peasy

February 25, 2019

genetic engineering in plants just got easier and safer New research reported from the lab of Markita Landry announces scientists could make genetically engineering any type of plant—in particular, gene editing with CRISPR-Cas9—simple and quick. To deliver a gene, the researchers grafted it onto a carbon nanotube, which is tiny enough to slip easily through a plant’s tough cell wall. To date, most genetic engineering of plants is done by firing genes into the tissue—a process known as biolistics—or delivering genes via bacteria. Both are successful only a small percentage of the time, which is a major limitation for scientists seeking to create disease - or drought-resistant crops or to engineer plants so they’re more easily converted to biofuels.

This crystal impurity is sheer perfection

June 29, 2021

STEM tomography image of a 3D-grown 100-200-nanometer crystalline disc

Scientists at Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley design 3D-grown material that could speed up production of new technologies for smart buildings and robotics. STEM tomography image of a 3D-grown 100-200-nanometer crystalline disc. (Credit: Berkeley Lab)

Crystallization is one of the most fundamental processes found in nature – and it’s what...

The College welcomes four new faculty members

September 12, 2022
Portraits of Hendrik Utzat, Jennifer Bergner, Robert Saxton, and Aditi Krishnapriyan.

The College is delighted to announce our newest chemistry and chemical and biomolecular engineering faculty members (l to r) Hendrik Utzat, Jennifer Bergner, Robert Saxton, and Aditi Krishnapriyan.

Hendrik Utzat

Born in Essen, Germany, Hendrik attended...

David Limmer awarded 2022 Donald S. Noyce Undergraduate Teaching Prize

May 27, 2022

The Noyce Prize award memorabilia for David Limmer

Prof. David Limmer's Donal S. Noyce prize certifictate and medal. (photo courtesy of Prof. Limmer.)

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Assistant Professor of Chemistry David Limmer, (Ph.D. ’13, Chem) has been awarded the 2022 Donald Sterling...

Quantum dots are just as awesome as we'd hoped

April 11, 2019

Geraldine Richmond

Quantum dots—tiny, easy-to-produce particles—may soon take the place of more expensive single crystal semiconductors in advanced electronics found in solar panels, camera sensors, and medical imaging tools.

New technique to capture CO2 could reduce power plant greenhouse gases

July 23, 2020

Use of MOFs to capture CO2

A big advance in carbon capture technology could provide an efficient and inexpensive way for natural gas power plants to remove carbon dioxide from their flue emissions, a necessary step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming and climate change. Developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ExxonMobil, the new technique uses a highly porous material called a metal-organic framework, or MOF, modified with nitrogen-containing amine molecules to capture the CO2 and low temperature steam to flush out the CO2 for other uses or to sequester it underground.

Naomi Ginsberg elected a fellow of the American Physical Society

October 12, 2021

Naomi Ginsberg

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that the American Physical Society (APS) has elected Naomi Ginsberg, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Physics, as a Fellow for 2021. Prof. Ginsberg has been elected for the "innovative development of spatiotemporally resolved imaging and spectroscopy methods...

Gabor Somorjai awarded the Helmholtz Medal

March 4, 2020

Gabor Somorjai

Gabor A. Somorjai, Professor of the Graduate School and Emeritus Chemistry Professor has been awarded the Helmholtz Medal by the members of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences.) The award honors his outstand­ing scientific achievements in the field of surface chemistry and catalysis, and especially the catalytic effects of metal surfaces. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities contin­ues the tradition established by the Prussian Academy of Sciences of awarding the Helmholtz Medal which was established in 1892.

Omar Yaghi receives 2020 Royal Society of Chemistry award

June 24, 2020

Omar Yaghi

The College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce that Professor Omar Yaghi has received the 2020 Sustainable Water award from the Royal Society of Chemistry. The Society annualy recognizes leaders in various fields of chemistry around the world. This year, the Society acknowledged over 80 individuals and teams for their exceptional achievements in advancing the chemical sciences through their work in everything from education and research, to innovation, policy and volunteering.