College of Chemistry

Cannabinoids are the next big thing in the pot industry

July 5, 2021
Emma Betuel | Observer.com

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...

This crystal impurity is sheer perfection

June 29, 2021
Theresa Duque | Berkeley Lab

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)

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UC Berkeley celebrates the first Federal Juneteenth Holiday

June 28, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Juneteenth_flag

Photo: The Juneteenth flag was originally designed in 1997 by activist Ben Haith and illustrator Lisa Jeanna Graf. The red white and blue colors represent that enslaved people were Americans. The central star represents Texas where Juneteenth was first celebrated. The outer star burst symbolizes a nova representing a new beginning for African Americans...

Michael Zuerch receives award for quantum electronic and optics research

June 23, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Artist’s impression of the XUV-SHG on a titanium foil.

Illustration: artist’s rendering of the XUV-SHG on a titanium foil. Courtesy of the lab of Michael Zurch.

The College of Chemistry is...

Michael Zuerch receives Society of Hellman Fellows award

June 20, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

example of extreme photonics in the lab

Extreme photonics and nonlinear optics in the lab. Photo courtesy Michael Zuerch

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Zuerch has received an award in support of his research from the...

Are heavy metals toxic? Scientists find surprising clues in yeast

June 7, 2021
By Theresa Duque | Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Rare earth elements

Elements on the periodic table that make up the lanthanides, or rare-earth heavy elements.

Lanthanides are rare-earth heavy metals with useful magnetic properties and a knack for emitting light. Researchers had long assumed that lanthanides’ toxicity risk was low and therefore safe to implement in a number of high-tech breakthroughs we now take for...

From bomb to the moon: Harold Urey, alum and Nobel laureate of principles

October 14, 2019
by Angela N. H. Creager | Nature

Harold Urey

Harold Urey worked for the Manhattan Project. But by contrast, the Nobel-prize winning chemist distanced himself from nuclear weapons development after the war. His search for science beyond defense work prompted a shift into studying the origins of life and lunar geology. Now, this absorbing biography "The Life and Science of Harold C. Urey" by science historian Matthew Shindell, uses the researcher’s life to show how a conscientious chemist navigated the cold war.

Harold Urey was not a fan of the atomic bomb he helped develop

August 6, 2020
by Kim Briggeman | missoulian.com

Harold Urey, 1940s

Urey at his desk, photograph, circa late 1940s (Northwest Indiana Times)

Missoula first noticed Harold Urey in May of 1915, when the University of Montana announced the winners of the annual C.A. Duniway Scholarship Books.
Urey, a 22-year-old freshman from Indiana by way of a mining camp in the Gallatin Mountains, received the biology award....

Berkeley researchers demonstrate new technique for surface-sensitive second harmonic generation utilizing non-linear optics with a table-top laser

May 19, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

AAAS cover -- Michael Zuerch announcement

On the cover of Science Advances. Artist’s impression of the XUV-SHG on a titanium foil. Credit: Ella Marushchenko

Interfaces and surfaces are of central importance to many open scientific questions. For example, in order to design more energy-efficient all solid-state...

Diamonds engage both optical microscopy and MRI for better imaging

May 18, 2021
by Robert Sanders | UC Berkeley Public Affairs

The microdiamonds used as biological tracers are about 200 microns across, less than one-hundredth of an inch.

The microdiamonds used as biological tracers are about 200 microns across, less than one-hundredth of an inch. They fluoresce red but can also be hyperpolarized, allowing them to be detected both optically — by fluorescence microscopy — and by radio-frequency NMR imaging,...