College of Chemistry

Geraldine Richmond sworn in as Under Secretary of Science and Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy

November 9, 2021
College of Chemistry Press Release

Geraldine Richmond swarn in as Under Secretary of Science and Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy

Professor Geraldine Richmond (Ph.D. '80, Chem) during swearing in ceremony with U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on November 9, 2021. (Photo via ZOOM)

In a short but...

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...

Advisory Board member Sunney Chan receives Taiwan's Presidential Science Prize

October 12, 2021
College of Chemistry Press Release

Sunney Chen receives the Presidential Science Prize from Taiwan President 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen

Sunney Chan receives the Presidential Science Prize on November 1, 2021 from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Photo courtesy Shie-Ming Peng (彭旭明) .

The Presidential Science Award Committee announced...

Cerium carbonate catalyst protects against harmful oxidation

October 29, 2021
Mitch Jacoby | C&EN

Microscopic particles of cerium carbonate are potent antioxidation catalysts.

Microscopic particles of cerium carbonate are potent antioxidation catalysts. Illustration courtesy ACS Appl. Nano Mater.

Titanium dioxide and other metal oxides are widely used as bright white pigments and sunscreen agents, but they...

Naomi Ginsberg elected a fellow of the American Physical Society

October 12, 2021
College of Chemistry | Press Release

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...

Brooks Abel joins the College faculty specializing in soft materials and organic chemistry

October 19, 2021
College of Chemistry | Press Release

Brooks AbelWe are delighted to introduce Dr. Brooks Abel who joined the College of Chemistry as an assistant professor this summer with a focus in polymer chemistry. Brooks’s position was funded by a generous donation from Rubber and Joy Chen of PMP Tech, an international company based in Taiwan.

Brooks arrived from...

The College mourns the passing of Alan Mendelson

October 11, 2021
College of Chemistry | Press Release

Dear Colleagues,

It is with a very heavy heart that I write to let you know that Alan Mendelson (B.A. ’69; J.D. ’73, Harvard) died on Friday evening. Alan was at Oracle Park watching his beloved San Francisco Giants when he suffered a medical emergency.


Many of us knew Alan as a giant in the field of Life Sciences, having provided highly-respected legal counsel in key research, academic and business communities. We also knew him as a dedicated partner, a critical part of both the Cal and greater UC community, a trusted advisor, a...

The College of Chemistry announces new lectureship in honor of Yuan Tseh Lee

February 25, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release
Y.T. Lee in Lab - undated

Professor Emeritus Y. T. Lee in his lab at UC Berkeley 1980s. (Photo College of Chemistry)

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that a new endowed lectureship has been established and named for Nobel Laureate and Professor Emeritus Yuan Tseh Lee. The...

"Self-destructing plastic" wins top Prize in Create the Future contest

October 7, 2021
SAE Media Group | Press Release

Example of film

Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced annually – equivalent to the entire weight of the human population. Less than 10% is recycled; most end up in landfills. A research team in the lab of Professor Ting Xu, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and...

An expert on 'undruggable' targets tackles the coronavirus

October 5, 2020
Becky Bish | The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

Dan Nomura

Nomura in his lab at UC Berkeley. Photo: Elena Zhukova

Throughout the grim reality of a global pandemic that has disrupted normal life for months, one persistent bright spot has been the robust response of the biomedical research community. The battle to develop vaccines and drugs to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19, the disease which it causes,...