College of Chemistry

Chemistry students seek crowd funding for educational board game

October 3, 2017

React!™ boardgame developersOur students are amazing in the Chemistry and Biology departments. They become world class researchers, go on to start life-changing companies and so much more.

CBE opens innovation incubator for student projects

March 18, 2015
CBE Chair Jeff Reimer shows advisory board members around the new innovation incubator.The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering’s innovation incubator lab is open for business. The lab has been created to give student-led projects a formal home in the department.

Chemistry alum Rebecca Abergel joins nuclear engineering faculty

September 18, 2018
Rebecca Abergel

Meet Berkeley's new faculty: Rebecca Abergel, nuclear engineering.

John Arnold appointed Undergraduate Dean

June 19, 2017

John Arnold

The College of Chemistry welcomes chemistry professor John Arnold as the new Undergraduate Dean. His appointment begins July 1, 2017.

How DayGlo went from utility pigment to design world-darling

August 30, 2018


Switzer brothers demonstrate DayGlo colorsToday DayGlo pigments color everything from traffic cones to tennis shoes, but back in the 1930s it was barely used at all. Though Joe and Bob Switzer can lay claim to commercializing fluorescent pigments, they were far from the first people to discover the phenomenon. By the time Joe and Bob created their homemade paint, scientists had already spent years in the laboratory exploring the chemical makeup of glowing substances.

Jnana Therapeutics announces appointment of alum Joanne Kotz, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer

November 6, 2018

Joanne Kotze, PhD, Jnana TherapeuticsJnana Therapeutics today announced that UC Berkeley Chemistry alum Joanne Kotz, Ph.D., a company co-founder, has been named Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Kotz has served as Jnana's president since December 2017. For more information...

David Schaffer appointed Hubbard Howe Jr Distinguished Chair in Biochemical Engineering

December 26, 2018

David SchafferThe department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) has announced the appointment of David Schaffer as the Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biochemical Engineering. Schaffer is a professor of Chemical and Biolmolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, Molecular & Cell Biology, and the Director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center.

Alum Robin Padilla discusses his postdoc career path: meet the scientific-database developer

December 26, 2018

David SchafferRobin Padilla earned his PhD in chemistry in 2010. He worked as a postdoc and scientific editor before assuming his current role as a product manager with Springer Nature. In this position, he applies his analytical skills to developing databases that help researchers to find the information they need faster.

Spotlight on SEMI Women recognizes alum Ellie Yieh

December 26, 2018

Ellie YiehSpotlight on SEMI Women is excited to recognize Q4 2018 honoree Ellie Yieh (College of Chemistry Advisory Board member and alumna) from Applied Materials! Spotlight on SEMI Women recognizes and celebrates accomplished women working in the global microelectronics industry. Nominees include women who are beacons of knowledge, leaders of organizations and initiatives, hidden heroes and innovators in our industry. They are volunteers, protectors, intellectual disruptors and activists.

Chem alum struggled with learning disability to achieve genius

December 7, 2018

Richard HoughtenAt this year's induction ceremony for the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies founder Richard Houghten and optometry pioneer Herbert Wertheim — two individuals of unquestionable genius — shared a surprising fact about themselves: Growing up, they each struggled with severe learning challenges that easily could have sent them on a different path.