College of Chemistry

Seeing in super-resolution

January 20, 2023

Ke Xu, Associate Professor of Chemistry, is a 2021 Heising-Simons Faculty Fellow. (Photo by Elena Zhukova)

Ke Xu, Associate Professor of Chemistry, is a 2021 Heising-Simons Faculty Fellow. (Photo by Elena Zhukova)

What do the smallest building blocks of life look like? How do...

When scientists fight to save the climate

January 13, 2023

Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina in the lab, 1970s

Research by F. Sherwood Rowland and alum Mario Molina is at the heart of a recent positive U.N. report. (Photo courtesy of UC Irvine.)

A new article out from the UCI School of Physical Sciences states that on January 9, a...

A big step toward ‘green’ ammonia and a ‘greener’ fertilizer

January 17, 2023

Ammonia power plant

A chemical plant that produces ammonia, most of which goes into making fertilizer. (Photo via UC Berkeley)

Industrial production of ammonia, primarily for synthetic fertilizer — the fuel for last century’s Green Revolution — is one of the world’s largest chemical markets, but also one of the most energy intensive.

Globally,...

In Memoriam: Scott Lynn

December 20, 2022

Professor Emeritus Scott Lynn, 1989 photo

Scott Lynn in his office, 1989. Photo Dennis Galloway.

Dear CoC Colleagues,

I write to share the sad news that Scott Lynn, Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, passed away on Saturday, December 17, at the age of 94.

Scott completed his B.S. degree in...

How to edit the genes of nature’s master manipulators

December 6, 2022

Hourglass structure

Scientists are using CRISPR to engineer the viruses that evolved to engineer bacteria. Illustration Davian Ho.

CRISPR, the Nobel Prize-winning gene editing technology, is poised to have a profound impact on the fields of microbiology and medicine yet again.

A team led by CRISPR pioneer...

To battle climate change, scientists tap into carbon-hungry microorganisms for clues

November 30, 2022

Illustration of carbon reduction cycle

New technique could fast-track future carbon-free solar fuels. (image: 3rdtimeluckystudio/Shutterstock)

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have demonstrated a new technique, modeled after a metabolic process found in some bacteria, for...

Professor Ting Xu honored at Falling Walls Science Summit

November 14, 2022

Ting Xu lectures at 2022 Falling Walls event in Berlin, Germany

Professor Ting Xu was honored at the Falling Walls Science Summit on November 9th. Prof. Xu discussed her reearch in a talk entitled: 'Breaking the Wall to Programmable Plastic Degradation through Enzymes'. She outlined the crisis of plastic pollution and what she and her research...

PDP student research becomes white papers for Givaudan

October 31, 2022

Fruit processing

Berries being processed for the marketplace. (photo Adobe Stock)

The Product Development Program (PDP) at UC Berkeley is a master’s level – non-traditional degree program. The program focuses on using real-world product development practices such as those practiced with pharmaceuticals,...

Alumna Danna Freedman awarded MacArthur Fellowship

November 7, 2022

Alumna Danna Freedman, Professor MIT (Ph.D. '09, Chem with Professor Jeffrey Long)

Alumna Danna Freedman, Professor MIT (Ph.D. '09, Chem with Professor Jeffrey Long) Photo courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation.

Danna Freedman, the F.G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry at MIT, has...