College of Chemistry

CRISPR inventor Jennifer Doudna sees first human therapy five to 10 years away

August 24, 2018


CRISPER, Jennifer DoudnaBiochemist Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer of the Crispr gene-editing technology that’s taken Wall Street by storm says the field is probably five to 10 years away from having an approved therapy for patients.

Getting a charge out of MOFs

August 24, 2018


metal-organic frameworkUC Berkeley researchers have developed a modular metal-organic framework with the highest electron charge mobilities ever observed. A research team led by Jeffrey Long has developed a technique for making an electrically conductive MOF that could also be used to improve the conductivity of other MOFs.

UC Berkeley named No. 1 public university

August 23, 2018


UC Berkeley No 1UC Berkeley remains the nation’s top public university, according to this year’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, or ARWU. The UC Berkeley Department of Chemistry was also named the best in the world in the rankings.

UC Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry recipient of an award for novel green preservatives

August 6, 2018

Green suppliesThe Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) and InnoCentive have announced the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry as one of seven winners in the global GC3 Challenge: Developing New Preservatives for Personal Care & Household Products. Launched in April 2017, the challenge aims to identify and support innovators developing preservative technologies with improved environmental,...

Alumna Vicky Benzing pursues second career as an air racer

August 21, 2018


Richmond Sarpong research teamVicky Benzing (Ph.D. Chem ’86) always wanted to fly. While pursuing her first passion for Math and Chemistry, she earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at UC Berkeley. At the same time she also earned her private pilot certificate. Benzing went on to fly as a hobby while she built her successful career in the tech industry working for Tektronix, Sharp and Novellus Systems (which was bought by Lam in 2012.). Her passion for flying took over as a second career when she retired from Novellus Systems in 2012.

New study published in Nature reports on a catalytic method that combines enzymatic catalysts with photocatalysts

August 16, 2018

Huimin Zhao and John Hartwig(image: Huimin Zhao and John Hartwig) Researchers have developed a new method that aids in the process of making valuable compounds by using a unique combination of catalysts.

Huimin Zhao, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and leader of the Biosystems Design research theme at the Carl R. Woese...

Long-sought carbon structure joins graphene, fullerene family

August 13, 2018

three-dimensional cage structure of a schwarziteThe discovery of buckyballs surprised and delighted chemists in the 1980s, nanotubes jazzed physicists in the 1990s, and graphene charged up materials scientists in the 2000s, but one nanoscale carbon structure – a negatively curved surface called a schwarzite – has eluded everyone. Until now....

From cyclotrons to wetsuits: A brief history of UC Berkeley’s scientific endeavors

August 13, 2018

Jay Kealsing Over the past 150 years, UC Berkeley has been at the forefront of scientific discovery, achieving milestones that have impacted both the research industry and the surrounding community.

Notable figures and facilities across campus have engaged in and continue to engage in progressing the scientific realm of society, whether it be founding modern statistical theory, producing plutonium...

Tying electrons down with nanoribbons

August 8, 2018

nanoribbonScientists are experimenting with narrow strips of graphene, called nanoribbons, in hopes of making cool new electronic devices, but University of California, Berkeley scientists have discovered another possible role for them: as nanoscale electron traps with potential applications in quantum computers.

Graphene, a sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a rigid,...

Is the cure for Alzheimer’s hiding inside us?

August 8, 2018

Annelise BarronAlumna Annelise Barron (Ph.D. ChemE '95) thinks so. Alzheimer’s is the root cause of 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, and the complexity of the disease has troubled neurology researchers for decades. But Barron, an associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford, has uncovered a way for our own immune system to fight...