College of Chemistry

Chemistry researchers work to develop new drug to inhibit COVID-19

May 19, 2020
Thanks to Fast Grants, a group of seven COVID-19 research projects has started at UC Berkeley that could turn up new diagnostic and potential treatments for the infection within months.

Department of Chemistry welcomes new faculty

May 10, 2019

Alanna Schepartz and Michael Zuerch join the department of chemistry

Matthew Francis, Chair of the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, announces the addition of two new faculty members who will join the College in July. Alanna Schepartz joins the faculty as the T. Z. and Irmgard Chu Distinguished Chair in Chemistry; Michael Zuerch joins the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry.

Building awareness for a sustainable society and lifestyle

April 23, 2021

woman shopping for bulk grocery items in a store

A young woman practices sustainable living purchasing bulk items in a store. (adobestock)

At UC Berkeley, students can teach classes called Decal to spread awareness and fun about the topics they are passionate about. Kelly Chou, currently a senior studying Chemistry at UC Berkeley, and...

David Limmer awarded 2021 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship

February 16, 2021

Professor writing on whiteboard

David Limmer at UC Berkeley. (Photo: courtesy David Limmer)

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that David Limmer, Assistant Chemistry Professor and Chevron Chair in Chemistry, has been awarded a 2021 Fellowship by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He joins the ranks of 126 early-...

Metal wires of carbon complete toolbox for carbon-based computers

September 24, 2020

Illustration of graphene nanoribbon

Scanning tunneling microscope image of wide-band metallic graphene nanoribbon (GNR). Each cluster of protrusions corresponds to a singly-occupied electron orbital. The formation of a pentagonal ring near each cluster leads to a more than tenfold increase in the conductivity of metallic GNRs. The GNR backbone has a width of 1.6...

UC Berkeley's Chemistry program ranks highly for Veterans

November 10, 2018

UC Berkeley's Chemistry program ranks highly for Veterans

College Factual, a website offering advice to prospective college students and their families, has released its 2019 national and state rankings for Best Chemistry Programs for Veterans. UC Berkeley’s Chemistry program was ranked #12 out of 435 for veteran friendliness of all colleges and universities reviewed by College Factual. This puts UC Berkeley in the top 5% of all schools in the nation when it comes to offering a quality education to veterans studying Chemistry.

Alumna Yuan-Tsan Chia donates $1.1 million to the College of Chemistry

September 4, 2018

Yuan-Tsan Chia

Yuan-Tsan Chia (M.A. Chem ’55, Ph.D. Chem ’58) (YT to her friends and American colleagues) was born in the province of Shanxi, China. She was the youngest child of Ching-Teh and En-Chang Chia. She persevered through many difficulties to obtain a good education, became the first member of her family to permanently relocate to the United States, and forged a...

Emeritus professor Jean Fréchet awarded King Faisal Prize in Science

February 27, 2019

Jean Fréchet named 2019 King Faisal Prize in Science winnerProfessor Jean M. J. Fréchet, UC Berkeley professor emeritus and Allen Bard, Professor of Chemistry at UT Austin have been named co-Laureates of the 2019 King Faisal Prize in Science. The award, announced on January 13, cites Fréchet's pioneering work and seminal contributions in the areas of convergent synthesis of dendrimers and their applications, chemically amplified photoresists and organic photovoltaics. A ceremony honoring the Laureates will be held in March.

Meet our faculty: Martin Head-Gordon

October 22, 2019

Martin Head-Gordon

Learn about Martin Head-Gordon, a theoretical chemist at the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and a recently elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. He develops electronic structure theory to permit improved calculations of molecules, including the strength of chemical bonds. To better understand how and why bonds form, he also works on energy decomposition analysis (EDA), which gives the value of physically different contributions to chemical bonds.

Public Health and Chemistry join forces to reimagine chemistry education for sustainability

October 4, 2019
A novel collaboration between the School of Public Health and the College of Chemistry through the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry (BCGC) is leading the nation in reimagining chemistry education to reduce waste, develop safer chemicals, and achieve sustainability.