College of Chemistry

In Memoriam: Jane L. Scheiber

March 15, 2022
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Jane Schreiber

Dear College of Chemistry Colleagues,

I write to share the sad news that Jane Scheiber, beloved colleague and former Assistant Dean of College Relations & Development in the College of Chemistry, passed away on March 6, 2022 after an arduous battle with cancer. Her husband, Harry Scheiber, and her family, whom she so dearly loved, were with her when she passed.

As assistant...

David Schaffer announced as director of the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub

March 7, 2022
Marge d'Wylde | College of Chemistry

Rendering of Bakar BioEnginuity Hub

The Bakar BioEnginuity Hub will rent space to science-based startups, and provide campus programs for scholars and researchers. This rendering displays the versatility of the multi-leveled space, housed in the old Berkeley Art...

Cerium carbonate catalyst protects against harmful oxidation

October 29, 2021
Mitch Jacoby | C&EN

Chain of molecules

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 can cause damaging oxidation reactions that can degrade the materials the coatings were meant to protect. A new study shows that blending the oxides...

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...

College of Chemistry graduate programs get high honors in new U.S. News rankings

March 31, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

College of Chemistry campus

The latest U.S. News & World Report national rankings has placed the College’s graduate programs in chemistry and chemical engineering in second place. The College continues to maintain its position among the top graduate programs in the country.

Our alumna Frances Arnold, who received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Berkeley, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for...

A Career in Catalysis: Alexis T. Bell

March 13, 2018

Alexis T. BellOn the occasion of Alexis T. Bell’ s fiftieth year at Berkeley, a group of Alex's former Ph.D and Post Doc students, have created an overview of his substantial research.

John Markels announced as new College of Chemistry Advisory Board Chair

January 22, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

John Markels

John Markels, President of Vaccines, Merck (photo courtesy of Merck).

The College is delighted to announce that John Markels (Ph.D. '93, ChemE), President of Vaccines at Merck, will be our next...

Professor Richmond Sarpong elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 23, 2020
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Richmond Sarpong

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Richmond Sarpong, UC Berkeley Professor of Chemistry and Executive Associate Dean of the College of Chemistry, has been named a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This year, the Academy has elected 276 artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. Sarpong joins fellow members singer Joan Baez and writer Ann Patchett in the 2020 cohort.

Feodor Lynen fellow Domink Halter joins research group of Jeffrey Long

July 13, 2018


Boreskov Institute of CatalysisDr. Dominik Halter has been awarded a Feodor Lynen fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, to join the chemistry research group of Professor Jeffrey Long as a postdoctoral researcher. Halter’s research at Berkeley will focus on the development of new metal-organic frameworks with coordinatively unsaturated metal sites for hydrogen storage and catalysis.

US News ranks CBE graduate program #2 in country

March 19, 2020
College of Chemistry Press Release

US News and World Report ranks CBE #2

The College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce that the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) has been ranked number two in a tie with Caltech in the 2021 U.S. News and World Report list of best chemical engineering graduate schools in the United States. MIT was in first place.