May 11, 2026
Today’s high-tech electronics and green energy technologies would not function without rare earth elements (REEs). But extracting these substances from raw materials is a dirty process that relies on toxic chemicals and leaves behind polluted waste. Now, a Berkeley-led team may have solved this problem — thanks to a tiny virus. The researchers genetically engineered…
May 04, 2026
The National Academy of Sciences announced its newest members this week, among them six eminent UC Berkeley faculty members, including former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. Membership in the academy, now held by more than 135 living Berkeley faculty members, recognizes scientists for “their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” The National Academy of…
May 04, 2026
Karthik Shekhar, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been named a 2026 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. Faculty who receive this award are within the first five years of their academic careers, have each created an outstanding independent body of scholarship, and are deeply committed to education. Each Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar receives an unrestricted…
April 24, 2026
Protein-based spider silk inspires new fibers sourced from compost In a bold effort to address the growing challenge of textile waste in landfills, the Bezos Earth Fund has awarded $10 million to research led by engineers and scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, to develop biodegradable fibers that can rival the strength and flexibility…
April 17, 2026
A journalist, a historian, a biologist and a bioengineer will receive a stipend to pursue independent work under “the freest possible conditions.” From Zora Neale Hurston to Jennifer Doudna, winners of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship are known for artistic creations, scientific discoveries and groundbreaking scholarship that fundamentally transform our world. This year, four UC Berkeley…
April 03, 2026
Ahmad Omar is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research group leverages statistical mechanics and computer simulations to understand the emergent properties of soft condensed matter. By bridging microscopic details with macroscopic phenomena, the Omar lab explores diverse areas such as the self-assembly of complex phases and the dynamics…
March 26, 2026
The newly elected AAAS Fellows include a tech pioneer, the author of a book on nature’s poisons and a neuroscientist who can decode what you are seeing from your brain wave activity. Eleven UC Berkeley faculty members have been elected 2025 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest…
March 25, 2026
A miniaturized system developed by UC Berkeley researchers can mimic the effects of nearly four decades of aging with high accuracy, potentially enabling rapid drug development and cheaper testing. Over one billion people worldwide are over 60, and the population is projected to more than double by 2050. But as more people live into their…