Chemistry

Reuse and recycling of polyethylene is vitally necessary, but current strategies are prohibitively expensive and paradoxically entangle deterioration of materials’ properties with the processes intended to increase their value. A key factor in solving this problem lies in fundamental mechanistic investigations and catalyst design. As a Miller fellow, I will conduct research to reduce the world’s most abundant plastic waste by converting it to more valuable, useful products via catalytic C–H functionalization of the polymer backbone, thereby incentivizing commercial efforts for plastic waste...

The Nomura Research Group is focused on reimagining druggability using chemoproteomic platforms to develop transformative medicines. One of the greatest challenges that we face in discovering new disease therapies is that most proteins are considered “undruggable,” in that most proteins do not possess known binding pockets or “ligandable hotspots” that small-molecules can bind to modulate protein function. Our research group addresses this challenge by advancing and applying chemoproteomic platforms to discover and pharmacologically target unique and novel ligandable hotspots for disease...

Professor Groves is primarily interested in biomolecular information processing mechanisms, especially at the cell membrane. Living cells are not at all well-mixed reaction chambers. Rather, the molecular processes of life occur in elaborate spatial and temporal patterns. These features of chemical reactions in living systems add fascinating new dimensions to chemistry that is rarely encountered outside of biology. Current research in Professor Groves’ laboratory focuses on how protein condensation phase transitions can play important noise suppression and signal gating roles in the...

Ke Xu is a physical chemist who develops advanced microscopy and spectroscopy tools to interrogate biological, chemical, and materials systems at the nanoscale with extraordinary resolution, sensitivity, and functionality. To this end, he leads an interdisciplinary lab that integrates multidimensional single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy, cell biology, soft matter, and nanotechnology.

The Maimone research group at UC-Berkeley focus on synthetic organic chemistry with a particular focus on the efficient synthesis of highly complex natural products with important biological activities. Maimone and his students have completed laboratory syntheses of over 50 topologically unique natural products often in a minimal number of synthetic steps. His group also engages in collaborative studies to determine the mechanism of action of natural products, particularly those with anticancer properties. Using the tools of synthetic chemistry, his group also synthesizes non-natural, 3...

Ron Cohen observes and interprets chemicals in the atmosphere. His project, the Berkeley Environment, Air Quality and CO2 Network (BEACO2N) was the first large scale urban mapping project for CO2. His research on greenhouse gas emissions emphasizes timely (e.g. quarterly), spatially resolved (e.g. 1 x 1 km) and sector specific (e.g. transportation vs. home energy) of processes affecting emissions. His air quality research emphasizes links between temperature dependent processes governing emissions and chemistry and the concentrations of toxic chemicals that people, plants and animals are...

I am a physical chemist who explores chemical reactions at the surface of water, particularly on oceans and on aerosol particles in our atmosphere. These surfaces are often coated with soapy contaminants produced by marine organisms, making them behave like soap bubbles. Reactions on these surfaces impact the air we breathe and even the lifetime of greenhouse gases. My coworkers at Berkeley and I will strive to develop a molecular description of these interfacial reactions to understand better how to characterize and control them.

Host: David Limmer
Home Institution: University of Wisconsin...

My research group is developing new transition metal catalysts for small molecule activation and oxidative functionalization reactions by employing systems that can stabilize transition metals in unusual oxidation states. We have also shown that these unique compounds are key intermediates in cross-coupling reactions and biomimetic oxidative transformations. In addition, my group is studying the role of metal ions in the aggregation of amyloid peptides implicated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, and we are developing multifunctional therapeutic and multimodal...

My Ph.D. research focused on optical spectroscopy of exotic quantum materials, including the discovery of a condensed-matter analog of the dark matter axion. In my postdoctoral work, I am pivoting toward organic molecular crystals for quantum optical applications. Rather than using lasers to trap isolated atoms or ions, I investigate how organic ligands can chemically confine lanthanide and actinide ions to form molecular qubits. This highly interdisciplinary research spans synthetic chemistry, optical spectroscopy, and quantum engineering to develop controllable molecular platforms for next...

Executive Committee
Chemistry
mbfrancis@berkeley.edu