On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry launched its Shared Instrumentation Lab Campaign. Our mission is to raise at least $50,000 in 30 days to equip our Molecular Instrumentation Center (MIC) and the Biochemistry Instrumentation Core Facility (BIF) facilities with brand-new instrumentation.  Your support will empower innovation and help equip […]

Pioneering biophysicist and genomic scientist Professor Carlos Bustamante (University of California, Berkeley) gave the 10th annual Carolyn and Charles Knobler Lecture on May 4. His lecture, entitled “FACT Promotes Efficient Pol II Transcription by Modulating the Topographic Features of the Nucleosomal Barrier”, was followed by a question-and-answer period and then by a reception. Select photos […]

Undergraduate senior biochemistry student Lillian Ott (Mohanty group) has been awarded the 2026 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, one of the country’s most prestigious honors for graduate students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The program, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, supports doctoral […]

Professor Richard Kaner and researcher Maher El-Kady are part of a research team whose study demonstrates how graphene oxide, a carbon-based nanomaterial, can be incorporated into cementitious mixtures to create stronger, higher-performance concrete. From UCLA Samueli Newsroom: UCLA Researchers Refine Use of Graphene Oxide for Stronger, More Durable Concrete Findings point to practical ways of […]

Distinguished Kenneth N. Trueblood Professor Neil Garg has been named one of three UCLA faculty members to receive the 2026 Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring from the UCLA Division of Graduate Education. He is the first faculty member in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and within the UCLA Division of Physical […]

Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) includes Professor Soumitra Athavale in its annual Talented 12 feature, highlighting young investigators who are doing groundbreaking work in the field. The Talented Twelve list, created by the weekly magazine of the American Chemical Society, recognizes Athavale  for “forging next-generation iron biocatalysts.” “This year we had to select the Talented 12 […]

Professor Erick M. Carreira (ETH Zürich), known for developing innovative methods in catalysis and for the total synthesis of complex, biologically important molecules, visited UCLA on April 29 to give the Spring 2026 Chemistry & Biochemistry Distinguished Lecture. Enthusiastic students, postdoctoral researchers, staff, and faculty members attended the lecture in the Dongwon Yoo Seminar & […]

by Professors Al Courey, Cathy Clarke, and Steve Clarke Our beloved colleague Emeritus Professor Charles A. West passed away on May 5 in Houston, Texas, at the age of 98.  Charles West arrived at UCLA in 1952 and was the second biochemist in the department.  By the time he retired in the early 1990s, there […]