Professor Gerard Wong and colleagues discovered that highly resilient bacteria communities known as biofilms organize in a rich-get-richer pattern similar to many economies. The study, published online May 8 in the journal Nature, is the first to identify the strategy by which bacteria form the micro-colonies that become biofilms, which can cause lethal infections. The research may […]

With 79 new graduate students, the Fall 2013 graduate student cohort is among the largest incoming classes in the history of the department. The incoming Fall 2013 graduate student class will be comprised of 66 graduate students for the Chemistry program and 13 graduate students for the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology program. In Fall 2012, […]

A full-length feature article by Dr. Eric Scerri has just appeared in the June issue of Scientific American magazine. The article “Cracks in the Periodic Table,” is available on ScientificAmerican.com, with the lead: “The discovery of element 117 filled the last remaining gap in the periodic table as we know it.  But even as it […]

A groundbreaking membrane material developed by Professor Richard Kaner and his colleagues has received an international award for innovation at one of the water industry’s largest global conferences.  The new polymeric-ceramic membrane, developed by Ric Kaner (Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry), Eric Hoek (Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering), and their researchers, exhibit performance similar […]

The Organization for Cultural Diversity in Chemistry (OCDC) is a graduate student-led group that creates a close-knit community among graduate students and faculty and promotes cultural diversity in the sciences.  Earlier this year, the Organization for Cultural Diversity (OCDC) hosted 12 students from the local community college, Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC), along with […]

The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute held the 2013 MBI Postdoctoral Awards Ceremony and Reception on May 8, 2013.  The event was hosted by Prof. Miguel Garcia-Garibay. This year’s awardees were: Dr. James Frederich (Mentor: Prof. Patrick Harran), Dr. Jiansen Jiang (Mentor: Prof. Juli Feigon), Dr. Edward Miracco (Mentor: Prof. […]

Professor Sabeeha Merchant was part of a team of 70 scientists from the U.S., China, Australia and Japan who have sequenced and annotated the genome of the “sacred lotus,” believed to have a powerful genetic system that repairs genetic defects.  This information may hold secrets about aging successfully. The scientists sequenced more than 86 percent […]

Professor Miguel Garcia-Garibay has been selected by the UCLA Academic Senate Committee on Diversity and Equal Opportunity as the faculty recipient of the 2013 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award. Prof. Garcia-Garibay’s selection is a tribute to the tremendous efforts and contributions he has made to pursue and advance diverse, impartial, and inclusive academic environment at […]