Fourth-year chemistry Ph.D. candidate Jason Q.L. Williams (P. Weiss group) is one of six outstanding scholars joining the UCLA chapter of the national Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society (BGHS) this academic year. Williams’ interdisciplinary work bridges ancestral knowledge with nanotechnology through eco-conscious material science. Under the mentorship of Professor Paul S. Weiss, he develops […]

In the Fall of 2024, the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry named Nobel Laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart as the 2025 Seaborg Medalist—the highest honor the department bestows annually on a scientist for distinguished contributions to science, technological innovation, and/or public service in science. He had planned to attend the Seaborg Symposium and Medal Award […]

UCLA organic chemistry laboratories led by Distinguished Professors Neil Garg and Ken Houk have reported a groundbreaking study in Nature.   The groups demonstrate that two highly strained reactants, a cyclic allene and a bicyclobutane, undergo coupling at room temperature through a sigma-bond insertion reaction. “This stepwise s + p cycloaddition is unique because it does not […]

Iminium-catalyzed cycloadditions are a hallmark of organocatalysis, a concept that David MacMillan famously coined as “LUMO-catalysis” when he and Benjamin List were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work. Now, the Houk and Tang research groups, in collaboration with their long-time collaborator structural biologist Jiahai Zhou, have discovered that Nature employs this […]

Assistant Researcher Dr. Maher El-Kady (Ph.D. ’13) has been named by CIOLOOK Magazine as one of The 10 Most Influential Leaders in E-Mobility for 2025. This recognition honors individuals who have driven transformative change in the industry: a shift toward greater sustainability and innovation in electric mobility. El-Kady is featured in an in-depth article and […]

UCLA Hosts Cutting-Edge Workshop on the role of chemistry in the future of space science and exploration. The UCLA SPACE Institute and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry recently hosted a groundbreaking workshop, “Chemistry and Materials for Space Science and Technology.” The event brought together scientists, students, and industry leaders from across the country to […]

Distinguished Professor Michael Jung and his UCLA collaborators are featured in a recent UCLA Newsroom article for their groundbreaking research on a potential cure for baldness. Jung played a pivotal role in developing the PP405 molecule, which has demonstrated promising potential in reactivating dormant hair follicles and offering a new treatment for hair loss. Known […]

Professor Yi Tang has been named the winner of the 2025 Marvin J. Johnson Award in Microbial and Biochemical Technology by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Biochemical Technology (BIOT). This memorial award was established in 1979 to recognize outstanding research contributions to microbial and biochemical technology.  Tang will receive the award and give […]