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 […]

Professor Soumitra Athavale has been awarded a highly prestigious Early Stage Investigator Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (ESI MIRA) R35 grant from the National Institutes of Health / National Institute of General Medical Sciences. This award will support Athavale’s research focused on the development of novel biocatalysts for new-to-nature chemistry The MIRA program supports investigators’ overall […]

First year Materials and Nanoscience graduate student Stéphane Miaule (Tolbert 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 […]

Congratulations to our current graduate and undergraduate students and alumni who have received prestigious 2026 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP) and Honorable Mentions. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at […]

A team of UCLA researchers, led by Professor Keriann Backus and postdoctoral teacher-scholar Dr. Chau Ngo, has developed a new technology that makes light-activated protein labeling more precise and reliable. Backus is an Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry in the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the UCLA Department of […]

Professor Ryan A. Shenvi (The Scripps Research Institute), widely recognized for his work in natural product synthesis and the development of new methods to access complex, biologically active molecules, presented the 2026 John D and Edith M Roberts Lecture at UCLA on April 16.   In his talk titled “Attempts to Deliver on the Promise of […]

On March 13, 2026, the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry honored Professor Richard Kaner (UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry) with the 2026 Glenn T. Seaborg Medal in recognition of his seminal contributions to the field. A symposium entitled “Materials for a Better World,” a poster session, and an evening medal dinner were held in […]