Fourth-year inorganic chemistry graduate student Yessica Nelson (Spokoyny group) is one of five outstanding scholars joining the UCLA chapter of the national Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society (BGHS) this academic year. Under the mentorship of Professor Alexander Spokoyny, Nelson’s research delves into the enigmatic realm of atomically precise boron-based systems, particularly three-dimensional clusters and […]

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Steven Clarke, was recently interviewed by UCLA biochemistry undergraduate student Jasmine Winter ‘26 for episode 41 of the ChemTalk podcast series “Let’s Talk Chemistry”.  In the podcast interview titled “Dr. Steven Clarke on Biochemistry and Biochemists”, Clarke discusses his journey as a scientist and delves into his research on […]

Graduate student Yongjie He’s (Caram group) video focuses on the science related to the color purple, tying in with the release of the movie “The Color Purple”.  After receiving her bachelor’s degree in physics from Wuhan University in 2020, Yongjia joined the UCLA chemistry graduate program working with Professor Justin Caram, whose group specializes in […]

In 1949, in Haines Hall, the Chemistry building before the move to Young Hall in 1952, Professor Saul Winstein and his graduate student Daniel Trifan carried out experiments that led to a new paradigm of bonding in carbocations. These experiments created a controversy about the nature of the norbornyl cation and how it is formed. […]

We are proud to share with you the highlights of the many achievements of members of the UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry community in our new 20-page color departmental magazine. Click here to view the magazine. Read about the highlights of the department’s exciting year, from welcoming eight exceptional new faculty members, to the opening of […]

Ph.D. student Aamir Hassan Shah (Duan group) is one of 15 students nationwide selected for a prestigious Materials Research Society (MRS) 2023 Fall Meeting Graduate Student Silver Award. Selection for the award is highly competitive – Aamir was the only UC recipient for Fall 2023. Many of the previous winners have moved on to highly […]

On December 8, 2023, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry honored Professor Christopher “Kit” C. Cummins (MIT), recipient of the ACS 2023 M. Frederick Hawthorne Award in Main Group Inorganic Chemistry, at the 2023 M. Frederick Hawthorne Symposium. A poster session, symposium, and reception were held in the department’s new Mani L. Bhaumik Centennial Collaboratory […]

Professors Xiangfeng Duan and Paul S. Weiss have been elected as fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The academy’s fellowship honors inventors at academic institutions who have “demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the […]