2024 New's Items

Scientists Capture Images of Electron Molecular Crystals

November 7, 2024

From top left: Scanning tunneling microscope images of electrons evolving into a single Wigner molecule (bottom right).

Research teams led by Feng Wang and Michael Crommie have taken direct images of the Wigner molecular crystal, a new quantum phase of an electron solid. The breakthrough may advance future technologies for quantum simulations.

Capturing Carbon from the Air Just Got Easier

October 23, 2024

Berkeley — Capturing and storing the carbon dioxide humans produce is key to lowering atmospheric greenhouse gases and slowing global warming, but today's carbon capture technologies work well only for concentrated sources of carbon, such as power plant exhaust. The same methods cannot efficiently capture carbon dioxide from ambient air, where concentrations are hundreds of times lower than in flue gases.

Yet direct air capture, or DAC, is being counted on to reverse the rise of CO2 levels, which have reached 426 parts per million (ppm), 50% higher than levels before...

Tsu-Jae King Liu Nominated to be Next National Academy of Engineering President

September 25, 2024

"The Council of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has endorsed the NAE 2025 Nominating Committee’s[1] recommendation of Tsu-Jae King Liu, dean and Roy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, to stand as the sole candidate for the NAE presidency. NAE members will vote in March 2025 to elect a new NAE president to a six-year term beginning July 1....

Manganese Cathodes Could Boost Lithium-ion Batteries

September 25, 2024

A new process for manganese-based battery materials lets researchers use larger particles, imaged here by a scanning electron microscope.Credit: Han-Ming Hau/Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley

Omar Yaghi has been awarded the 2024 Balzan Prize for Nanoporous Materials for Environmental Applications

September 9, 2024

Omar Yaghi was honored for "groundbreaking contributions to the discovery and development of nanoporous framework materials, and advancing their applications in carbon capture, hydrogen storage, and water harvesting from desert air. Yaghi developed foundational design principles and innovative synthetic methods, creating two extensive classes of nanoporous materials: metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These pioneering materials are now at the forefront of global efforts to tackle critical sustainability and environmental challenges...

James Analytis Awarded the 2024 National Brown Investigator Award

May 29, 2024

"James Analytis,Charles Kittel Chair in Condensed Matter Physics, UC Berkeley, to develop new methods using focused ion beams to change the chemical composition of two-dimensional materials with nanometer resolution, potentially giving rise to new electronic states, including superconductivity."

Kristin Persson has been named a 2024 Distinguished Scientist Fellow by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science

August 12, 2024

The program was established to develop, sustain, and promote scientificand academic excellence in Office of Science (SC) research throughcollaborations between universities and national laboratories.

Persson was honored for “pioneering advancements in data-drivenmaterials design and discovery through first-principles basedcomputations and analysis algorithms that yield materials with optimalproperties for engineers and scientists worldwide to accelerateinnovation, and for her management...

Red Light-Powered Device for CO₂ Fixation

July 30, 2024

This device uses red light to generate electricity. It has two parts: a blue photocathode and a green photoanode, separated by a special membrane. A bacterium (S. ovata) helps convert carbon dioxide, while a platinum-gold mix assists with another reaction. Illustration courtesy of Peidong Yang

Recently, a handful of “climate innovators” were identified as a part of Berkeley’s ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship to combat climate change. Among them was Peidong Yang, a professor of chemistry and of materials science and engineering.

Yang is creating...

Omar Yaghi Receives 2024 Tang Prize

June 18, 2024

The Tang Prize of Taiwan is one of the world’s most renowned awards, andwas awarded for Yaghi's discoveries unlocking essential tools to combat
the climate crisis.