Aerial view of UCSD campus looking South

Geisel Library - Nobel Laureates at UCSD

Discovery of new atmospheric reaction garners prize

Urey Hall Addition

Pacific Hall

Natural Sciences Building

The crystal structure of a group II intron in the pre-catalytic state

Geisel Library Walk

York Hall

Structure of an inhibitor of hepatitis C virus protein synthesis bound to its target in the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome

ANCA probe staining amyloid plaques derived from Alzheimer’s-related Aβ peptides fluoresces as green and as yellow when derived from prion proteins (PrP^SC)

Price Center

Generation of bio-resistive surface coatings on amyloids inhibits harmful protein-amyloid interactions associated with Alzheimer disease

Proposed schematic models of the interfacial binding surface of four different members of the Phospholipase A2 superfamily

Urey Hall and Pacific Hall

Characterization of the "inhibitor binding pocket" in the catalytic domain of the calcium-independent phospholipase A2 with residues within a 5 A raidus of the inhibitor shown

A Crystalline Singlet Phosphinonitrene: a Nitrogen Atom Transfer Agent

Mayer Hall

Drug candidate in orange envelope bound to UPPS

Possible binding modes for phospholipase A2 via its membrane interaction site, another allosteric site, and its catalytic site

News

Dean Thiemens awarded Albert Einstein Professorship of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Distinguished Professor Mark Thiemens, Dean of the Physical Sciences Division, has been selected to receive an Albert Einstein Visiting Professorship of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is one of their highest awards and given to those working at the very frontiers of science. Other recipients this year include Professors Martin Karplus, Robert Grubbs, and K.C. Nicolau. The award will include giving lectures in several cities in China.

Francesco Paesani receives ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry

Assistant Professor Francesco Paesani is a 2014 recipient of the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry. The Awards are designed to assist new faculty members in gaining visibility within the COMP community. Award certificates and $1,000 prizes will be presented at the Poster session symposia at the Spring 2014 Dallas, Texas ACS National Meeting. Dr. Paesani will present the poster "First principles-based approaches for molecular simulations in the condensed phase".

Jeffrey Brodin wins 2014 ACS Young Investigator Award, Inorganic Chemistry Division

Jeffrey Brodin, a recent graduate from the Tezcan Group, has been selected as a 2014 ACS Young Investigator of Inorganic Chemistry. He has been invited to present his work at the 248th National ACS meeting in San Francisco (Young Investigator Symposium) this Fall. This selection attests to Brodin's accomplishments as a graduate student at UCSD. He previously received the Bruno Zimm Award in Biophysical Chemistry in our Department and is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Chad Mirkin at Northwestern University.

Akif Tezcan To Receive SBIC Early Career Award

The Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry has selected F. Akif Tezcan to receive its Early Career Award for 2014. The award is given to an early career scientist (no more than 15 years post-Ph.D. at the nomination deadline) who has already accomplished distinguished research in biological inorganic chemistry. Tezcan is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego.

Surface of the Sea is a Sink for Nitrogen Oxides at Night

Nitrogen oxides that build up in polluted air are taken up by the surface of the sea at night. The ocean removes about 15 percent of these chemicals overnight along the coast, a team of atmospheric chemists reports in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of March 3. Nitrogen oxides, formed by the burning of fossil fuels, generate photochemical smog. Atmospheric chemists would like to account for the fates of these molecules in a kind of budget that identifies their sources and sinks - ways in which they are removed from the air. "One often neglected path is reaction at the surface of the sea," said Tim Bertram, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, who led the research.

C&EN Highlights ACS Award In Inorganic Chemistry

Distinguished Professor Guy Bertrand of the University of California, San Diego Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has been chosen to receive the 2014 American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry. As highlighted in C&EN, Bertrand is being honored by the chemistry community for his contributions in the development of the chemistry of stable carbenes, which have become popular ligands, synthetic intermediates, and even stand-alone catalysts.

More....

Message from the Chair

Seth M. Cohen, Chair       Thank you for visiting the website of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego.

      The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at U.C. San Diego is a nationally and internationally recognized center of excellence in teaching and research. Our distinguished faculty includes members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, and two Nobel Laureates: Mario Molina (1995) and Roger Tsien (2008). Currently, our department consists of >250 graduate students (Ph.D. and M.S.), >100 postdoctoral researchers, and research funds of >$25M annually. In addition, we have among the largest undergraduate participation in the nation with >1400 undergraduate majors and ~70 undergraduate minors.

      Our department continues to thrive due to a number of activities. We continue to grow, expanding our faculty and student ranks by recruiting the most accomplished scientists and exceptionally talented students. Our faculty and students also participate in innovation cutting-edge research programs that often reside at the interfaces between chemistry and other scientific disciplines, including biology, medicine, physics, atmospheric science, and engineering. Our faculty investigates an incredible breadth of topics in organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, theoretical, surface, materials, atmospheric, and environmental chemistry, as well as topics in biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, chemical biology, systems biology, and structural biology. Indeed, we have one of the most diverse research portfolios of Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in the country. Importantly, state-of-the-art facilities and equipment are available to support our research and educational programs.

      Beyond the Department, collaborations with other campus units such as the School of Medicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego Supercomputer Center, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, and many others are commonplace. Opportunities to interact with, and capitalize on, the rich research environment of the La Jolla mesa neighboring U.C. San Diego also exist. Students and faculty routinely cooperate with local non-profit institutions such as the Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, the Sanford-Burnham Institute, as well as several for-profit chemical and biotechnology companies throughout the area.

      Finally, the Department collectively tries to foster an inclusive sense of community and teamwork. The Department is committed to an equal-opportunity workplace, community outreach, and opportunities for enhancing faculty, student, and staff diversity. As you browse through our Web site, I hope you will develop a sense of why the Department is proud of our past achievements and why we are optimistic and excited about our future.

Seth M. Cohen, Chair

Faculty Spotlight

Events and Seminars

March 21-23, 2014
NOBCChE West Regional Meeting
Hosted by UC San Diego