On Campus

Spying the Secrets of Creativity
By Coby McDonaldIn late January of 1958, five of America’s most renowned writers converged in a repurposed frat house just off the Berkeley campus for what promised to be a long, strange weekend.

Botox, Green Screens, and “Factor X”
By Pat JosephMore things you never knew came from Cal

They Don’t Exist, But They Went to Cal
By Pat JosephFictional characters with Berkeley backgrounds

The Man Who Came to Class by Plane
By Bill Zhou, M.Eng. ’23 As told to Margie Cullen, M.J. ’22I really loved transportation growing up.

Berkeley Goes to Silicon Valley—and Space!
By Chancellor Carol T. ChristWe have recently been reminded that creativity comes in packages large and small.

Coming to Zellerbach: Individual, Community and the Performing Arts
By Emily WilsonIt’s a striking scene: Dozens of men and women, wearing simple dresses and pants, dance across a dirt-covered stage.

Berkeley Will Burn Again
By Margie CullenWhen 24-year-old Hildegarde Flanner and her mother first noticed the scent of smoke coming down from the eucalyptus groves on the hills above their home in Berkeley on September 17, 1923, they watched it with curiosity, rather than fear. But less than an hour later, the darkening plume pushed them to vacate.

A Writer Returns to Berkeley in his New Novella
By Deven M. PatelWriter James Terry, ’92, loved Berkeley and the culture that surrounded it—all the funky moviehouses, legendary bookstores, and iconic cafes, most of which have disappeared with the times.

The Day After Oppenheimer
By Elena CavenderIn late May of 2022, UC Berkeley entered a time machine.

UC Berkeley Goes All-Electric As Part of Ambitious Clean Energy Campus Plan
By Pat JosephSteam rises from the squat gray building next to Cal’s baseball diamond, the billows white against the blue sky. Long a familiar presence, the vaporous plume will disappear in the not-too-distant future, as the power plant that creates it is retired.

6 (More) Things You’ll Never Believe Came from Berkeley!
By Pat JosephCurb cuts, smokestack scrubbers, hanging chads, and more!

Berkeley Center Brings Science-Based Mindfulness to the Masses
By Leah WorthingtonA stone’s throw from the southwestern edge of campus sits a squat, nondescript, brown building with a lofty dream: to untangle the science of a meaningful life.