2021 Spring
Spotlight: From Berkeley to the Biden Administration
Five Cal alumni and one faculty member have joined the U.S. government—now under new management.
Meet Cal’s New Changemaker in Chief
RICH LYONS SPENT TEN YEARS (2008–2018) as dean of Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he himself studied as an undergraduate, before being appointed the University’s first-ever chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer in January 2020. A year later, California Editor in Chief Pat Joseph caught up with Lyons on a video call to talk about […]
Editors’ Picks: What To Read and Watch This Spring
Our editors have curated a list of entertainment to indulge in this spring. Here are their top picks of web series, books, films, and more, all produced by UC Berkeley faculty and alumni. Homeroom Directed by Peter Nicks, M.J. ’99 Your senior year of high school generally follows a well-worn script: prom, social entanglements, and anxieties […]
First Lady of Physics Gets Stamp of Approval
IN FEBRUARY, THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE released a new Forever Stamp honoring the late Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, one of the most influential nuclear physicists of her era. Born in China in 1912, Wu came to America at age 24 and studied nuclear physics at Cal. As a graduate student, she worked at Berkeley’s Radiation Laboratory—now […]
Researchers are Using Big Data to Combat Extreme Poverty in Togo
RESEARCHERS AT BERKELEY’S DATA-INTENSIVE development lab are using big data to deliver aid to the world’s chronically hungry—a group that has doubled in size from 135 million to more than a quarter billion during the pandemic. Lab director and associate professor Joshua Blumenstock has spent much of the past six months developing an algorithm to […]
Another Berkeley Building “Unnamed” for Its Namesake’s Controversial Past
“[Kroeber’s] actions weren’t malicious, but they were flawed. Unnaming acknowledges that there was harm done.” ON JANUARY 26, KROEBER HALL BECAME THE LATEST Berkeley campus building to be “unnamed” because of its namesake’s controversial legacy. Alfred Louis Kroeber was one of the most influential anthropologists of his era, known for studying and documenting California’s indigenous […]
In the Wake of the Capitol Riot, A Conversation on Right-Wing Ideology
Lawrence Rosenthal of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies talks fascism, nationalism, and Trumpism.
Plant-based Creations from the Newest Crop of Food Entrepreneurs
Students trained in Berkeley’s Alt: Meat Lab are serving up meat substitutes and more.
Plants for the People: The UC Botanical Garden Is Blooming and Ready for Visitors
“The garden is a resource that belongs to the people of California. And it’s right at their doorstep.” ON JULY 14, 2020, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BOTANICAL GARDEN at Berkeley welcomed visitors for the first time since its closure four months earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic. The garden’s executive director, plant biology professor Dr. […]
A Bug’s Life: Surviving Disease in the Colonies
Professor Neil Tsutsui talks hygiene, personal sacrifice, and other lessons humans can learn from eusocial insects.