Welcome to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at the University of California, Berkeley --- where innovation begins!

At Berkeley MSE, we are at the forefront of innovative research and education, driving advancements that shape the future of technology. Our department is renowned for its interdisciplinary approach, combining principles from chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering to develop cutting-edge materials that meet the challenges of today's world.

May 22, 2025

DOE Office of Science Features Prof. Kristin Persson on Data & Machine Learning

May 7, 2025

Prof. Ritchie is elected to NAS!

April 30, 2025

Alumni Spotlight: Prof. Ponisseril Somasundaran

MSE Alumnus Prof. Ponisseril Somasundaran to Chair Hoover Board of Award MSE alumnus Prof. Ponisseril Somasundaran (M.S., Ph.D.), who is currently the Lavon Duddleson Krumb Professor of Mineral Engineering in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, will chair the Hoover Board of Award…
Alumni Spotlight: Ilan Gur

MSE Alumnus Ilan Gur Leading UK Science Innovation Agency As of August 2022, MSE alumnus (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.) Dr. Ilan Gur has become the founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the newly established UK Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). With nearly a billion dollars in…
Student Spotlight: Stephen Gee

Student Spotlight: Stephen Gee Why did you choose to study MSE? I chose to study MSE because I competed in the Science Olympiad Materials Science event during high school and really liked the real-world application of chemistry and physics. This was after I had applied…
Student Spotlight: Sara Susanto

Student Spotlight: Sara Susanto Why did you choose to study MSE? I chose MSE because I have always been interested in energy and other sustainability efforts. When looking at different majors I was intrigued by the ability of materials scientists to invent novel materials that…
Faculty Spotlight: Andrew Minor

Faculty Spotlight: Andrew Minor Where did you study? I grew up in the bay area and then I went to college at Yale University in Connecticut. Having done my time back east, I was happy to come back west for graduate school at Cal, and…
Student Spotlight: Amanda Guan

Student Spotlight: Amanda Guan Why did you choose to study MSE? I first heard of MSE because my dad studied it back in college. When the time came to select a major, I originally thought to do chemical engineering because of how much I enjoyed…
Student Spotlight: Calton Kong

Student Spotlight: Calton Kong Why did you choose to study MSE? In high school I was a pretty big chem nerd (I still am); I found it mildly entertaining to just read through organic, inorganic, and physical chem books and bash through synthesis and spectra.…
Student Spotlight: Jana Quan

Student Spotlight: Jana Quan Why did you choose to study MSE? I chose to study MSE because I really liked chemistry in highschool and was originally planning on studying chemical engineering. Over the summer, I read a book called “Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans…
Student Spotlight: Jordan Burns

Student Spotlight: Jordan Burns Why did you choose to study MSE? I love that MSE is at the interface of engineering and basic science. You get to work on real world applications while also looking and tinkering underneath the hood at the molecular/ crystal structure…
Faculty Spotlight: Junqiao Wu

Faculty Spotlight: Junqiao Wu Where did you study? I studied physics in my undergraduate in Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and also got a MS degree in physics from Peking University, China. I came to the U.S. and obtained my PhD degree in the Applied…