Philanthropic Impact Report 2017

UC Berkeley College of Chemistry College Relations & Development 420 Latimer Hall, #1460 Berkeley, CA 94720-1460 510-643-9351 web: chemistry.berkeley.edu email: coc_relations@berkeley.edu

2017 College of Chemistry Philanthropic Impact Report Table of Contents Dean’s Report

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Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience

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Donor Spotlight

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Berkeley Science Hub

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Your Gifts

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Our Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

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Berkeley Catalyst Philanthropic Fund

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Foundation for Excellence Campaign

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College Leadership

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Dean’s Report Continuing Excellence The Departments of Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) consistently rank among the most prominent in the world.

Both departments are renowned for their excellence across a diverse range of disciplines and applications.

Douglas S. Clark, Dean, College of Chemistry & Gilbert Newton Lewis Professor

According to the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU — ShanghaiRanking), Berkeley ranks as the best university in the world in Chemistry. Our Chemistry program is also ranked #1 globally by U.S. News & World Report. Further, we are very proud that the CBE Department is ranked #2 in both its graduate and undergraduate programs by U.S. News & World Report.

The College of Chemistry’s ongoing aim is to maintain the highest standards of academic excellence, primarily by hiring and retaining exceptional faculty who are accomplished in outstanding research, distinguished teaching, and strong service. Last year we were joined by three extraordinary assistant professors: Markita Landry and Kranthi Mandadapu in CBE, and David Limmer in Chemistry. As a corollary, we need to provide a satisfactory infrastructure for both scientific research and classroom and laboratory instruction for all our undergraduate and graduate students. We are committed to maintaining our top rankings as world leaders in chemical and biomolecular engineering and chemistry. This is essential so that we continue to attract outstanding students and postdoctoral scholars who will become the next-generation leaders in chemistry, chemical biology, and chemical engineering.

In support of this aim, our most significant goals for the coming year include the following: Enhancing the undergraduate student experience remains a priority for us, as the enrollment in both of our departments continues to grow. We plan to continue upgrading our classroom and laboratory facilities, encourage broader participation in undergraduate research, promote a welcoming environment that embraces diversity and inclusiveness, and offer a multitude of academic options for different disciplinary emphasis within our degree programs.

We plan to expand the scope of our undergraduate advising center to include a comprehensive range of new and upgraded student services, all located in a vibrant centralized location. In addition, we plan to announce an exciting new dual-degree program in collaboration with the Haas School of Business. This program will join

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business classes with chemistry, chemical biology, and the chemical engineering programs and is intended to bridge these dynamic technical fields with an understanding of the modern business world.

Joining forces with the Colleges of Engineering and Natural Resources has enabled us to form an interdisciplinary partnership to raise funds to construct the Berkeley Science Hub — a state-of-the-art, cost-effective research building in the northwest portion of the UC Berkeley campus. The building is being designed to more efficiently facilitate unique innovations that emanate from our faculty’s interdisciplinary collaborations with industry and academic partners worldwide. The College also seeks to promote entrepreneurialism in this era of high technology and global outreach, with the newly formed Berkeley Catalyst Fund leading the way.

Reaching these goals will require considerable financial investment. A philanthropic campaign to raise these funds is in full gear, as we seek support from every part of our community — from major-gift donors and corporate benefactors to our thousands of alumni, parents and students who contribute yearly via our annual funds. By the end of FY19, we want to more than double our Annual Fund to reach a total contribution of at least $2.5M. We plan to do this by launching a Foundation for Excellence Campaign that seeks to secure three-year leadership-level commitments from our College’s most loyal and generous supporters.

We ask you to join with us and support the very extraordinary UC Berkeley College of Chemistry.

Douglas S. Clark

Dean, College of Chemistry Gilbert N. Lewis Professor

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Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience When we first reported on the opening of the Que Family Undergraduate Advising Center in 2014 [Catalyst, 9(2)], it was with great anticipation. The Center, installed in Gilman Hall, created a completely transformed space for the students and staff, as our advising program went from occupying remote single offices to occupying a centralized resource hub. In the new location, staff were able to create synergies to support each other as well as the students and, over the first thirty months of operation, the Center has turned into an even greater resource than was initially imagined.

According to Maura Daly, the College’s Director of Undergraduate Advising, “The Center is student friendly, with plenty of space for students to hang out as well as come in for advising and tutoring services. In a way, the space ‘caught up to the team’s needs,’ allowing us to do things like hold small events and start a tutoring program on site.”

She continues, “We have seen phenomenal growth in the enrollment of undergraduates. To give you an idea, in 2001 our incoming freshman class had about 100 students. In 2017, we had 250 incoming students, and that doesn’t include the transfers. Overall our undergraduate population currently fluctuates between 850 and 1,000. Having the opportunity to support them centrally has really improved our ability to service their needs.”

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Chemistry professor John Arnold, newly appointed Undergraduate Dean (July 2017), wants to grow the Center’s success by transforming it into a full student-services center. He would like to add two more offices to house additional on-site student and career counselors. This would allow students to make appointments inside the College hub instead of having to go across campus. Also, it would expose students to the idea that these counseling services — which can turn into important tools for undergraduate success — are readily available.

New programs added this year A new tutoring program was added this fall, thanks to seed funding from Chevron and the Sinclair Endowment. The program focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students. Arnold states, “A portion of our incoming students each year do not have sufficient experience to prepare them for the rigors of the College’s research curriculum. They are coming in underprepared in core subjects and have other challenges. These students can really benefit from the tutoring program which is intended to help identify areas where they need development and then put them with specific tutors who can help fill in their gaps.” The tutoring program currently has a small number of tutors and will need a permanent funding source to allow it to grow into the future.

A second major item Arnold is focused on is increasing the research opportunities available for the undergraduates. “There is a strong correlation between a better research experience for undergraduate students and their success in finishing their B.S. programs,” he comments. “Currently about 37% of the College’s undergraduates have some kind of research experience during their program. We would like to see that number eventually grow to 100%. This is a challenge, especially for transfer students, who generally have only two years in the program. Having exposure to the research track builds confidence and helps students to have a more complete educational experience,” he adds.

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An important opportunity to grow the undergraduate research program came from the John Stauffer Charitable Trust in 2012. The Stauffer Trust — which previously had endoweded a graduate fellowship in Chemistry — also had an interest in developing undergraduate summer research programs. This fell perfectly in line with the College’s desire to expand the undergraduate research experience. The Trust leveraged their generous $500K gift by donating it as a matching challenge. A robust response from our alumni community, culminated by a recent donation in memory of Victor Gunther (B.S. ‘42, Chem), has enabled us to reach our $500K match and establish this $1M endowment!

The principal goal of the summer research program is to enable students to work in faculty research labs rather than take employment in non-research summer jobs. The Stauffer scholarship program provides a stipend to cover the student’s time. In summer 2017, the program financed six student research scholars: Kaili Ordiz, Bhavish Dinakar, Liwen Ko, Allen Wu Chen, Andrew Wijaya, and Alexandra Jacqueline Berl.

Assistance from the College’s Advisory Board The undergraduate experience is also receiving a boost from members of the College’s Advisory Board, who have stepped in to help focus College efforts on undergraduate wellness. Career employability, mentoring, networking, diversity and inclusion are areas the board would like to see developed for the students in the coming months. (See p. 18 for the purpose and goals of the Advisory Board.)

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Rubber Chen (to the left of Dean Douglas Clark) at the 2017 Builders of Berkeley Event

Donor Spotlight Rubber Chen, CEO of Pioneer Material Precision Tech Born in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Rubber Chen graduated from Provincial Taipei Institute of Technology, now known as National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT), in 1978 with a degree in chemical engineering. That same year, he and his wife, Joy, founded Pioneer Material Precision Tech (PMP Tech), operating it with his younger brothers. At the time, PMP Tech employed fewer than 10 people.

Forty years later, PMP Tech has become a leading global manufacturer of hightech elastomers and other rubber products, using innovative, environmentally friendly processes. Its market includes the world’s top ten technology brands. This extraordinary success has made it possible for Chen and his wife to pursue their deep interest in supporting the educational development of today’s young people. Their philanthropy has established scholarships throughout Asia and has funded libraries and labs. They also have created a research and manufacturing institute at NTUT, where Chen received an honorary doctorate in chemical engineering in 2010.

Chen came by his English first name, “Rubber,” serendipitously. At the time he joined his local Rotary Club in 1985, no industry was represented by more than one Club member, and so each member, when creating an English name, adopted the industry he or she represented. “Rubber” was a natural choice.

Chen was already very familiar with Berkeley’s reputation as a world-class research university but was able to experience us up close in 2016, when he came to visit his nephew, William Chen, a grad student pursuing a master’s degree at the College of Engineering. During his visit, Rubber attended a research poster session where he learned about the College of Chemistry’s commitment to education, innovation, and environmental sustainability, values that had long permeated his own life.

Because of this deeply felt affinity, when he heard about the College’s plans to erect the new Berkeley Science Hub, Chen chose to support the College’s capital campaign.

“Berkeley and I are both aiming to cultivate the next generation of responsible scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs who are interested in producing products that minimize impact to the Earth’s resources, that do no harm to the environment, and that contribute value to society,” notes Chen. Along with its excellent faculty, innovative technology development and diligent students, Chen sees Berkeley’s liberal learning environment, impressive history, and cultural diversity as major strengths.

In less than two years, Rubber and Joy Chen have become major donors to the College, contributing a total of three million dollars — directed toward our building campaign, unrestricted individual faculty support, the rehabilitation of the College’s machine shop, and upgrades to the research lab infrastructure. Chen looks forward to working with our researchers in developing new environmentally friendly technologies.

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Rubber and Joy believe in investing in this kind of future. They hope that their philanthropy will inspire other business leaders to make similar major donations, so that more students will develop the skills necessary to succeed in the highly competitive business environment. “Education is the most rewarding and valuable investment in life,” says Chen. “Successful education can turn a child who comes from the rural countryside into a world leader in innovation.”

Learn more about giving opportunities at the College: chemistry.berkeley.edu/giving

Students at Sather Gate

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Lab concept for the new Berkeley Science Hub

Berkeley Science Hub Tolman Hall to be demolished to make way for new building in fall 2018 On the northwest side of campus, the College of Chemistry has partnered with the Colleges of Engineering and Natural Resources to create the Berkeley Science Hub, a research building that, when completed, will transform the university’s approach to problem-solving for the planet’s well being.

The new building, planned at 180,000 square feet, will be built on the site of the current Tolman Hall. The Berkeley Science Hub will house chemists, chemical engineers, computer scientists, engineers, biologists, ecologists, designers, social scientists, economists, and entrepreneurs along with industry leaders. In this environment, multidisciplinary research units will share an exploratory mindset that doesn’t just think “outside the box,” but may in essence eliminate it.

Lack of clean water, shortage of food, overcrowded highways, air pollution, disease and climate change are some of humankind’s most complex issues that urgently need to be addressed. Solving these issues requires synergistic efforts far beyond what we have seen to date. The Berkeley Science Hub is envisioned to be part of that solution, allowing faculty and student researchers the space and interaction needed to invent new science.

Research in the new space will span chemical sciences, biology, toxicology, nanotechnology, catalysis, materials, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Basic seminal discoveries in the College of Chemistry will converge with breakthrough Engineering designs and applications and join Natural Resources’ keen analysis of social and environmental impact — to culminate in a bold vision and profound capacity for social and technological transformation.

With a collective focus on entrepreneurism and public service, and with an eye toward commercializing unique innovations emanating from our interdisciplinary collaborations, the Berkeley Colleges of Chemistry, Engineering and Natural Resources plan to bring ideas and products to market — with the mission of making the world a healthier and better place in which to live.

Tolman Hall demolition is slated to start in the 3rd quarter of 2018. The building design will be environmentally sensitive, with state-of-the-art flexible modular laboratories that can be reconfigured as research opportunities arise and change. Special shared spaces for faculty and industry partners will be created to focus synergies between the university and industry. The university is currently meeting with potential donors to fund the new building. An architecture firm has not yet been appointed.

Keep up-to-date on the building’s progress: chemistry.berkeley.edu/sciencehub

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Your Gifts 2016-17 Gifts to the College of Chemistry For the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the College of Chemistry received a total of $16 million from 1,881 gifts by individuals and organizations. $1.2 million was generated for the Annual Fund.

Our Community of Giving Generous donations came from our alumni, corporate and nonprofit organizations, faculty, students, parents and friends.

Every dollar has meaning

For a list of College donors visit: chemistry.berkeley.edu/donors

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Our Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Some may think that entrepreneurialism at UC Berkeley centers around the business school. In fact, the College of Chemistry’s faculty, students, and alumni form an exceptionally thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that is translating new research and discoveries in the chemical sciences into real marketable solutions.

Many of our faculty’s groundbreaking discoveries have resulted in intellectual properties that are spun off into startups or licensed by large corporations. Our faculty have reported the launch of 34 startup companies across multiple industries, particularly in the areas of health (biotech, pharma, genomics) and energy (biofuels and batteries). Currently 22 of these are active companies, six have been acquired, and four are now traded.

College of Chemistry students have also begun to explore entrepreneurial paths before and after graduation. Recently a group of chemistry students launched their second crowdfunding campaign to develop a board game that more effectively teaches organic chemistry to high school students. ChemE students were members of the UC Berkeley team that won the 2017 L’Oréal USA Brandstorm for a creative men’s cosmetics app to help with acne. An increasing number of our graduating students are seeking work at startups or in early stage ventures such as technology, biotechnology, health, and green energy versus more traditional industry positions.

Our alumni have gone on to start and lead innovative companies. To date, more than 60 alumni have been listed as company founders and more than 350 listed as SVPs to CXOs. Four College of Chemistry alumni to date have signed the Berkeley Founders’ Pledge.

This program allows alumni who have founded companies to make a non-binding commitment to give back to the College when they attain success. Alumni signal a commitment to make a personally meaningful gift through their equity in a startup.

The gift is made in the future, if and when the company experiences a liquidity event.

Pledges are nonbinding, and gifts can be directed to any area of campus that they choose.

Members of the College of Chemistry community who have made the Founders’ Pledge include: Carol Chen (B.S. ’01, ChE), Director, Regulatory and Clinical Affairs, Diassess, Inc., Ajay Kshatriya (B.S, ’02, ChE; MBA, ’11), CEO, Biota Technology, David Schaffer, Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, and Neuroscience at UC Berkeley, and Vivek Sodera (B.S. ’06, ChE and Nucl. Engin.), Co-founder, Superhuman.

Learn more about the Founders’ Pledge program: founderspledge.berkeley.edu

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View of Latimer, Tan, and Gilman Halls with the Berkeley Lab up the hill

Berkeley Catalyst Philanthropic Fund The Berkeley Catalyst Fund, and the Berkeley Catalyst Philanthropic Fund, provide benefits to entrepreneurial startups and the College of Chemistry. The funds work hand in hand to foster commercialization of new technologies from faculty, postdocs, students, and alumni in a hybrid model that channels investment returns back to the College of Chemistry.

The Berkeley Catalyst Philanthropic Fund is a way for alumni and donors to help Cal entrepreneurs: • Donations can be in any amount, are 100% tax deductible, and are included in your annual total giving to the University; • Donations are financially managed by the UC Berkeley Foundation via a special limited partnership; • Donations are used to foster entrepreneurial teams and activities on campus, before teams become new companies; • Donations are aggregated and invested into the Berkeley Catalyst Fund, a for-profit venture capital fund that is a separate entity from the University. This for-profit fund invests in new startups and shares returns with the College of Chemistry via the UC Berkeley Foundation; and • Alumni and donors can connect with newly formed teams and companies to offer their industry and business expertise.

The Berkeley Catalyst Philanthropic Fund has a near-term goal of raising $2.5M

by January 31, 2018. It has currently raised $1.45M. However, the Berkeley Catalyst Philanthropic Fund will continue to raise funds beyond this date as well.

The Berkeley Catalyst Fund is managed by Laura Smoliar (‘95, Ph.D., Chemistry with Yuan T. Lee), Ted Hou (‘95, Ph.D., Chemistry with Yuan T. Lee), and Drew Lanza (retired from Morgenthaler Ventures).

In addition to the special limited partner relationship with the UC Berkeley Foundation, the Berkeley Catalyst Fund has a legal agreement with the University. It is the first fund at Berkeley to operate under this hybrid model. The model is now under adoption by other units across the UC system.

The Berkeley Catalyst Fund has started making investments, and is working closely to foster the vibrant startup ecosystem around UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC San Francisco, associated incubators and accelerators, and alumni throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The sector foci of the fund are biopharma, agriculture, medical device, clean air, clean water, energy storage, and sensors. The stage is primarily Seed and Series A. Information about how to donate is available at: chemistry.berkeley.edu/bcf

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Enjoying the sun in the lower plaza

Foundation for Excellence Campaign Three-year pledge program inaugurated for the College of Chemistry College of Chemistry faculty regularly generate discoveries that have far-reaching and beneficial impacts on our lives and society — including more sustainable and storable energy, treatments and cures for deadly diseases, access to clean water and air, and new, more effective consumer products. Discoveries of this magnitude require an environment where our faculty, and their graduate student researchers, can do their finest work. At the same time, our public mission commits us to providing an affordable and exceptional educational experience for our undergraduate students, which means providing them with both top-notch classroom instruction and hands-on research opportunities in the labs. All of this requires robust funding.

Currently, state support and student fees comprise about 2/3 of the College’s annual operating revenue. The other 1/3 of our annual operating budget must come from external sources that are generated by the College. Consequently, philanthropy is an increasingly essential source of funding for needed programs such as facility enhancements, state-of-the-art instruments in the undergraduate labs, the launch of new student services and resources, and procurement of essential funds that will help us remain competitive with our peers in attracting and retaining the world’s finest faculty and graduate students.

In order to ensure that our faculty and students have the educational and research environments and services they need to continue to be catalysts of discovery in the chemical sciences, we are launching the Foundation for Excellence Campaign. The goal of this campaign is to establish a stronger, more sustainable foundation of financial strength on which to build our College’s excellence, reputation, education and research prowess, and assure its continued positive impact on society.

To do this we must more than double our annual fundraising support to over $2.5 million per year.

We ask you as vital members of our loyal College of Chemistry community to be a part of our commitment to our Foundation for Excellence Campaign and make a threeyear leadership-level donation to one of our College’s core annual funds. Every dollar donated matters. Your gift will help establish a greatly needed stronger foundation for the College of Chemistry as it seeks to support our students, faculty and programs for generations to come.

Make your Foundation for Excellence Campaign commitment today: chemistry.berkeley.edu/ffecampaign

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Purpose and Goals of the Advisory Board The College of Chemistry Advisory Board provides supportive leadership to develop and implement the College’s strategic objectives: increasing our financial strength, fulfilling our public mission (education, research, and service), and enhancing our academic excellence and worldwide reputation.

The Advisory Board focuses on the following four strategic objectives to ensure that the College is making progress in setting priorities and developing actionable plans.

Student Wellness Committee: enhance our student experience, bolster the College’s diversity, equity and inclusion, and promote employment of our students in targeted companies and industries.

Development Committee: prioritize and pursue resources to meet our College’s philanthropic priorities, including: capital projects and facility upgrades, student scholarships and fellowships, faculty chairs, and core support of our College departments and degree programs.

Revenue Committee: generate greater revenue to ensure our College’s financial well-being through new and continuing professional education programs, and the commercialization of intellectual property generated by our faculty.

Reputation & Brand Committee: develop our reputation and brand to ensure we continue to be recognized and ranked as the very best in the world.

Learn more about the advisory board: chemistry.berkeley.edu/advisory-board

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College Leadership

David Wemmer Ph.D. Chair, Department of Chemistry

Douglas S. Clark, Ph.D. Dean, College of Chemistry

John Arnold, Ph.D Undergraduate Dean, College of Chemistry

Matthew Francis, Ph.D. Executive Associate Dean, College of Chemistry

Laurent de Janvry Assistant Dean, College Relations & Development

Jeffrey A. Reimer, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Suzanne Sutton Assistant Dean, Administration & Finance

Advisory Board Vik Bajaj, Ph.D. Head, Precision Medicine and Translational Science Grail, Inc.

Alan Mendelson, J.D. Partner Latham & Watkins, LLP

Sunney I. Chan, Ph.D. CalTech George Grant Hoag Professor Emeritus, Biophysical Chemistry

R. Andrew Ramelmeier, Ph.D. Senior VP, Technical Operations Biologics Portola Pharmaceuticals

Nirmal Chatterjee, Ph.D. Retired Vice President Engineering Air Products and Chemicals

Georgieanna Scheuerman, Ph.D. Executive Manager, Applied Research and Catalysis Chevron Energy Technology Company

David Hemker, Ph.D. Chief Technology Officer Lam Research Corporation

Charles V. Shank, Ph.D. UCB Professor Emeritus, Chemistry and Physics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Herbert H. Hooper, Ph.D. Managing General Partner Ampersand Ventures

Ronald E. Silva, J.D, Advisory Board Chair President & CEO Fillmore Capital Partners, LLC

Yuan T. Lee, Ph.D. UCB Professor Emeritus, Chemistry President Emeritus, Academia Sinica

James A. Trainham, Ph.D. Chief Technology Officer JDC Phosphate, Inc.

John H. Markels, Ph.D. SVP, Global Human Health Strategy Merck, Inc.

Peter Walther, Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Catalysis Research BASF Corporation

Gary M. Masada, Ph.D. Retired President and CIO, IT, ERTC Chevron Corporation

Keith Watson, Ph.D., CFA Vice President, Core R&D The Dow Chemical Company

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university of california, berkeley College of Chemistry 420 latimer hall #1460 berkeley, ca 94720-1460

nonprofit org. u.s. postage paid sacramento, ca permit no. 195

BIG GIVE is coming March 8, 2018