We live in a world today that faces several social and economic challenges such as fossil-fuel dependence and lack of access to clean water. These challenges will need to be addressed by the upcoming generation and many of the solutions lie in the chemical sciences. Undergraduates at UC Berkeley are already contributing to finding solutions to such large-scale problems, in areas as diverse as nanotechnology; molecular dynamics; energy efficiency; and biofuels.

The Berkeley Chemical Review was started around one year ago to feature the most promising work, in the chemical sciences, done by undergraduate students at UC Berkeley. Since the College of Chemistry houses two of the highest ranked departments in the world, it came as no surprise that the creativity and ambition of the projects undertaken by undergraduates reflected the highest standard of intellectual pursuit. We encourage you to explore the depth and breadth of research contained in this publication to gain a deeper understanding of the superb work done by undergraduates.

We would like to thank the faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students who have supported our vision in publishing this issue. Finally, to those who are considering doing research in your undergraduate years, we leave you with a line from Maya Angelou’s poem, A Brave and Startling Truth: “It is possible and imperative that we discover a brave and startling truth”.

Ritankar Das

Editor-in-Chief, Berkeley Chemical Review