Since our founding in 1868, Berkeley has served as a primary engine for the country’s success, transforming the lives of our students and the trajectory of our society. Berkeley research has helped shape modern science and technology; our students and alumni have served in uniform across generations; and the Berkeley campus is a vital laboratory for democracy and civic participation.
In this historic year, few institutions can proudly claim such a varied legacy — to make the nation stronger, to question its choices, and to insist it live up to its ideas — but Berkeley can. On this page, you will find stories and events that illustrate how, through innovation, opportunity, and civic courage, UC Berkeley is and has always been a cornerstone of the American journey.
Did you get your flu shot? Thank Wendell Stanley.
Every winter, we are inundated with precautionary steps for preventing the flu. Avoid sick people. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth. And, most importantly, get a flu vaccine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an estimated 490,600 hospitalizations and 34,200 deaths due to the flu in 2018-19. Things could be worse if it weren’t for Dr. Wendell Stanley, the late professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. His pioneering work on the nature of viruses led to many medical advances and earned him a Nobel Prize in 1946.
Berkeley’s Nobel laureates
UC Berkeley’s Nobel prize-winning legacy began in the 1930s and continues to the modern day, with faculty and alumni laureates in almost every field. By our count, there are 63 Berkeley Nobelists.
