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.
UC Berkeley quantum computing chip to be buried in national time capsule celebrating America’s 250th birthday
The eight-qubit quantum processor is one of California’s contributions to the time capsule, which will be opened in 2276.
Rewriting the code: The inside story of the first CRISPR cure
Victoria Gray spent 34 years battling the debilitating pain of sickle cell disease. Then she volunteered to be the world’s first “prototype” for a CRISPR therapy — trading a life that felt hopeless for a future she never thought she’d see.
How crowdsourcing and phone cameras could help bring fallen soldiers home
A UC Berkeley archaeologist is building a reference system that can expedite recovery of the remains of service members killed in World War II.
Basic research on Listeria bacteria leads to unique cancer therapy
Microbiologist Daniel Portnoy cofounded a startup that’s turning Listeria into a tool to improve survival in children with leukemia and potentially other cancer patients.
For 20 years, this UC Berkeley program has helped students who’ve been in foster care succeed
Hope Scholars started with one employee and one student. It has since grown to offer hundreds of students holistic support, including mentorship, emergency funds and move-in day supplies.
Meet three Black trailblazers in STEM
Berkeley alumni Lloyd Ferguson, Mary Blackburn and Marvin Poston paved the way for Black scientists and engineers. Black Lives at Cal is developing a tour that spotlights their stories.
To understand youth experiencing homelessness, this UC Berkeley professor hires them
Coco Auerswald has dedicated her life to working with unhoused young people. Doing research alongside them is key to learning about — and solving — youth homelessness, she says.
Berkeley Talks: Musician Lara Downes celebrates the sound of America
The acclaimed pianist reflects on music’s power to unite across division and express the nation’s most complicated emotions over the past 250 years.
New research says framing protests as fights for civil rights ‘backfires.’ So what might work?
Kim Voss, a UC Berkeley professor of sociology, says appeals rooted in American values may be more effective today than those evoking memories of the Civil Rights Movement.
Bridging divides: from anger and mistrust to belonging — and hope
As UC Berkeley celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement, it is emerging as a national leader in developing science-based practices that nurture constructive dialogue. The goal: Cool tensions, promote understanding and ease polarization.
Upcoming Events
The American Experiment at 250: History, Higher Education, and the Road Ahead
On Thursday, July 9, at 12 p.m. join UC President Milliken for a conversation with historian Beverly Gage, a leading scholar of 20th-century U.S. history and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
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America 250: UC Berkeley and the Future of the American Experiment
On Friday, October 9, from 3-4 p.m. join Chancellor Richard K. Lyons and a panel of faculty experts to explore how ideas of citizenship, democracy, participation, and higher education have shaped the American experience.
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