Awards & Honors

What can AI learn from children?

October 14, 2026

AI models are always hungry for vast amounts of information, so it can learn how to give us human-like responses. For example, OpenAI’s GPT-3 trained on 570 gigabytes of text, or roughly 225 billion words.

But children and babies, however, do not require an enormous pool of information to learn how language works. They listen and try things like imitating the sounds of people around them – a different way of learning that’s more efficient and consumes much less energy.

Is it possible for AI to learn more like young...

Two winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in economics have deep ties to UC Berkeley

October 13, 2026

When the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today announced the two winners of Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the UC Berkeley economics community celebrated them as scholars who have achieved the heights of economic influence — and as colleagues with deep connections to the campus.

Robert E. Hall was an accomplished young scholar who earned his bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley in 1964, and served on the economics faculty from 1967-1970 before moving to MIT and then to Stanford University....

Hernan Garcia receives 2026 Schmidt Polymaths award

September 25, 2026

Hernan Garcia, associate professor of molecular & cell biology and physics at UC Berkeley is among the eight 2026 Schmidt Polymaths who will receive a combined total of up to $20 million to take their research in ambitious new directions. Dr. Garcia will adapt rapid gene-editing and screening methods for use in plants to develop more climate-resilient crops.

The Schmidt Polymaths award recognizes proven records of...

Rasmus Nielsen to receive Balzan Prize for research on molecular evolution

September 10, 2026

The International Balzan Foundation recognized Rasmus Nielsen, a professor of statistics and integrative biology at UC Berkeley, with its 2026 Balzan Prize for Molecular...

Alex Filippenko named 2026 Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts Awardee

September 8, 2026

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific announced that Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Alex Filippenko will receive its 2026 Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts Award. The award recognizes noteworthy individuals who have helped the public understand and appreciate astronomy.

Alan Karras named first G. Eric and Margaret Davis Notable Lecturer in Political Economy

June 22, 2026

Alan Karras has been selected as the inaugural G. Eric and Margaret Davis Notable Lecturer in Political Economy. Karras is a long-time senior lecturer and academic leader at UC Berkeley who serves as the Political Economy Program’s associate director.

“I am very grateful to Eric and Margaret Davis for their generosity, as well as all of the other supporters who contributed to this chair — the first in political economy...

Celebrating UC Berkeley’s 2025–26 National Scholarship and Fellowship Recipients

May 25, 2026

Composite of 18 headshots

We would like to wrap up the 2025–2026 academic year by congratulating all of the current Cal Bears and recent alums who received nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships this academic year, as well as those who submitted strong applications for more than 30 scholarship and fellowship programs our office supports.

Scholarship Recipients (pictured left to right, top to...

UC Berkeley Letters & Science announces 2026 L&S Faculty Award recipients

May 21, 2026

UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 L&S Faculty Awards. This distinguished award recognizes each awardee's exceptional scholarship, service to the College and community, and transformational teaching. These extraordinary individuals not only embody the excellence of the College of Letters & Science, but they also serve as an inspiration to the entire campus community. The recipients were...

Astrophysicist Alex Filippenko awarded Gruber Cosmology Prize for work on supernovae

May 19, 2026

By clarifying the differences among various types of exploding stars, Filippenko enabled them to be used to measure the expansion of the universe.

UC Berkeley supernova and black hole expert Alex Filippenko will share the 2026 Gruber Cosmology Prize, which was announced today (May 19) by the Gruber Foundation.

The prize, one of the most prestigious awards for research on the origin and fate of...

W. M. Keck Foundation Bridge Funding Initiative awards grants to seven faculty and their doctoral students

May 18, 2026

The Keck Foundation, whose mission is to boost high-impact basic scientific research, invited UC Berkeley to apply to its one-time Bridge Funding Initiative in order to rapidly deploy funding to early- to mid-career faculty and their graduate students who were especially vulnerable to changes in the federal funding landscape.

Funding for these projects is meant to ensure that there is no disruption to the career trajectories of graduate students and to help retain faculty in their early and middle career stages.

According to the grant’s principal investigator, Vice Chancellor...