Research & Innovation

What drives voter support for billionaire taxes? Stone Lecture takes a closer look

July 15, 2026
By Jessica Ballardo

As Californians prepare to vote on Proposition 40 this November — which proposes a one-time 5% wealth tax on residents worth over $1 billion — the debate over wealth inequality is becoming more than just a policy discussion. For many voters, it is about fairness, public trust and whether the wealthiest people should contribute more when inequality continues to shape everyday life.

At this year’s annual Stone Lecture, hosted by the James M. and Cathleen D....

America at 250: What Berkeley historians want us to remember

July 13, 2026
By Jessica Ballardo

Beyond the barbecues, fireworks and other festivities, the United States’ 250th birthday was cause for many Americans to reflect on the nation’s founding, identity and future.

While many stories retold around the Fourth emphasize gritty colonists fighting for the ideals of freedom against a vast British Empire — stories populated with tri-corner hats, hand-sewn flags and crates of dumped tea — historians continue to examine the more complex histories behind the founding and the events that followed for the next 250 years. They challenge us to...

Why UC Berkeley Economist Gabriel Zucman wants a 2% billionaire tax

June 18, 2026
By Jessica Ballardo

Billionaire wealth has reached historic highs — and so has their power. UC Berkeley and Paris School of Economics Professor Gabriel Zucman, a world-renowned expert on wealth inequality and global tax evasion, warns that this growing concentration of extreme wealth is undermining democracy and allowing the ultra-rich to wield outsized influence over politics and society.

In his new book, “We Need to Tax Billionaires...

How do Californians tolerate extreme inequality?

May 29, 2026
By Lila Thulin

The 136 conversations took place in roughly the same way: Pleasantries would be exchanged, a recorder started, then UC Berkeley researchers asked middle-class Californians to dig deep. Who deserves government assistance? What values do you hope to instill in your children? What do you think about undocumented immigration? What is the American dream, exactly?

Those wide-ranging interviews form the basis of aself-scrutinizing new book from Berkeley professors G. Cristina Mora and...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/05/28/how-do-californians-tolerate-extreme-inequa…

Why trying too hard to be happy might actually make you less happy

May 28, 2026
By Jessica Ballardo

Trying to be happy can sometimes have the opposite effect.

A new review of previous psychology research, titled “The pursuit of happiness: pitfalls and promises,” by Iris Mauss, a UC Berkeley psychology professor, and Brett Ford, a University of Toronto psychology professor and Berkeley psychology alumna, explores this happiness paradox. The researchers examined findings from 20 years of research on the...

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...
https://scholarships.berkeley.edu/2025-2026-scholarships-wrap-up/

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
Robert Sanders

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...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/05/19/astrophysicist-alex-filippenko-awarded-grub…

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...

https://inspire.berkeley.edu/o/w-m-keck-foundation-bridge-funding-initiative-awa…

Experts examine whether California’s climate model can meet its future goals

May 18, 2026
By Jessica Ballardo

In many ways, California is seen as a model for climate leadership. The state has managed to grow its economy while reducing emissions, and its climate policies have often set the tone for the rest of the country.

But at a recent panel hosted by the Berkeley Economy & Society Initiative (BESI), experts gathered to discuss the other side of the coin: the many challenges California continues to face, from rising energy costs to the possibility of not meeting future climate goals.

Moderated by BESI Senior...