Irvine, Calif., March 18, 2026 – Seth Cohen, an internationally acknowledged inorganic chemist, scholar and educator, has been appointed dean of the School of Physical Sciences on the University of California, Irvine, efficient Aug. 1. He comes to UC Irvine after practically 25 years at UC San Diego, the place he’s a Distinguished Professor and Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Cohen’s analysis spans chemistry, supplies science and medicinal chemistry, with purposes starting from vitality sciences to pharmaceutical growth. Known for pioneering advances in metallic‑natural frameworks and MOF-polymer composite supplies, his analysis has been supported for greater than twenty years by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, amongst others. He has taught programs in natural, inorganic and supplies chemistry in addition to science coverage.
In addition, Cohen served as a science coverage fellow on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a program supervisor within the Biological Technologies Office on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In these roles, he labored with authorities scientists, navy leaders, and tutorial and trade researchers to advance federal science coverage and important scientific analysis. He is a co-founder and scientific advisory board member of three biotech corporations specializing in oncology and antibiotic drug discovery.
“Dean Cohen brings to UC Irvine an impressive mix of teaching, research leadership and policy development attributes that will help him succeed as dean of the School of Physical Sciences,” mentioned Chancellor Howard Gillman. “The role of science and education in our society has never been more important than now, and incoming Dean Cohen is well equipped to face the challenges ahead.”
Hal Stern, provost and govt vice chancellor, mentioned: “We are pleased to welcome Dean Cohen to UC Irvine. His proven commitment to building research communities that address pressing global challenges will strengthen the School of Physical Sciences and our entire campus community.”
A local of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Cohen earned a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in political science at Stanford University in 1994 and a Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Berkeley in 1998. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier than becoming a member of UC San Diego in 2001; Cohen was promoted to professor in 2011. He chaired UC San Diego’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 2012 to 2015.
Cohen is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His analysis and educating actions have been acknowledged with the RSC’s Centenary Prize; the Chemical Society of Washington’s Hillebrand Prize; the ACS’s Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award; the University of Sydney Foundation for Inorganic Chemistry’s Hans C. Freeman Lectureship; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Research Award; and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s Cottrell TREE and Impact awards.
“I am honored to have been selected as dean of the UC Irvine School of Physical Sciences. The school is rightly recognized around the world for its leadership in a variety of fields, from chemistry and climate science to physics and mathematics,” Cohen mentioned. “I look forward to helping guide our faculty members, students and staff to ever-greater achievements.”
UC Irvine’s School of Physical Sciences has been answerable for some of historical past’s most monumental discoveries, together with 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry-winning work by founding school member F. Sherwood Rowland and postdoctoral scholar Mario Molina on the injury human aerosol emissions had been inflicting to the Earth’s ozone layer. Frederick Reines, additionally a founding school member, received the 1995 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of the neutrino, an elusive particle thought by physicists to be undetectable. UC Irvine biochemist Irwin Rose received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2004 for his analysis into enzymes that break down and dispose of undesirable proteins in vegetation and animals. David MacMillan, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Irvine, was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in growing higher catalysts for changing and constructing molecules.
The School of Physical Sciences was established in 1965 with 212 undergraduates, 55 graduate college students and 25 school members. Now, 61 years later, it has grown to greater than 2,400 undergrads, over 500 graduate college students and 160 school members. At its inception, the varsity was house to chemistry, arithmetic, and physics and astronomy departments. The Department of Earth System Science, which started as a graduate program in 1989, was created in 1994.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the distinguished Association of American Universities and is ranked among the many nation’s high 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced 5 Nobel laureates and is understood for its tutorial achievement, premier analysis, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has greater than 36,000 college students and affords 224 diploma packages. It’s positioned in a single of the world’s most secure and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion yearly to the native economic system and $8 billion statewide. For extra on UC Irvine, go to www.uci.edu.
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