About the Program

The Applied Science and Technology graduate group is administered by the College of Engineering. The program is aimed at students with research interests that are truly interdisciplinary. Faculty members associated with the program are drawn from several departments within the College of Engineering, as well as from the departments of Physics, Chemistry, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Statistics, and Mathematics. Topics of interest include the properties and applications of nanostructures; thin-film and interface science; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS); short-wavelength coherent radiation; X-ray micro-imaging for the life and physical sciences; plasma physics and plasma-assisted materials processing; laser-induced chemical processes; laser probing of complex reacting systems; ultrafast phenomena; particle accelerators; nonlinear dynamics; chaotic systems; numerical methods; and computational fluid mechanics and reacting flows, etc.

Within the program students design their own course of study in consultation with their advisors, choosing from the vast array of technical offerings throughout the campus. The chosen coursework should prepare the student for interdisciplinary research. Students in the PhD program may pursue a Designated Emphasis (DE) such as the DE in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (DE NSE); Energy, Science, and Technology (DE EST); and Computational Science and Engineering (DE CSE).

Graduate research in the AS&T Program benefits from state-of-the-art experimental facilities on the Berkeley campus and at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Among these facilities is the National Center for Electron Microscopy, which has the world's highest resolution high-voltage microscope; a microfabrication lab for student work involving lithography; MEMS ion-implantation and thin-film deposition; an integrated sensors laboratory, femtosecond laser laboratories; optical, electrical, and magnetic resonance spectroscopies; short-wavelength laser and Xray research laboratories; an unparalleled variety of material, chemical, and surface science analytic equipment; and a soft X-ray synchrotron dedicated to materials, chemical, and biological research using high-brightness and partially coherent X-rays. The interdisciplinary collaborative nature of the AS&T Program provides ample opportunity to develop new research directions by making the best use possible of these facilities and the other research instrumentation available to AS&T faculty.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Minimum Requirements for Admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant has completed a basic degree from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 on a 9-point scale (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without the need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Required Documents for Applications

1. Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. Unofficial transcripts must contain specific information including the name of the applicant, name of the school, all courses, grades, units, & degree conferral (if applicable). 
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, by the recommender, not the Graduate Admissions.

3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants who have completed a basic degree from a country or political entity in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to institutions from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:

   • courses in English as a Second Language,

   • courses conducted in a language other than English,

   • courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and

   • courses of a non-academic nature.

Applicants who have previously applied to Berkeley must also submit new test scores that meet the current minimum requirement from one of the standardized tests. Official TOEFL score reports must be sent directly from Educational Test Services (ETS). The institution code for Berkeley is 4833 for Graduate Organizations. Official IELTS score reports must be sent electronically from the testing center to University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Division, Sproul Hall, Rm 318 MC 5900, Berkeley, CA 94720. TOEFL and IELTS score reports are only valid for two years prior to beginning the graduate program at UC Berkeley. Note: score reports can not expire before the month of June.

Where to Apply

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page. 

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Curriculum

Courses

Applied Science and Technology

Faculty and Instructors

* Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Ashok Ajoy, Assistant Professor. Physical chemistry, nanoscale NMR spectroscopy.
Research Profile

Zakaria Al Balushi, Assistant Professor. Electronics, magnetic and optical materials, quantum materials synthesis, optoelectronics.
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M. Reza Alam, Assistant Professor. Theoretical Fluid Dynamics, Nonlinear Wave Mechanics, Ocean and Coastal Waves Phenomena, Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tide and Offshore Wind Energy), Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Fluid Flow Control, ocean renewable energy.
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Mark Asta, Professor. Computational materials science.
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Carlos J. Bustamante, Professor. Nanoscience, structural characterization of nucleo-protein assemblies, single molecule fluorescence microscopy, DNA-binding molecular motors, the scanning force microscope, prokaryotes.
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Constance Chang-Hasnain, Professor. Microsystems and materials, Nano-Optoelectronic devices.
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Daryl Chrzan, Professor. Materials science and engineering, computational materials science, metals and metallic compounds, defects in solids, growth of nanostructures.
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Phillip Colella, Professor in Residence. High-performance software infrastructure for scientific computing.
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Michael Crommie, Professor. Physics, electronic properties of atomic-scale structures at surfaces, atomic-scale structures, morphology and dynamics of mesoscopic systems, atomic manipulation, visualizing low dimensional electronic behavior.
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Oscar D. Dubon, Professor. Magnetic, optical materials, processing, properties in electronic.
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Roger Falcone, Professor. X-rays, plasma physics, lasers, physics, materials, atomic physics, coherent control, ultrafast.
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Graham R. Fleming, Professor. Chemistry, proteins, chemical and biological dynamics in the condensed phase, ultrafast spectroscopy, body dynamics, liquids, solutions, glasses, photosynthetic proteins, role of solvents in chemical reactions, complex electric fields, electron transfer.
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Gabriel Orebi Gann, Associate Professor. Particle physics.
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Costas P. Grigoropoulos, Professor. Heat transfer, laser materials processing, nano-manufacturing, energy systems and technology.
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Hartmut Haeffner, Associate Professor. Quantum information and computation, precision measurements, ion traps, quantum state engineering, decoherence, quantum simulations, quantum energy transport, quantum chaos, cryogenic electronics.
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Frances Hellman, Professor. Condensed matter physics and materials science.
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Amy Herr, Associate Professor. Microfluidics, bioanalytical separations, diagnostics, electrokinetic transport, engineering design.
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Peter Hosemann, Professor. Microscopy, nanomaterials, Nuclear materials, material science, radiation damage, corrosion in liquid metals, materials development, materials under extremes, nuclear applications, ion beam microscopy, nanoscale mechanical testing.
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Haiyan Huang, Professor. Applied statistics, functional genomics, translational bioinformatics, high dimensional and integrative genomic/genetic data analysis, network modeling, hierarchical multi-lable classification.
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Ali Javey, Professor. Physical Electronics (PHY), Energy (ENE), Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology.
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Na Ji, Associate Professor.

Boubacar Kante, Associate Professor. Wave-matter interaction, Nanophotonics, nanoscale photon management, biophysics.
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Alessandra Lanzara, Professor. Nanostructures, physics, solid-state physics, complex novel materials, correlated electron systems, temperature superconductors, colossal magneto-resistance manganites, organic material, fullerenes, nanotubes, nanosphere, nanorods.
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Seung-Wuk Lee, Professor. Nanotechnology, bio-inspired nanomaterials, synthetic viruses, regenerative tissue engineering materials, drug delivery vehicles.
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Tsu-Jae King Liu, Professor. Physical Electronics (PHY), Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
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Eric Yue Ma, Assistant Professor. Atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed matter physics and materials science.
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Philip Marcus, Professor. Algorithms, fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, atmospheric flows, convection, ocean flows, numerical analysis, turbulence, planet formation, internal gravity waves, inertial waves, desalination.
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Lane Martin, Professor. Complex Oxides, novel electronic materials, thin films, materials processing, materials characterization, memory, logic, information technologies, energy conversion, thermal properties, dielectrics, ferroelectrics, pyroelectrics, piezoelectrics, magnetics, multiferroics, transducers, devices.
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Mohammad Mofrad, Professor. Nuclear pore complex and nucleocytoplasmic transport, mechanobiology of disease, cellular mechanotransduction, integrin-mediated focal adhesions.
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Clark Nguyen, Professor. Electrical engineering, computer sciences, integrated circuits, sensors, micro electromechanical systems, signal processors, frequency control, RF communications, micromachining technology.
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Ahmad Omar, Assistant Professor. Theoretical understanding of both natural and synthetic soft condensed matter systems.
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Panayiotis Papadopoulos, Professor. Continuum mechanics, computational mechanics, contact mechanics, computational plasticity, materials modeling, solid mechanics, applied mathematics, dynamics of pseudo-rigid bodies.
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Kristin A. Persson, Assistant Professor. Lithium-ion Batteries.
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Per-Olof Persson, Professor. Applied mathematics, numerical methods, computational fluid and solid mechanics.
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Sayeef Salahuddin, Associate Professor. Physical Electronics (PHY), Design, Modeling and Analysis (DMA), Energy (ENE), Scientific Computing (SCI).
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James A. Sethian, Professor. Mathematics, applied mathematics, partial differential equations, computational physics, level set Methods, computational fluid mechanics and materials sciences fast marching methods.
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Shawn Shadden, Professor. Cardiovascular biomechanics, computational mechanics, computational fluid dynamics, dynamical systems, fluid dynamics, Lagrangian coherent structures, mathematical modeling, thrombosis.
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Alp Sipahigil, Assistant Professor. Solid-state devices and technology, quantum technologies.
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Rachel Slaybaugh, Assistant Professor. Computational methods, high performance computing, neutron transport.
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Lydia Sohn, Associate Professor. Micro-nano engineering.
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David Steigmann, Professor. Finite elasticity, mechanics, continuum, shell theory, variational methods, stability, surface stress, capillary phenomena, mechanics of thin films.
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Hayden Taylor, Assistant Professor. Manufacturing, microfabrication, nanofabrication, semiconductor manufacturing, computational mechanics, nanoimprint lithography.
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Grigory Tikhomirov, Assistant Professor. Bioengineering, nanofabrication, nanorobotics, biosystems and computational biology, energy, integrated circuits, micro/nano electro mechanical systems, physical electronics.
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Karl A. Van Bibber, Professor. Experimental nuclear physics, Particle Astrophysics, Accelerator Technology and Neutron Sources.
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Jasmina Vujic, Professor. Nuclear engineering, numerical methods in reactor physics, neutron and photon transport, reactor core design and analysis, shielding, radiation protection, biomedical application of radiation, optimization techniques for vector, parallel computers.
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Laura Waller, Assistant Professor. Physical Electronics (PHY), Signal Processing (SP), Computational imaging, Optics and Imaging, Biosystems & Computational Biology (BIO), Graphics (GR).
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Feng Wang, Associate Professor. Condensed matter physics, photonics, nanoscience.
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Hans-Rudolf Wenk, Professor. Crystallography, earth & planetary science, structural geology & rock deformation, seismic anisotropy, investigating development of preferred orientation under expreme conditions using neutron diffraction, synchrotron x-rays, & electron microscopy.
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K. Birgitta Whaley, Professor. Chemistry, physical and theoretical chemistry, cluster and nano science, quantum information and computations, quantum mechanics of clusters and advanced materials, elucidating and manipulating chemical dynamics in strongly quantum environments.
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Jon Wilkening, Professor. Applied mathematics, numerical analysis, computational solid and fluid mechanics.
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Junqiao Wu, Professor. Semiconductors, nanotechnology, energy materials.
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Jonathan Wurtele, Professor. Physics, stability, plasma theory, advanced accelerator concepts, intense laser-plasma interaction, the basic equilibrium, radiation properties of intense charged particle beams, simulation and the development of proof-of-principle experiments.
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Ting Xu, Professor. Polymer, nanocomposite, biomaterial, membrane, directed self-assembly, drug delivery, protein therapeutics, block copolymers, nanoparticles.
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Eli Yablonovitch, Professor. Optoelectronics Research Group, high speed optical communications, photonic crystals at optical and microwave frequencies, the milli-Volt switch, optical antennas and solar cells , Physical Electronics (PHY).
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Jie Yao, Assistant Professor. Optical materials, Nanophotonics, optoelectronics.
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* Tarek Zohdi, Professor. Finite element methods, computational methods for advanced manufacturing, micro-structural/macro-property inverse problems involving optimization and design of new materials, modeling and simulation of high-strength fabric, modeling and simulation of particulate/granular flows, modeling and simulation of multiphase/composite electromagnetic media, modeling and simulation of the dynamics of swarms.
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Michael Werner Zuerch, Assistant Professor.

Affiliated Faculty

Roya Maboudian, Professor. Surface and interfacial science and engineering, thin-film science and technology, micro-/nano-systems technology, harsh-environment sensors, silicon carbide, biologically-inspired materials synthesis.
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Emeritus Faculty

David Attwood, Professor Emeritus. Short wavelength electromagnetics, Soft X-ray microscopy, Coherence, EUV lithography.
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Nathan W. Cheung, Professor Emeritus. Nanofabrication, Heterogeneous integration of microsystems, Plasma and ion-beam processing technologies, Electronic materials.
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T. Kenneth Gustafson, Professor Emeritus. Solid-State Devices, Basic electromagnetic and quantum applications.

Andrew R. Neureuther, Professor Emeritus. Integrated Circuits (INC), Solid-State Devices.
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Richard M. White, Professor Emeritus. Energy (ENE), Solid-State Devices.