Chemist Graham Fleming named vice chancellor for research

BERKELEY — Graham R. Fleming, the Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and former deputy director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), has been appointed the campus's vice chancellor for research, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced today (Wednesday, April 1.) "These units represent an enormous breadth of research across campus, including the arts and humanities, biology, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences and social sciences. We are extremely fortunate to have in Graham Fleming a scholar with unequaled research insight, deep experience and proven leadership skills," said Birgeneau. "Research goes on in every component of campus, and that includes the social sciences and humanities; we shine in these areas, too," Fleming said. "At Berkeley, we have excellence across the board, and it will be my job to provide support to help our entire academic research community continue this tradition of excellence." "Beth did a really great job; my goal is to build on what she did," Fleming said of his predecessor, Beth Burnside, a professor of molecular and cell biology who stepped down from the post October 31. The campus received $606.6 million in research funding in fiscal year 2008, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year. In addition, the energy company BP awarded UC Berkeley $350 million to be paid out over 10 years to explore bioenergy research.