Brett Helms
@bretthelms.bsky.social
Chemist and Senior Scientist @ Berkeley Lab. Entrepreneur @ Sepion Technologies & Cyklos Materials. Dog dad to Abraham, the Frenchie.
It's with profound sadness to announce the passing of Michel Fouré--a great mentor and friend. Here's a photo of us in 2015, when we were exploring lab-to-market transitions for our microporous polymer membranes, leading to the creation of
Sepion Technologies
Sepion Technologies
October 8, 2025 at 5:56 PM
It's with profound sadness to announce the passing of Michel Fouré--a great mentor and friend. Here's a photo of us in 2015, when we were exploring lab-to-market transitions for our microporous polymer membranes, leading to the creation of
Sepion Technologies
Sepion Technologies
Reposted by Brett Helms
Congress is considering a budget request that proposes slashing the federal science agencies by up to 50%. These cuts would devastate UC by cutting off funding for critical research and innovation.
Join us 👉 tell Congress to invest in science: https://bit.ly/467ldiL
#SpeakUp4Science #StandUpforUC
Join us 👉 tell Congress to invest in science: https://bit.ly/467ldiL
#SpeakUp4Science #StandUpforUC
September 18, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Congress is considering a budget request that proposes slashing the federal science agencies by up to 50%. These cuts would devastate UC by cutting off funding for critical research and innovation.
Join us 👉 tell Congress to invest in science: https://bit.ly/467ldiL
#SpeakUp4Science #StandUpforUC
Join us 👉 tell Congress to invest in science: https://bit.ly/467ldiL
#SpeakUp4Science #StandUpforUC
Humbled to receive the Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry from @acs.org. I have had the privilege of mentoring early career scientists and working with outstanding collaborators, which has contributed to my passion and drive. See you in Atlanta at the Spring ACS! cen.acs.org/people/award...
ACS announces 2026 national award winners
The winners are being acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in chemistry across various fields in the discipline
cen.acs.org
September 18, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Humbled to receive the Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry from @acs.org. I have had the privilege of mentoring early career scientists and working with outstanding collaborators, which has contributed to my passion and drive. See you in Atlanta at the Spring ACS! cen.acs.org/people/award...
Reposted by Brett Helms
Harvey Mudd is hiring a tenure track analytical chemist. Come join my department!
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 43 tenure-track positions and 5 teaching-only positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemjobs #chemjobs #chemsky
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List
docs.google.com
July 25, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Harvey Mudd is hiring a tenure track analytical chemist. Come join my department!
Just out in @jacs.acspublications.org! We demonstrate resin-to-resin circularity in cycloolefin resins crosslinked with DCPD. Catalyst choice, co-monomers, post-processing of 3D printed and conventional parts dictate efficacy and bounds for regeneration. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Resin-to-Resin Circularity in Chemical Recycling of Dicyclopentadiene-Based Cycloolefin Resins
Cycloolefin resins (CORs) comprising dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) cross-linkers are high performance thermosets for diverse single-use applications. If it were possible to carry out deconstruction of DCPD thermosets through exclusive reformation of the cyclopentene ring in DCPD, then linear polyDCPD chains could re-enter subsequent manufacturing cycles and enable resin-to-resin circularity. Here, we develop a chemical recycling process whereby linear polyDCPD recyclates are generated from end-of-life commercial and model CORs, including copolymers, using a second-generation Hoveyda–Grubbs ruthenium(II) alkylidene catalyst for deconstruction via ring-closing metathesis. The properties of first-generation DCPD thermosets were reproduced across subsequent generations of recycling and reuse, where up to 84% of linear DCPD was retrievable from end-of-life thermosets after deconstruction. We further quantify how comonomer incorporation, the curing process, and aging affect round-trip material efficiency and the quality of regenerated thermosets.
pubs.acs.org
July 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Just out in @jacs.acspublications.org! We demonstrate resin-to-resin circularity in cycloolefin resins crosslinked with DCPD. Catalyst choice, co-monomers, post-processing of 3D printed and conventional parts dictate efficacy and bounds for regeneration. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Saddened to hear of the passing of luminary scientist, Gabor Somorjai. With Gabor, @berkeleylab.lbl.gov has led the way in understanding materials through their surfaces, be that structure, dynamics, sorption, and transformations relevant to energy applications. He will be missed.
July 9, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Saddened to hear of the passing of luminary scientist, Gabor Somorjai. With Gabor, @berkeleylab.lbl.gov has led the way in understanding materials through their surfaces, be that structure, dynamics, sorption, and transformations relevant to energy applications. He will be missed.
Just out in ACS Energy Letters! We demosntrate electrochemical Li+ enrichment in mixed-cation brines with antiselective cation-exchange PIM membranes. Collab with Mike Baird, Ryan Kingsbury, Gan Chen, Mike Whittaker @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov, ALS, Princeton University pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
July 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Just out in ACS Energy Letters! We demosntrate electrochemical Li+ enrichment in mixed-cation brines with antiselective cation-exchange PIM membranes. Collab with Mike Baird, Ryan Kingsbury, Gan Chen, Mike Whittaker @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov, ALS, Princeton University pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Excited to have Linda Nazar at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social College of Chemistry this afternoon for @basf.bsky.social Lecture.
April 22, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Excited to have Linda Nazar at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social College of Chemistry this afternoon for @basf.bsky.social Lecture.
We're hiring a postdoc to join our @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov plastics recycling team. Scope will include developing new reactions for selective functionalization of polyolefins, assessing properties and recyclability. phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLHM2EPD
Postdoctoral Researcher in Sustainable Polymer Chemistry in Bay Area, California, United States
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s (LBNL) Materials Science Division (MSD) has an opening for an Organic and Polymer Postdoctoral Fellow where Dr....
phxc1b.rfer.us
April 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
We're hiring a postdoc to join our @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov plastics recycling team. Scope will include developing new reactions for selective functionalization of polyolefins, assessing properties and recyclability. phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLHM2EPD
Deleting data from websites amounts to a digital dark age
February 16, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Deleting data from websites amounts to a digital dark age
Reposted by Brett Helms
Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.
February 15, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.
Just out in Science Advances @science.org! Chemical recycling of plastics to monomer accelerated through oxy-functionalization remote from the bond undergoing cleavage. Polymer conformation plays dominant role. @molecularfoundry.bsky.social @berkeleylab.lbl.gov www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Circularity in polydiketoenamine thermoplastics via control over reactive chain conformation
Controlling polymer chain conformation dictates reactivity and recyclability.
www.science.org
January 28, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Just out in Science Advances @science.org! Chemical recycling of plastics to monomer accelerated through oxy-functionalization remote from the bond undergoing cleavage. Polymer conformation plays dominant role. @molecularfoundry.bsky.social @berkeleylab.lbl.gov www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Celebrating Mike Baird’s graduation. PhD #6 ! They don’t have advisors hood PhD students during the Fall ceremony, so no regalia for me today, so I wore something festive
December 21, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Celebrating Mike Baird’s graduation. PhD #6 ! They don’t have advisors hood PhD students during the Fall ceremony, so no regalia for me today, so I wore something festive
Reposted by Brett Helms
Instead of listing my publications, as the year draws to an end, I want to shine the spotlight on the commonplace assumption that productivity must always increase. Good research is disruptive and thinking time is central to high quality scholarship and necessary for disruptive research.
December 20, 2024 at 11:18 AM
Instead of listing my publications, as the year draws to an end, I want to shine the spotlight on the commonplace assumption that productivity must always increase. Good research is disruptive and thinking time is central to high quality scholarship and necessary for disruptive research.
Reposted by Brett Helms
Maybe the best way to sustainably reuse carbon is to take inspiration from biology. Learn more about the "bio-synthesis" of low-cost, easily recyclable plastics and the other immediate steps we need to take to close the carbon cycle here! berkeleysciencereview.com/article/2024...
#climate #SciComm
#climate #SciComm
Making carbon pull its weight
How scientists are reimagining our carbon future
berkeleysciencereview.com
December 19, 2024 at 3:35 AM
Maybe the best way to sustainably reuse carbon is to take inspiration from biology. Learn more about the "bio-synthesis" of low-cost, easily recyclable plastics and the other immediate steps we need to take to close the carbon cycle here! berkeleysciencereview.com/article/2024...
#climate #SciComm
#climate #SciComm
That’s a wrap! Last view from my office for 2024. @molecularfoundry.bsky.social @berkeleylab.bsky.social
December 20, 2024 at 1:02 AM
That’s a wrap! Last view from my office for 2024. @molecularfoundry.bsky.social @berkeleylab.bsky.social
If you live in California, you'll find it often a race to social media to announce an earthquake first among friend groups. Today's ensuing tsunami warning was, however, an audible surprise to all
December 5, 2024 at 8:52 PM
If you live in California, you'll find it often a race to social media to announce an earthquake first among friend groups. Today's ensuing tsunami warning was, however, an audible surprise to all
Reposted by Brett Helms
The real chemtrail that we’re not talking about.
Microplastics promote cloud formation, with likely effects on weather and climate
Clouds affect Earth’s weather and climate in many ways. New research suggests that the presence of microplastic particles could alter these processes.
theconversation.com
November 17, 2024 at 10:38 AM
The real chemtrail that we’re not talking about.
Reposted by Brett Helms
New evidence shows that plumes from industrial plants generate snowfall. The finding suggests that the pollution from the factories is providing ice-nucleating particles and causing snowfall. cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky #bluesci 🧪
Industrial plumes seed snow
New evidence shows that plumes from industrial plants generate snowfall
cen.acs.org
November 18, 2024 at 10:30 PM
New evidence shows that plumes from industrial plants generate snowfall. The finding suggests that the pollution from the factories is providing ice-nucleating particles and causing snowfall. cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky #bluesci 🧪
Reposted by Brett Helms
The Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 EV tax credit is incentivizing U.S. EV supply chain investment, and that's by design. Killing it, as Trump is contemplating, would be a big gift for China.
insideevs.com/news/741162/... 🔌💡 🔌🚗
insideevs.com/news/741162/... 🔌💡 🔌🚗
Killing The IRA's Tax Credit Is a Big Win For China
The IRA's $7,500 is designed to incentivize U.S. EV supply chain investment. Without it, it's not clear if our EV supply chain will get off the ground.
insideevs.com
November 17, 2024 at 6:36 PM
The Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 EV tax credit is incentivizing U.S. EV supply chain investment, and that's by design. Killing it, as Trump is contemplating, would be a big gift for China.
insideevs.com/news/741162/... 🔌💡 🔌🚗
insideevs.com/news/741162/... 🔌💡 🔌🚗
Join our Team! For our DOE program in plastics circularity and recycling, I'm recruiting a postdoc with experience in organic and polymer chemistry @berkeleylab.bsky.social Apply here: jobs.lbl.gov/jobs/organic...
Organic and Polymer Postdoctoral Fellow in Bay Area, California, United States
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s (LBNL) Materials Science Division (MSD) has an opening for an Organic and Polymer Postdoctoral Fellow to join.....
jobs.lbl.gov
November 13, 2024 at 5:56 PM
Join our Team! For our DOE program in plastics circularity and recycling, I'm recruiting a postdoc with experience in organic and polymer chemistry @berkeleylab.bsky.social Apply here: jobs.lbl.gov/jobs/organic...