University of California, Berkeley
The Abel Research Group
Designing new living polymerizations for a sustainable materials future.
Our Science
Research
The Abel group works at the interfaces of polymer organic chemistry, catalysis, and materials science. We develop new living polymerization reactions — guided by the energetic, environmental, and economic realities of how synthetic materials are made and how they meet their end of life — to reach previously unobtainable control over polymer microstructure, architecture, and functionality.
Updates
Latest News
August 2025
Congratulations to Josh Roan on his Outstanding Presentation Award at the 2025 ACS Meeting in Washington, D.C.!
July 2025
Prof. Brooks Abel earns an NSF award toward polymer discovery! This award is for “AI-Driven Design of Architecturally Varied and Deconstructable Polymers for a Comprehensive Circular Plastics Economy,” led by Prof. Christopher Cooper (Washington University in St. Louis) and Prof. Brooks Abel.
May 2025
Welcome to undergraduate student Taylor Brewer, a Summer Undergraduate Research Diversity Program scholar visiting from Prairie View A&M!
December 2024
Congratulations to Madison Pugh on passing her qualifying exam!
November 2024
Congratulations to Thomas Nedungadan on passing his qualifying exam!
October 2024
Welcome to visiting scholar Puttipong Panausorn (Kaen)!
September 2024
Welcome to first-year graduate student David Murillo!
March 2024
Congratulations to Mary Johnson on passing her qualifying exam!
February 2024
Congratulations to Connor Filbin on passing his qualifying exam!
September 23, 2023
The Abel group attends the second annual Soft Matter Symposium, this year hosted at Stanford.
September 2023
Welcome to first-year graduate students Mary Johnson and Madison Pugh!
June 2023
The Abel group welcomes graduate student Thomas Nedungadan!
April 26, 2023
Congratulations to Christina Brancel on passing her qualifying exam!
March 23, 2023
Congratulations to Josh Roan on passing his qualifying exam!
October 2022
Welcome to first-year graduate students Clayton Francis and Anna Moeckel!
August 15, 2022
Check out the Polymer Science Podcast, where Brooks discusses his prior polymer chemistry research and his path to UC Berkeley.
July 20, 2022
Congrats to Christina Brancel and Josh Roan on completing their First Year Report requirements!
July 13, 2022
Incoming first-year graduate student Connor Filbin has joined us over the summer before classes start.
March 11, 2022
150th Anniversary of the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley — recent Nobel Laureates Jennifer Doudna (2020) and David MacMillan (2021), along with Yuan T. Lee (1986).
January 18, 2022
Let the chemistry begin…
November 2021
The Abel group welcomes first-year graduate students Christina Brancel and Joshua Roan, and undergraduate student Daochi Yang!
July 1, 2021
The Abel Research Group opens its doors at UC Berkeley.
Join the Lab
We are always looking for curious, motivated graduate and undergraduate researchers to help push polymer chemistry forward.
The Abel Research Group 