FLORHAM PARK, N.J. and OAKLAND, Calif., July 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BASF will donate $7 million toward the construction of a new state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary research chemistry facility at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Research conducted in the new “Berkeley Science and Engineering Hub” will converge the expertise of chemists, biologists, engineers, computer scientists, ecologists, social scientists, policy experts, economists, entrepreneurs and industry and civic leaders.

Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Technology Officer, BASF SE, announced the donation as part of his keynote lecture at the California Research Alliance (CARA) 2018 Summer Symposium, held this week at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. A signing ceremony confirming BASF’s corporate donation was held on the UC Berkeley campus.

“As part of CARA, BASF is connected to one of the leading global hubs for innovation,” said Brudermüller. “With our donation, we demonstrate our commitment to research in collaboration with our academic partners at CARA that will lead to innovations to improve daily life.”

“This collaboration represents the perfect intersection of industry and academic research,” said Douglas Clark, Dean, College of Chemistry, UC Berkeley. “BASF's continued commitment to UC Berkeley and the larger CARA effort, and their support of vital infrastructure needs on the Berkeley campus, shows that it is increasingly possible to merge our combined goals for even greater impact.” 

The CARA 2018 Summer Symposium brings together a select group of academics and BASF scientists to celebrate BASF's commitment to California universities, the CARA program and how industry and academia can use science and technology to generate optimism about solving global challenges.

CARA is one of four BASF scientific excellence clusters that collaborate with research groups on a regional level, maintaining a network between BASF, the campuses of the University of California system, Stanford and Caltech. The researchers at CARA work in a variety of scientific disciplines including new materials, biosciences, formulations, and catalysis, as well as computational and engineering disciplines.

Five BASF researchers based at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego work hand in hand with university scientists. The collaboration started in 2014 with 10 postdoctoral positions and has extended to approximately 25 postdoctoral positions today. So far, CARA’s researchers have filed 10 patents, and more than 20 peer-reviewed papers have been accepted or published. In addition, the first research projects have already transferred to BASF R&D for further development.

“BASF's partnership with the universities of CARA has fostered a relationship built on innovation, cooperation and trust,” said Kerstin Schierle-Arndt, Vice President of Research Inorganic Materials and Synthesis, BASF, and Associate Director, CARA. “Since its inception in 2014, our research teams have worked on 45 projects together, and we look forward to collaborating on future ideas and projects.”

For press photos, please click on the following links:

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photo..._CARA1.jpg

Suggested caption: Martin Brudermüller, BASF CEO, and Paul Alivisatos, UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, committed to a $7 million donation from BASF to UC Berkeley for the construction of a new research chemistry facility. Brudermüller and Alivisatos were accompanied by (front left) Douglas Clark, UC Berkeley Dean, College of Chemistry, and (front right) Irene Kim, UC Berkeley Associate Vice Chancellor – Advancement. Also attending the signing ceremony (back, left to right): Martin Strohrmann, BASF Senior Vice President, Digitalization in Research & Development; Kerstin Schierle-Arndt, Co-Director, CARA, and BASF Vice President, Inorganic Materials and Synthesis; Hartmann Leube, BASF Senior Vice President, New Technologies; Harald Lauke, BASF President, Advanced Materials & Systems Research; Gray Davis, former California governor; Carol Christ, UC Berkeley Chancellor; Janet Napolitano, President, University of California; Peter Schuhmacher, BASF President, Process Research & Chemical Engineering; Peidong Yang, Co-Director, CARA, and UC Berkeley researcher; and Benjamin Knudsen, BASF head of White Biotechnology for North America.

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photo..._CARA2.jpg Suggested caption: Martin Brudermüller, CEO and CTO, BASF SE, announced a $7 million donation from BASF to UC Berkeley at the 2018 CARA Summer Symposium. https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photo..._CARA3.jpg Suggested caption: Martin Brudermüller, CEO and CTO, BASF (center), spoke alongside (left to right) Prof. Glenn Fredrickson, UC Santa Barbara; Dr. Will Zeng, Rigetti Computing; Prof. Daniel Kammen, UC Berkeley; and David Schaberg, Dean of Humanities, UCLA, during a panel discussion, “How can industry and academia generate optimism in science and technology?” at the 2018 CARA Summer Symposium.

About BASF BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 18,200 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.9 billion in 2017. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com .

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com .

Media Relations contacts Elaine Ahmed Phone: 973-245-5193 elaine.ahmed@basf.com