The NAE cited the newly elected UC Berkeley researchers for the following:
- Lisa Alvarez-Cohen for the discovery and application of novel microorganisms and biochemical pathways for microbial degradation of environmental contaminants
- Eugene Haller, who is also a faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for improvements in semiconductor performance through contributions to synthesis of ultrapure and doped crystals
- Michael I. Jordan for contributions to the foundations and applications of machine learning
- Jay D. Keasling, who is also director of the Physical Biosciences Division at LBNL and CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville, Calif., for developing synthetic biology tools to engineer the antimalarial drug artemisinin
- Arthur H. Rosenfeld, who is also one of five members of the California Energy Commission, for his leadership in energy efficiency research, development, and technology deployment through the development of appliance and building standards and public policy
- Xiang Zhang, who is also director of the National Science Foundation Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, for pioneering contributions in metamaterials and creation of the first optical superlens with resolutions beyond the fundamental diffraction limit