Irvine, Calif., March 18, 2026 – Seth Cohen, an internationally recognized inorganic chemist, scholar and educator, has been appointed dean of the School of Physical Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, effective Aug. 1. He comes to UC Irvine after nearly 25 years at UC San Diego, where he is a Distinguished Professor and Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Cohen’s research spans chemistry, materials science and medicinal chemistry, with applications ranging from energy sciences to pharmaceutical development. Known for pioneering advances in metal‑organic frameworks and MOF-polymer composite materials, his research has been supported for more than two decades by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, among others. He has taught courses in organic, inorganic and materials chemistry as well as science policy. In addition, Cohen served as a science policy fellow at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a program manager in the Biological Technologies Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In these roles, he worked with government scientists, military leaders, and academic and industry researchers to advance federal science policy and vital scientific research. He is a co-founder and scientific advisory board member of three biotech companies specializing in oncology and antibiotic drug discovery. “Dean Cohen brings to UC Irvine an impressive mix of teaching, research leadership and policy development attributes that will help him succeed as dean of the School of Physical Sciences,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman. “The role of science and education in our society has never been more important than now, and incoming Dean Cohen is well equipped to face the challenges ahead.” Hal Stern, provost and executive vice chancellor, said: “We are pleased to welcome Dean Cohen to UC Irvine. His proven commitment to building research communities that address pressing global challenges will strengthen the School of Physical Sciences and our entire campus community.” A native of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Cohen earned a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in political science at Stanford University in 1994 and a Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Berkeley in 1998. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining UC San Diego in 2001; Cohen was promoted to professor in 2011. He chaired UC San Diego’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 2012 to 2015. Cohen is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research and teaching activities have been recognized with the RSC’s Centenary Prize; the Chemical Society of Washington’s Hillebrand Prize; the ACS’s Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award; the University of Sydney Foundation for Inorganic Chemistry’s Hans C. Freeman Lectureship; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Research Award; and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s Cottrell TREE and Impact awards. “I am honored to have been selected as dean of the UC Irvine School of Physical Sciences. The school is rightly recognized around the world for its leadership in a variety of fields, from chemistry and climate science to physics and mathematics,” Cohen said. “I look forward to helping guide our faculty members, students and staff to ever-greater achievements.” UC Irvine’s School of Physical Sciences has been responsible for some of history’s most monumental discoveries, including 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry-winning work by founding faculty member F. Sherwood Rowland and postdoctoral scholar Mario Molina on the damage human aerosol emissions were causing to the Earth’s ozone layer. Frederick Reines, also a founding faculty member, won the 1995 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of the neutrino, an elusive particle thought by physicists to be undetectable. UC Irvine biochemist Irwin Rose won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2004 for his research into enzymes that break down and dispose of unwanted proteins in plants and animals. David MacMillan, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Irvine, was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in developing better catalysts for converting and building molecules. The School of Physical Sciences was established in 1965 with 212 undergraduates, 55 graduate students and 25 faculty members. Now, 61 years later, it has grown to more than 2,400 undergrads, over 500 graduate students and 160 faculty members. At its inception, the school was home to chemistry, mathematics, and physics and astronomy departments. The Department of Earth System Science, which began as a graduate program in 1989, was created in 1994. About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu. Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources.