The University of California (UC) achieved a milestone this week as its faculty and alumni received five Nobel Prizes across medicine, physics, and chemistry. This achievement brings the total number of Nobel Prizes awarded to UC faculty to 75 and marks the first time in Nobel history that four faculty members from one institution have won in a single year.
On Monday, Frederick J. Ramsdell, an alumnus of UC San Diego and UCLA, was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for his work identifying cells that prevent the immune system from attacking the body’s own tissues. The following day, John Clarke (UC Berkeley emeritus professor), John Martinis (UC Santa Barbara emeritus professor), and Michel Devoret (UC Santa Barbara professor) received the physics prize for their experiments foundational to quantum computing. On Wednesday, Omar Yaghi, a UC Berkeley professor, shared the chemistry prize for developing new molecular structures capable of cleaning pollutants or harvesting water from arid environments.
“These awards are not only great honors — they are tangible evidence of the work happening across the University of California every day to expand knowledge, test the boundaries of science, and conduct research that improves our lives. I’m proud to see their work recognized,” said UC President James B. Milliken.
Federal funding played a key role in these scientific achievements. Ramsdell’s study on immune disorders was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis received funding from agencies including the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy as they advanced research into quantum mechanics. Yaghi’s chemistry innovations were backed by more than a dozen federal grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense.
The federal government is currently responsible for about 40 percent of basic research spending in the United States. Academic laboratories conducted nearly half of all basic research in 2021.
W. Patrick McCray, a science historian at UC Santa Barbara, commented on America’s investment in science: “This whole history isn’t just about the money, but the ambition behind it. The United States built big particle accelerators, big research vessels, big telescopes. Those were all attractive things for people in other countries to come here to get their degrees, and then maybe stay and start a company that builds U.S. prosperity.”
Omar Yaghi emphasized how federal grants enabled creative exploration early in his career: “Allowed us…to not just do rigorous science but also creative science…federal grants played a major role in the initial discoveries that led to this amazing field.”
Despite these successes, there are concerns about future support for scientific research due to recent disruptions in federal funding. In 2025 alone, thousands of research grants have been canceled or delayed at universities nationwide; although some projects at UC have seen restored funding, uncertainty remains regarding studies on aging, addiction, obesity, maternal health and Alzheimer’s disease.
John Clarke expressed concern over potential long-term impacts: “This is going to cripple science, and it is going to be disastrous if this continues…It may take a decade to get back to where we were.”
The University of California is encouraging citizens to advocate for continued investment in scientific leadership by urging Congress not to enact further cuts.
