Berkeley Summer Academy of Sustainability
Program Overview
Berkeley Summer Academy of Sustainability is an intensive 2-week hybrid high school program designed to give a limited number of students a STEM field college experience. This project-based program combines lectures and laboratory sessions to give students practical experience in science and engineering. Students will learn scientific foundations of engineering, develop and transform their ideas into executable designs, and eventually build their own prototypes, which they will showcase during the Completion Ceremony.
The 2-week program is divided into two parts — class lectures and hands-on experimental lab opportunities. The course curriculum will focus on the following topics:
- Energy: Investigate a rechargeable battery with optical and electron microscopes
- Environment: Lifecycle of materials and recycling plastics
- Quantum: Superconductivity levitation in liquid nitrogen temperature
- Solar: Solar cells – make a very basic Schottky-junction cell
- Metamaterials: 3D printing of mechanically functional structures
- Water: Membrane for water purification
- AI/ML: Data science for materials – the materials project
- Failure: Structural materials failure test and analysis with microscopes
- Smart materials: Shape memory alloys – demo and microstructures
In addition to academic classes, students will experience college life, eating at Berkeley cafeterias, and interacting with UC Berkeley undergrad and graduate students. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit places such as Berkeley student labs and Silicon Valley companies.
This program allows students to meet new friends from around the world and build important life skills that can make their future college experience a success — all while strengthening their college application.
The program is limited to 40 students.
Info Session
Interested in learning more about this program? Please see below for a recording and slide deck from our 2025 Info Session.
Program Dates
2025 Dates: July 14 – July 25, 2025
Class schedule example
The two-week in-person program will be held at UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering lecture halls and lab facilities. Each day will consist of a different academic focus and classes will be divided into two parts: morning lecture + afternoon lab.
The daily schedule will look something like:
| 9-11am | Lecture |
| 11:30-12:30pm | Lunch break |
| 1-4pm | Lab |
| 4pm | End of daily programming |
Program Price
Early-bird price: $4,000 (if register by January 5, 2025)
Regular price: $4,500
The program price covers the cost of faculty, lab space, equipment/supplies, industry visits, administrative fees, and daily lunches.
2025 Application is Available
Apply now!
About the Instructors
Dr. Junqiao Wu
Dr. Junqiao Wu
Currently teaching: Electronic Properties of Materials, Semiconductor Materials,
Spring 2025: Properties of Electronic Materials, Individual Study or Research
Professor Junqiao Wu received a B.S. from Fudan University and a M.S. from Peking University, China, both in physics. He obtained a Ph.D. degree in Applied Science and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley for work on semiconductors. He did postdoctoral research in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University on nanomaterials. He is currently on the Chair line of the Division of Materials Physics of the American Physical Society (APS) and is the Chair of the UC Berkeley Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Dr. Matthew Sherburne
Dr. Matthew Sherburne
Spring 2025: Properties of Materials, Phase Transformations and Kinetics
Matthew Sherburne earned his bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Mineral Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He then obtained his Master’s and his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from UC Berkeley. His work focused on computational approaches to understanding the limits of the strengths of materials. Currently, his research focuses on applying computational techniques to the discovery, design, and development of materials for a sustainable world: solar energy, catalytic reaction, and CO2 reduction.
Dr. Rayne Zheng
Dr. Rayne Zheng
Currently Teaching: Additive Manufacturing Processes and Systems for Advanced Materials
Spring 2025: Additive Fabrication Processes and Systems for Advanced Materials
Xiaoyu (Rayne) Zheng received his Ph.D., in Mechanical Engineering, at Boston University and B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics (dual degree) at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Today he is an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on developing additive manufacturing/3D printing techniques for materials and structures with controlled topologies and encoded properties. His current interests are in developing new additive fabrication techniques, multi-material synthesis, structure-property relationships, and leveraging novel artificial intelligence to create intelligent materials and systems for structural, robotics, electronics, energy, and healthcare.
Dr. Zakaria Al Balushi
Dr. Zakaria Al Balushi
Currently Teaching: Thin-Film Science and Technology, Thin-Film Materials Science, Thin-Film Science and Technology
Spring 2025: Electronic Materials Characterization
Zakaria received his PhD in materials science and engineering (2017), his MS (2012), and his Bachelor’s (2011) in engineering science all from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Zakaria Al Balushi now is a lecturer at UC Berkeley and his research focuses on electronic materials synthesis of compound semiconductor thin films and nanostructures using chemical vapor deposition.
Dr. Ting Xu
Dr. Ting Xu
Currently Teaching: Professional Preparation: Supervised Teaching of Chemistry
Will be Teaching(spring 2025): Polymeric Materials, Polymer Surfaces
Dr. Ting Xu earned her Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Currently a professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Chemistry and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, her research combines polymer science, nanomaterials, and biomolecular engineering. She aims to develop materials for environmental applications, such as biodegradable plastics and bioinspired materials for medicine and energy solutions. Dr. Xu has been widely recognized for her work, contributing to roadmap reports for agencies like NSF, DOE, and DOD, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers.
Dr. Andrew Minor
Dr. Andrew Minor
Dr. Andrew Minor completed his B.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley and performed postdoctoral work at the National Center for Electron Microscopy. He is a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley and serves as the Director of the Berkeley Electron Microscopy Lab. His research uses advanced electron microscopy to explore atomic-scale structures and stress responses in materials, with implications for nanotechnology, structural materials, and biomaterials. Dr. Minor is highly regarded in the field and is a Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America and the American Physical Society.
Dr. Mary Scott
Dr. Mary Scott
Mary Scott received her Bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Physics at North Carolina University and obtained a master’s at North Carolina University and a PhD in Physics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and conducted postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley. Dr. Scott uses aberration-corrected electron microscopy to characterize materials in two and three dimensions. Current topics of study include Interfaces and grain boundaries; Chemical disorder and strain in nanomaterials; and Amorphous metals.
FAQ
What is the program objective?
This project-based program combines lectures and laboratory sessions to give students practical experience in engineering design processes. Students will learn to transform their ideas into executable designs.
Course curriculum includes:
- Energy: Investigate a rechargeable battery with optical and electron microscopes
- Environment: Lifecycle of materials and recycling plastics
- Quantum: Superconductivity levitation in liquid nitrogen temperature
- Solar: Solar cells – make a very basic Schottky-junction cell
- Metamaterials: 3D printing of mechanically functional structures
- Water: Membrane for water purification
- AI/ML: Data science for materials – the materials project
- Failure: Structural materials failure test and analysis with microscopes
- Smart materials: Shape memory alloys – demo and microstructures
Who is eligible to apply?
High School students (ages 15+ by start of the program) with a basic understanding of STEM and an interest in exploring prototypes and design.
Ideally, students should have taken calculus and physics, but we welcome students who have taken algebra and one science class to apply.
How many seats are available?
This program is limited to 40 students.
When should I apply?
We are currently accepting applications for BSAS 2025. Apply now to secure your seat!
Is there an info session?
We will host an info session for BSAS on December 3. Please register here to attend.
Is housing provided?
No, housing is NOT provided. Students are required to live in the area and commute to campus for the program.
Program price
The total cost for BSAS 2025 program is $4,500. We offer an early-bird price of $4,000 for students that apply by January 5, 2025.
The program fee cover the cost of tuition, course materials, lunch, field trips, administrative fees, and lab space. Additional personal expenses are not covered.
Refunds & Cancellation Policy
If, after being admitted to the program, a student needs to cancel and withdraws from the program more than 2 months from the official start date, 50% of the program fees will be refunded. The $500 non-refundable fee will not be refunded. Withdrawal requests received less than 2 months from the program start are nonrefundable.
Contact us
We’d love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have. Send us an email if you have any questions!
Email: globesummer@berkeley.edu