Ronald Cohen

Ronald C. Cohen is Executive Associate Dean in the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society and Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley. Cohen recently served as Vice Chair and then Chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate (2020-2022). A fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he has served as Director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Science Center (2006-2016), Vice Chair of the Department of Chemistry (2007-2015), and Associate Dean for Research Administration in Chemistry and Mathematical & Physical Sciences at UC Berkeley (2017-2019). Cohen’s research focuses on air quality and climate, working to understand the processes that put chemicals into the Earth’s atmosphere, reactions that occur while in the atmosphere, and subsequent removal of those chemicals from the atmosphere. He has authored more than 300 publications and mentored more than 60 graduate and postdoctoral students. His PhD students have been strong advocates for bringing data science into his research, and they have made the Data 100 course an essential component of the Cohen team’s training.