Chemist and Senior Scientist @ Berkeley Lab. Entrepreneur @ Sepion Technologies & Cyklos Materials. Dog dad to Abraham, the Frenchie.https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mtjsibzv7c2qJust out in @jacs.acspublications.org! Ethers unlock vehicular Na+ transport in single-ion conducting organo-ionic (ORION) solids used in sodium-ion batteries. @departmentofenergy.bsky.social @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @ucsandiego.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social https://pubs.acs.org/jacsat/article/doi/10.1021/jacs.6c07483/5277248/Tailoring-Energy-Landscapes-for-Vehicular20 Aug 2026 17:47 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjsibzv7c2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3msbcsymtks2bJoin our team! We are seeking postdoc candidates interested in pioneering all-organic batteries in partnership with the Energy Storage Research Alliance. @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social Apply here: phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLQjvHHo04 Aug 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3msbcsymtks2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mrnsb7yijs2aJust out in @natbiotech.nature.com! PKS-engineered route to chiral monomers for PDKs: tunable Tg and programmable depolymerization, all from corn stover. Cheaper & lower-GHG than dimedone. Biosynthesis meets circular plastics. @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov @jbei.lbl.gov https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-026-03229-727 Jul 2026 21:03 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrnsb7yijs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mpokxzyguk2aOur beloved Abraham is no longer with us. He was the bravest strongest soul. We will not be the same without him, we were better because of him. We will always love him.02 Jul 2026 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpokxzyguk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mns5mrqsus2dJust out in @science.org Advances! Evolutionary biologists use punctuated equilibrium to describe systems that appear stable for long periods before undergoing rapid, transformative change. We find battery interfaces behave similarly; insights from OMICS.08 Jun 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mns5mrqsus2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mlwepguobc2eJust out in Science Advances! We create co-continuous blend architectures from diverse polyolefins using PDK chemistry, revealing in stride how microstructures within each phase communicate and align. Fantastic properties relevant to plastics recycling. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aee232815 May 2026 22:23 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlwepguobc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mi3d7yhqt22vThat's a wrap ACS Atlanta! It was an honor to accept the Henry H. Storch Award for Energy Chemistry, Glenn Award for Best Paper Presented at an ACS National Meeting, and deliver the PMSE/POLY Joint Division Plenary Talk to celebrate all of the amazing talent in the community.27 Mar 2026 23:59 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi3d7yhqt22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mhvqsizhps27My husband told me that designing my ACS talk around Julia Sugarbaker's quintessential Miss Georgia World monologue from Designing Women would fall short of connecting with the audience. What do you think? https://youtu.be/Latj4SAu0Ps?si=C4VqIwQ9VaZBO7z325 Mar 2026 18:46 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhvqsizhps27https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mhpzdjnimc2yJoin us in A401 - Georgia World Congress Center 8AM-12PM for a fantastic line up in energy materials: Delia Milliron, Joaquín Rodríguez-Lopez, Yan Yao, Wei Wang, Yet-Ming Chiang, Kristin Persson and myself. #acs23 Mar 2026 12:03 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhpzdjnimc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mfaitd3vqk2fJust out in @pnas.org! We use nanoparticle-surfactants to create droplet interface bilayers with nanopores, enabling memristive ionic conduction, size-/charge-selective transport, and neuromorphic plasticity. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.252234912319 Feb 2026 21:07 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfaitd3vqk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mdobirbjc22vJust out in @chemicalscience.rsc.org ! We use NMR relaxometry to explore the microstructure of upcycled HDPE, wherein we find amidyl groups confined to the rigid amorphous phase. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/sc/d5sc08878j30 Jan 2026 21:43 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdobirbjc22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3mdlafxipjs2wJust out in ACS Energy Letters! We showcase thermoformable organo ionic conductors with high Na+ conductivity in solid-state sodium metal batteries with organic cathodes. @departmentofenergy.bsky.social ESRA Hub funded. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsenergylett.6c0002629 Jan 2026 16:46 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdlafxipjs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3m7b5tffxa22rPrecision patterning at the nanoscale is critical to advancing the manufacturing of microelectronic devices. Here, we provide a perspective, spanning conventional and hyper-NA EUV lithography. @berkeleylab.lbl.gov https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/13686/3074981/Navigating-the-research-landscape-for-hyper-NA-EUV-lithography-and/10.1117/12.3074981.full05 Dec 2025 18:52 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7b5tffxa22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3m6kblx3khs26Exciting opportunity to join @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov as a Scientific Engineering Associate, focusing on self-driving labs. Link below: https://lbl.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=10563126 Nov 2025 16:28 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6kblx3khs26https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3m665jdl6ks2zJust out in Science Advances! Sophia Fricke and the Reimer Lab lead our collab study on plastics deconstruction, extracting fractal surface dimensionality and reaction wavefront velocity, properties inaccessible with standard diffusion measurements. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ady838021 Nov 2025 20:43 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m665jdl6ks2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3m2p7muog6s27It's with profound sadness to announce the passing of Michel Fouré--a great mentor and friend. Here's a photo of us in 2015, when we were exploring lab-to-market transitions for our microporous polymer membranes, leading to the creation of Sepion Technologies08 Oct 2025 17:55 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2p7muog6s27https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3lz4svhvrb22yHumbled to receive the Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry from @acs.org. I have had the privilege of mentoring early career scientists and working with outstanding collaborators, which has contributed to my passion and drive. See you in Atlanta at the Spring ACS! https://cen.acs.org/people/awards/ACS-announces-2026-national-award/103/web/2025/0818 Sep 2025 16:55 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz4svhvrb22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3ltwusarxws24Just out in @jacs.acspublications.org! We demonstrate resin-to-resin circularity in cycloolefin resins crosslinked with DCPD. Catalyst choice, co-monomers, post-processing of 3D printed and conventional parts dictate efficacy and bounds for regeneration. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c0662614 Jul 2025 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltwusarxws24https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3ltinhrhhv22nSaddened to hear of the passing of luminary scientist, Gabor Somorjai. With Gabor, @berkeleylab.lbl.gov has led the way in understanding materials through their surfaces, be that structure, dynamics, sorption, and transformations relevant to energy applications. He will be missed.09 Jul 2025 01:18 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltinhrhhv22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3lthuiaecbs2gJust out in ACS Energy Letters! We demosntrate electrochemical Li+ enrichment in mixed-cation brines with antiselective cation-exchange PIM membranes. Collab with Mike Baird, Ryan Kingsbury, Gan Chen, Mike Whittaker @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov, ALS, Princeton University https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsenergylett.5c0112008 Jul 2025 17:51 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lthuiaecbs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3lngspnlb3s2kExcited to have Linda Nazar at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social College of Chemistry this afternoon for @basf.bsky.social Lecture.22 Apr 2025 23:16 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lngspnlb3s2khttps://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3ln4ggt4ejs26We're hiring a postdoc to join our @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov plastics recycling team. Scope will include developing new reactions for selective functionalization of polyolefins, assessing properties and recyclability. phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLHM2EPD http://phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLHM2EPD18 Apr 2025 20:09 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3ln4ggt4ejs26https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3lknr4mmem222Always great to see group alumni on the stage, shining. Elise Goldfine talks about next gen generation at day 2 fast pitches. #arpae2518 Mar 2025 13:20 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lknr4mmem222https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3licvlz7cxk27Deleting data from websites amounts to a digital dark age16 Feb 2025 18:51 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3licvlz7cxk27https://bsky.app/profile/bretthelms.bsky.social/post/3lgt7zhtwuk2eJust out in Science Advances @science.org! Chemical recycling of plastics to monomer accelerated through oxy-functionalization remote from the bond undergoing cleavage. Polymer conformation plays dominant role. @molecularfoundry.bsky.social @berkeleylab.lbl.gov https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads844428 Jan 2025 19:49 +0000at://did:plc:ni2w2mfpbwsbemh6ccft4bh3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgt7zhtwuk2e