Since 2016, the Philomathia Discovery Fund at the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute (ENSI) at UC Berkeley has awarded 63 fellowships to support emerging scientists tackling critical global energy challenges. One of those researchers is Julian Feijoo, Ph.D., a former Kavli Fellow who completed his doctoral studies in Physical Chemistry under Professor Peidong Yang and now serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University.

During his time as a Kavli ENSI Graduate Student Fellow at UC Berkeley, Dr. Feijoo centered his work on electrocatalysis, in-situ characterization, electron microscopy, and X-ray spectroscopy, specifically optimizing electrochemical CO₂ reduction and nanoparticle electrocatalysts. His pioneering work on perovskite-driven solar C₂ synthesis from CO₂ earned him the Silver Prize at the 2025 Spring Materials Research Society (MRS) meeting.

“The Kavli ENSI Graduate Fellowship has allowed me to focus deeply on my research while becoming part of a broader community of outstanding scientists across disciplines. The opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from researchers outside my immediate field, and build new connections has been an especially valuable part of my graduate experience.” — Julian Feijoo, Ph.D.

Dr. Feijoo’s findings have contributed significantly to the field, with key papers exploring CO₂ upgrading into bioproducts using a two-step abiotic–biotic system and multistep catalytic abiotic CO₂ conversion to sugars through C1 intermediates.

To learn more about the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute (ENSI) at UC Berkeley, we invite you to explore the 2026 Kavli ENSI Annual Report.