In Memoriam: Daniel Weinberg, LBL Postdoc Unit Chair

We write with great sadness to let you know that Dr. Daniel Weinberg, Postdoc in Applied Mathematics and Computational Research at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBL) and LBL Postdoc Unit Chair for UAW 4811, passed away last Wednesday in Oakland. He was 28 years old. 

Daniel Weinberg, 1996-2025

Daniel began his career at UC as a Graduate Student Instructor and Graduate Student Researcher in the UC Berkeley Chemistry department in 2019 and, upon graduating, started as a Postdoc at LBL in 2023. He worked as a pioneering computational chemist, studying the next-generation materials which support the transition to renewable energy while building supercomputing tools at the frontiers of science. In his time as a GSR, Daniel played a pivotal role in the campaign to unionize UC student researchers, serving as a steward for Berkeley Chemistry and as a key organizer, planner, and leader during the 2022 Fair UC Now strike.

As a Postdoc, Daniel led the LBL campus and supported hundreds of his coworkers. He helped to enforce our contractual and legal rights as academic workers, supported the drive to unionize Academic Researchers and research staff at LBL, and fought to protect funding for research and higher education on campus and in Sacramento, all while building union membership and participation among his coworkers.

Daniel was a tireless organizer, a brilliant scientist, an advocate for the rights of all workers, and a true friend to me and countless others. Ever reliable and approachable, he was able to touch the lives of thousands of his coworkers. We will miss him dearly and his contributions to science, our union, and the UC community will not be forgotten.

Daniel’s parents will provide details on a memorial at a later date. It’s a tradition in the UAW to wear red on Wednesdays in remembrance of our union siblings who have passed away and as a symbol of solidarity in the face of hardship. Please join your fellow workers in wearing red next Wednesday in memory of Daniel.

¡Daniel Weinberg, Presente!