The Legacy Grace Kase and Harry Tsujimoto

The Grace Kase and Harry Tsujimoto Family, through the K/T Foundation of San Francisco, have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to higher education and scientific research, as well as a number of other nonprofits supporting Bay Area causes. Their philanthropy has left a profound and lasting impact on UC Berkeley and beyond and in particular on the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology.

Harry Tsujimoto: Scientific Excellence and Generosity

Harry Tsujimoto

Greatly admired by his colleagues, Harry Tsujimoto was known for his gentlemanly demeanor, keen intellect, and unwavering dedication to scientific research. Over three decades as a scientist and lab manager in former professor Daniel Arnon’s Department of Cell Physiology at UC Berkeley, Tsujimoto conducted research and trained many members of the lab who went on to distinguished scientific careers of their own. As Arnon’s right hand, he played a critical role in advancing groundbreaking research in plant mineral nutrition and photosynthesis.

Tsujimoto’s record shows a steady stream of publications from his UC Berkeley research, spanning a period of nearly 30-years, from 1958 through 1985. Most was centered on electron transport and photophosphorylation in chloroplasts, following the pivotal discovery by the Arnon group. He made his own defining contributions to the mechanism and its interplay with the electron transport chain in these photosynthetic organelles. Tsujimoto’s work was published is a wide variety of journals in the field, on topics including but not limited to work on chloroplast thylakoid membranes, blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), and chemical uncouplers, the latter serving as tools in probing mechanistic aspects of photosynthesis and photophosphorylation.

Born to Japanese immigrant farmers in Southern California, Tsujimoto was the youngest of three sons. His family endured profound hardship during World War II, spending two-and-a-half years in internment camps before resettling in New York. Determined to rebuild their lives, his eldest brother Joshua led the family’s transition, and both Joshua and Harry pursued higher education at Cornell University. After earning his bachelor's degree, Tsujimoto continued his academic journey at UC Berkeley, completing a master’s degree in plant nutrition in the Cell Physiology department under Arnon’s supervision.

Two people standing on a stairway

Beyond his professional contributions, Tsujimoto’s generosity and commitment to education shaped his legacy. Together with his wife, Grace Kase, he has donated millions to the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in the Rausser College of Natural Resources through the establishment of the Grace Kase and Harry Tsujimoto Chancellor’s STEM Chair, an endowed graduate student fellowship, and two endowed lectureships. These initiatives—administered by his former colleagues, Professors Tasios Melis and Bob Buchanan—provide essential, long-term support to the department of Plant and Microbial Biology.

A quiet yet impactful philanthropist, Tsujimoto remained involved in the lecture series he helped establish, often attending events while preferring to stay behind the scenes. His giving extended beyond Berkeley; he and Kase supported Japanese American organizations, veteran’s groups, and Bay Area animal welfare programs. After retiring, Tsujimoto devoted thousands of hours to volunteering at a veterans’ hospital in San Francisco.

Tsujimoto passed away in 2012, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of scientific mentorship, generosity, and dedication to the advancement of public education and research.

 

Grace Kase: A Visionary Entrepreneur and Devoted Philanthropist 

Grace Kase

Grace Kase built a thriving business at a time when few women—let alone Asian American women—were recognized in the real estate industry. Armed with ambition and an unwavering work ethic, she earned her real estate license and carved out a successful career, demonstrating remarkable resilience, discipline, and ingenuity in an era of significant barriers.

Kase met Harry Tsujimoto at a YMCA dance in San Francisco, and together they forged a partnership rooted in mutual respect, determination, and a commitment to giving back. While Tsujimoto dedicated long hours to scientific research at UC Berkeley, he would return home to assist Kase in remodeling and managing their properties, teaching himself carpentry, wiring, plumbing, and tiling. Through hard work and frugality, the couple built a prosperous real estate business, enabling them to become significant benefactors of higher education and community organizations.

An archival photo of a young couple

Grace and Harry’s philanthropy focused on advancing science and education, particularly at UC Berkeley’s Rausser College of Natural Resources and Cornell University. Their loyalty and giving leadership established transformative programs, including a faculty Chancellor’s STEM chair, endowed graduate fellowships, and two endowed lectureship funds. Harry and Grace are Builders of Berkeley—leading benefactors who are celebrated for their role in creating the greatness of the university by having their names etched on the granite walls of the Builders of Berkeley monument outside the Doe library.

Grace Kase passed away in 2019, seven years after her husband. Their legacy endures through the institutions and programs they established, reflecting their belief that true success is measured by the impact one has on others.

Other resources:

Poster

Endowed Lectures

The Harry Tsujimoto and Bob Buchanan Lectures

The concept for both the Tsujimoto and Buchanan Lecture series originated in 2000 when Harry Tsujimoto returned to UC Berkeley nearly 20 years after his retirement to attend the inaugural Daniel I. Arnon Endowed Lecture by Nobel Laureate Paul Boyer. Inspired to support the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, he and Grace Kase endowed two annual lectures, the Tsujimoto Endowed Lecture, organized by PMB graduate students and the Buchanan Endowed Lecture, under the auspices of the PMB postdoctoral research scholars.

Established in 2001 through the K/T Foundation, the initial lectures were funded annually and then were endowed to ensure perpetual support. These events are now an integral part of the department's seminar series and play a vital role in the intellectual and cultural life of the department. They enable the department to bring leading researchers to campus, exposing faculty, students, and postdocs to cutting-edge advances, while fostering an environment of continuous learning, discovery, and collaboration.

Bob Buchanan and Harry Tsujimoto

Critically, endowed lectures also help build a department’s reputation, attracting top talent and reinforcing its position as a hub for innovation. By institutionalizing these high-level scientific conversations, Harry and Grace  created a lasting legacy that enriches the academic community and ensures ongoing engagement with the most pressing scientific challenges of our time. This was a major consideration when Harry and Grace endowed these programs.  

Please see up to date Lecture Information through the following links: the Tsujimoto and Buchanan lecture series pages. 

 

The Grace Kase and Harry Y. Tsujimoto Chancellor’s Chair

Supporting Excellence in Faculty Recruitment

The Grace Kase and Harry Y. Tsujimoto Chancellor’s Chair was the first Chancellor’s Chair  established at the Rausser College of Natural Resources and on the UC Berkeley campus. 

The Grace Kase and Harry Y. Tsujimoto Chancellor’s Chair is currently held by Professor Tasios Melis, the inaugural chairholder and a distinguished scholar with decades of research and teaching experience. His research focuses on photosynthesis, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioproduction R&D. 

Establishing such a chair recognizes and advances the work of our best senior faculty while also helping Berkeley increase the ranks of our stellar junior faculty, building the strength and scale of the faculty now and for the future. 

Kase saw an opportunity to support the department meaningfully, leveraging a matching program initiated by an anonymous donor, extending the success of the Hewlett Match Program at UC Berkeley.

The endowed chair also has been instrumental in hiring a rising star junior faculty member, Professor Patrick Shih, whose research aligns with the department's strategic vision. 

Kase understood that establishing a chair supports Berkeley’s premier status as a leading research institution by strengthening faculty recruitment and retention, recognizing faculty excellence and contributions to academia, and enhancing student learning through top-tier faculty mentorship. Professor Melis exemplifies this standard of excellence.

 

The Grace Kase Fellowship: a dual benefit

Graduate Student Support in Plant and Microbial Biology

Established in 2014, the Grace Kase Fellowship in Plant Biology is a testament to the philanthropic vision of the Kase and Tsujimoto Family. With their entrepreneurial spirit and deep commitment to education, they endowed this fellowship to support graduate students and labs at the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. The Grace Kase Fellowship remains a cornerstone of PMB’s commitment to supporting and cultivating the next generation of plant and microbial scientists for jobs in academia, government, nonprofits, and industry.

Graduate Program and Student Funding

The Department of Plant and Microbial Biology strategically awards the Grace Kase fellowship as a one-semester, full-expenses support. In 2025, three exceptional students each received $32,000 fellowships. PMB aspires to fund full-year or multi-year fellowships to attract top talent and compete with elite institutions, thus enhancing the legacy of Grace Kase.

Two people sitting at a table with balloons around them

Past and Current Grace Kase Fellowship Recipients 

2024-25

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

2019-20

  • Zoila Isabel Alvarez-Aponte,  PhD Student, Microbiology, Taga Lab
  • Pierre Joubert,  PhD Plant Biology (2022), Krasileva Lab, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Biomedical Genomics Group at TU Dresden as part of an HZDR/CASUS Open Project
  • Caroline Boyd, PhD Microbiology (2023), Seed Lab, Postdoctoral scholar in Jeannette Tenthorey's Lab at UCSF

2018-19

  • Neem Patel, PhD Microbiology (2023), Production Sequencing Scientist at Basecamp Research, Traxler Lab

2017-18

  •  Ilea Chau, PhD Microbiology (2022), Lewis Lab, Strain Engineer at Robigo

2016-17

  • Thai Dao, PhD Plant Biology (2020), Fletcher Lab, Senior Research Associate at Berkeley Lab

2015-16

  • Amanda Shelton, PhD Microbiology (2019), Taga Lab, Postdoctoral Researcher at Carnegie Institution for Science