In 1989, the Priestley Medal was awarded to George C. Pimentel by the American Chemical Society “to recognize distinguished services to chemistry.”

In 1943, Pimentel then moved to University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)where he worked on the Manhattan Project. After the war, Pimentel played a role in establishing the Office of Naval Research, and returned to UC Berkeley for graduate work under Kenneth S. Pitzer (1969 Priestley Medalist). Completing a Ph.D. in 1949, he joined the UC Berkeley faculty and remained a member until his death in 1989.