Teaching

In Organic II, we build upon the material from the first semester of Organic Chemistry and learn new organic reactions and their mechanisms. We emphasize that all organic reactions share the movement of electrons and/or protons from one molecule, or part of a molecule, to another. Thus we always try to think from the perspective of the electron. In addition, we consider the environmental implications of different chemicals and reactants, and apply metrics to compare the environmental impact of multiple pathways to a particular molecule.

Organometallic Chemistry & Catalysis (Spring)

Synthetic chemistry relies on metal catalysts to facilitate reactions that are too slow to occur on their own. It often seems that like magic, when we add the right catalyst, we get faster, cleaner and greener reactions. Understanding how organometallic catalysts work is the key to designing new complexes that expand our toolbox of available atom- economical organic transformations.

We study the elementary reactions that make-up catalytic cycle to understand how to catalysts can deliver high activity as well as selectivity.

Industrial Green Chemistry (Fall)

This course will introduce the basic design principles for greener chemical technologies through a survey of widely used practices to green industrial synthetic processes, such as catalysis, use of renewable starting materials, minimization of energy inputs and use of greener solvents. This will set the stage for an interdisciplinary intellectual framework for understanding and evaluating the challenges and trade-offs faced by chemical industries that are attempting to shift production processes towards renewable technologies. Students will gain an understanding of the numerous social and technical factors that can promote or impede the adoption of “greener” solutions and systematically evaluate the impact of chemical processes on the environment. The course material will be presented within the context of case studies.