Alvarez Pari (Beginning August-2025)
Research
Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry
Garris
Personick
The Personick Group is advancing the state of the art in the synthesis of precise nanomaterials and is using these precision materials to define catalytic structure-function relationships at an elevated level of mechanistic detail. Through this combination of materials synthesis innovations and fundamental studies of catalytic reactivity, we aim to develop principles for the predictive design of catalyst materials that will enable key advances in technology for sustainable energy generation and chemical synthesis.
Zhu
The Zhu Group's research aims to develop new synthetic strategies for well-defined nanocrystals and 2-dimensional (2D) materials with atomically precise surfaces and interfaces that can lead to a fundamental understanding of how atomic structure affects catalyst performance and to use this new knowledge to design optimized catalysts for critical energy conversion and chemical transformation processes.Research will focus specifically on:
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Electrochemical CO2 conversion
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Sustainable nitrogen cycling
Harman
For decades, the dearomatization of arenes has been recognized as a chemical transformation of fundamental importance. It provides the connection between this robust and abundant source of hydrocarbons and the alicyclic frameworks common to many biologically active products. Thus, dearomatization methods have become powerful tools for organic synthesis.
Harrison
Surface Chemistry: Catalysis, Photochemistry, Reaction Kinetics & Dynamics
Pu
Organic, Polymer and Organometallic Chemistry; Asymmetric Catalysis; Chiral Sensors; Optically Active Materials
Machan
The Machan Group is interested in energy-relevant catalysis, particularly at the interface of molecular electrochemistry and materials. The development of efficient and selective transformations to produce commodity chemical precursors and fuels using CO2, O2, H2, and H2O as reagents remains an ongoing challenge for the storage of electrical energy within chemical bonds. Our approach is inspired by the numerous metalloproteins capable of catalyzing kinetically challenging reactions with significant energy barriers in an efficient manner under ambient conditions.
Gunnoe
Organometallic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, homogeneous catalysis, small molecule activation
Fraser
Research in the Fraser Lab is concerned with materials chemistry—synthesis, properties, and applications, along with environmental, health and societal impacts. While developing routes to polymeric metal complexes—well-defined hybrid inorganic-organic materials inspired by metalloproteins, combining coordination chemistry and controlled polymerization—we made two important discoveries involving luminescent boron complexes. Difluoroboron β-diketonate dyes show intense fluorescence, 2-photon absorption, and environment sensitive emission.
