Seminar Abstract: We have developed a photopolymerization route to well-defined ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) (co)polymers. This photoiniferter polymerization approach reaches molecular weights in excess of 107 g/mol with degrees of polymerization above 100,000. We have observed that as synthetic polymers reach UHMW, many of the established relationships that connect chain length to physical and solution […]

Seminar Abstract: Transformations of common molecular building blocks can broadly impact chemical synthesis in contexts ranging from the discovery of medicinally relevant small molecules to industrial-scale chemical production. This lecture will describe our efforts in harnessing new modes of reactivity in radical chemistry and organometallic catalysis to streamline the syntheses of diverse small molecules. First, […]

Abstract: Despite many excellent medical achievements in the field of cancer therapies, resistance to chemotherapy as well as disease relapses remain a huge clinical challenge. One of the strategies in designing new anticancer therapeutics is the use of compounds based on metal ions surrounded by selected ligands (metal drugs). Different metal centers may exhibit different […]

Seminar Abstract: Understanding proteins in their native environments and the full conformational landscapes they explore is essential for linking structure to function. This seminar focuses on lipoxygenases (LOXs), a family of non-heme, primarily iron-containing enzymes that catalyze the regio- and stereospecific oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) released from membranes by phospholipases. While phospholipases rely […]

Seminar Abstract: Transition metal catalysis has revolutionized chemical synthesis. Reactions such as metal-catalyzed cross coupling, asymmetric hydrogenation and C–H functionaliza-tion have changed the way chemists approach bond constructions and ultimately expand molecular space. Historically, these reactions are catalyzed by closed-shell precious metal complexes that undergo predictable and reliable two-electron redox changes. The increased emphasis on […]

Seminar Abstract: Electrocatalysis has the potential to enable sustainable chemical infrastructures via the generation of commodity chemicals such as hydrogen, hydrocarbons, and ammonia with renewable energy, but electrochemical devices such as electrolyzers often exhibit inadequate activity and stability for these transformations due to poor catalyst performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The Moreno-Hernandez Laboratory […]

Seminar Abstract: Crystalline material bulk properties are directly related to the disorder inherent in all crystals. Often thought to be purely random, disorder tends to follow strict rules based on short-range environments. Traditional crystallographic methods probe long range order and so fail to describe the short-range correlations in disordered materials that often contribute observed phenomena. […]

Seminar Abstract: Long chain ligands have long been used to control size and shape of nanocrystals by binding to growing surfaces, but we have discovered rich molecular chemistries with the precursors that completely change the fate of the reaction.  To discover the fundamental rules behind phase control, it is important therefore to identify reactions that […]

Seminar Abstract: In this seminar, I aim to describe what it is like to work at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI), how the application and interview process works, and takeaways I have gleaned from being on the other side of the interview process. We will talk about the types of PUIs out there, what the day-to-day life of a PUI […]

About the seminar: The design of paramagnetic coordination complexes with temperature-dependent chemical shifts is a major goal in biomedicine as it would allow temperature to be measured in vivo by MRI. While such behavior is well-established in lanthanide complexes on account of their magnetic anisotropy, transition metal thermometry is still in its nascent stages. Our laboratory reports two Fe(II) […]

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Abstract: Vanadium remains one of the most adaptable yet underappreciated elements in inorganic chemistry, capable of shifting oxidation states, geometries, and reactivities in ways few metals can match. This seminar explores how deliberately designed scorpionate and pseudo-scorpionate ligand frameworks enable precise control over vanadium coordination environments, unlocking new structure–function relationships across materials and molecular systems. […]

Abstract: Glycans regulate many biological processes, but weak and transient carbohydrate-protein interactions are difficult to detect in native settings, and disease-associated glycosylation changes are often hard to exploit. In this seminar, I will present two complementary chemical strategies that convert glycan recognition into actionable readouts for discovery and targeting. First, I will introduce carbohydrate-directed labeling […]

Abstract: Vanadium coordination chemistry is a vast field with many niches. Although not that prevalent on earth, vanadium has found many uses. This seminar will share the results of two distinct avenues of inquiry involving similar vanadium-containing starting materials and the branching in studies performed and potential applications. At the heart of it all is […]