About the Seminar:

The selective generation and controlled reactivity of organic radicals continues to serve as inspiration for reaction development in chemical synthesis. These processes can provide access to unique reactivity platforms via distinct mechanisms providing new bond forming pathways and insights. This talk will describe recent advances in radical-mediated reaction development using P(IV)-intermediate and metal-ligand co-operativity approaches to functionalize olefin feedstocks. Efforts in methods development will be presented alongside mechanistic investigations through a combination of experimental spectroscopic and computational studies.

About the Speaker:

Valerie earned her B.S. in chemistry from Towson University before heading to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she developed heteroatom-centered radicals for hydrocarbon functionalization under the tutelage of Prof. Erik Alexanian. She then moved to Princeton University where she was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Prof. Paul Chirik developing reduced Fe- and Co-based catalysts to achieve olefin coupling reactions. In 2016 Valerie moved to the University of California San Diego starting her independent career.