Overview
This REU site brings together eleven faculty researchers in catalysis and molecular dynamics. Research projects in catalysis are in the areas of methods development, catalyst development and testing, and synthetic applications. There are also projects available in theory and molecular dynamics. All faculty mentors will develop projects based on interest and research background of the REU students as necessary. Representative examples are included in this section.
Catalysis
Methods Development
- Marisa Kozlowski – Development of oxidative reactions for the generation of C-C, C-O, and C-N bonds
- Amos B. Smith, III – Development of new Anion Relay Chemistry (ARC) methods using milder anions
- Neil Tomson – Effects of molecular-scale electrostatic fields on electronic structure and reactivity for the application in bioinorganic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis
- Mirna El Khatib – Synthesis of membrane-anchored amphiphilic porphyrins
Catalyst Development
- Karen Goldberg – Tandem catalytic systems for the selective deoxygenation of polyols
- Daniel Mindiola – High-throughput screening of natural and shale gas functionalization catalysts
- Neil Tomson – Effects of molecular-scale electrostatic fields on electronic structure and reactivity for the application in bioinorganic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis
Synthetic Applications
- Patrick Walsh – Engineering stable glass bilayers using surface-mediated equilibrium: trisarylbenzene glassformers with fluorinated tails
Applied Materials Chemistry
- Zahra Fakhraai – Dynamics of organic molecular glasses under nano-confinement. Materials such as ultrathin films of molecular, polymeric, and nano-composite glasses and effects associated with surfaces and interfaces.
Molecular Dynamics
- Andrew Rappe – a) Quantum mechanics of heterogeneous catalysts. b) Molecular dynamics involving materials chemistry
- Jeffrey Saven – Computational simulation, modeling, and molecular dynamics: protein materials and synthetic Xe-binding host molecules.