Team
Alumni & Past Visitors
Former Ph.D. Students
Tyler Pabst
Ph.D., May 2022, Princeton University
Post-Doc at UC Berkeley with Polly Arnold
“Mechanism and Origins of Regioselectivity in the Catalytic C(sp2)–H Borylation of Arenes by Cobalt and Iron Complexes”
Peter Viereck
Ph.D., January 2022, Princeton University
Scientist at Janssen
“Cobalt, Iron, and Molybdenum Catalysts for the Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Alkenes and Arenes”
Sangmin Kim
Ph.D., June 2021, Princeton University
Post-Doc at UCLA with Alex Spokoyny
“Catalytic Hydrogenation of Metal Nitrides to Generate Ammonia Using Transition Metal Hydrides”
Aaron Zhong
Ph.D., June 2021, Princeton University
Post-Doc at ETH Zürich with Bill Morandi
“Cobalt-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Alkenes: Catalyst Development and Mechanistic Investigations”
Nadia Léonard
Ph.D., June 2019, Princeton University
Post-Doc at UC Irvine with Jenny Yang
“Cobalt and Nickel Catalysts for Arene Borylation and Alkene Hydrofunctionalization”
Máté Bezdek
Ph.D., June 2019, Princeton University
Assistant Professor, ETH Zürich
“The Interconversion of Ammonia with Its Elements by Molybdenum Complexes: Fundamental Investigations”
Neil Palmer
Ph.D., June 2017, Princeton University
Universal Display Corporation
“Design of alpha-Diimine Cobalt and Nickel Precatalysts for the Synthesis of Alkylpolyboronates“
Jennifer Obligacion
Ph.D., June 2017, Princeton University
Associate Principal Scientist at Merck, Rahway
“Base Metal Catalysis for the Synthesis of Organoboron Compounds”
Max Friedfeld
Ph.D., May 2016, Princeton University
Post-Doc at University of Washington with Brandi Cossairt
“Cobalt-Catalyzed Alkene Asymmetric Hydrogenation”
Iraklis Pappas
Ph.D, May 2016, Princeton University
Research Scientist at Colgate-Palmolive
“Fundamental Investigations Into Dinitrogen Fixation by Group 4 Metals”
Renyuan “Pony” Yu
Ph.D, December 2015, Princeton University
Research Scientist at ExxonMobil, Texas
Brian Schaefer
Ph.D., November 2015, Princeton University
Eastman Chemical Company
“Ligand Design Principles to Enable New Reactivity with Iron and Cobalt”
Jordan Hoyt
Ph.D., May 2015, Princeton University
Research Scientist at ExxonMobil, Texas
“Iron Catalyzed C-X (X = C, Si, B, H) Bond Forming Reactions”
Grant Margulieux
Ph.D., May 2015, Princeton University
M.S., UC San Diego, 2011
Advisor: Josh Figueroa
“Studies Toward Homogeneous Dinitrogen Reduction and Ammonia Oxidation by Bis(Imino)Pyridine Molybdenum Complexes and Group 4 Metallocenes”
Scott Semproni
Ph.D., May 2014, Princeton University
Researcher at Intel, Oregon
“Ligand Induced Dinitrogen Cleavage and Functionalization by Group Four Metallocenes”
Crisita Atienza
Ph.D., May 2013, Princeton University
Market Developer at ExxonMobil, Texas
“Reactivity of Bis(imino)pyridine Cobalt Complexes in C-H Bond Activation and Catalytic C-C and C-Si Bond Formation”
Chantal Stieber
Ph.D., April 2013, Princeton University
Associate Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
“Methods for Determining Electronic Structures and Mechanisms of Bis(imino)pyridine Iron Pre-catalysts”
Jonathan Darmon
Ph.D., February 2012, Cornell University
“Influence of Ligand Modification and Electronic Structure in Homogeneous Catalysis with Reduced Iron Complexes”
Sarah Russell
Ph.D., April 2011, Cornell University
“Reduced Bis(imino)pyridine Iron and Manganese Complexes: Electronic Structure, Reactivity Comparisons and Synthesis of an Iron Carbene”
Aaron Tondreau
Ph.D., March 2011, Cornell University
Los Alamos National Laboratory
“Terdentate Iron Complexes: Catalytic Hydrosilylation Activity and the Determination of Electronic Structure of Redox-Active Bis(imino)pyridine Iron Complexes”
Kevin Sylvester
Ph.D., January 2011, Cornell University
Research Chemist, PPG Industries
“A Study of Iron-Catalyzed Reductive Cyclizations of 1,6-Dienes, 1,6-Enynes, 1,6-Diynes: Reactions that Proceed via Metallocyclic Intermediates”
Donald Knobloch
Ph.D., December 2010, Cornell University
Lubrizol Corporation
“Dinitrogen Functionalization: Exploring Dinitrogen Cleavage and Nitrogen-Carbon Bond Forming Reactions with Group 4 Metallocene Compounds”
Doris Pun
Ph.D., December 2009, Cornell University
Research Chemist at BP
“Reduced Indenyl and Cyclopentadienyl Group 4 Complexes: Fundamental Reactivity Studies and Dinitrogen Activation”
Amanda Bowman
Ph.D., October 2009, Cornell University
Associate Professor, Colorado College
“Bis(imino)pyridine Iron and Cobalt Complexes: Preparation, Electronic Structure Determination and Reactivity of Metal-Ligand Multiple Bonds”
Ryan Trovitch
Ph.D., January 2009, Cornell University
Associate Professor, Arizona State
“Iron Complexes with Terdentate Ligands: Preparation, Electronic Structure Determination, and Utility as Catalyst Precursors”
Tamara Hanna
Ph.D., December 2006, Cornell University
Director, Professional Development & Education Products, ACS
“Synthesis and Reactivity of Low-Valent Titanium and Zirconium Complexes: Dinitrogen Activation and Functionalization”
Wesley Bernskoetter
Ph.D., December 2006, Cornell University
Professor, University of Missouri
“Dinitrogen Activation and Functionalization Promoted by Early Transition Metal Metallocenes”
Suzanne Bart
Ph.D., August 2006, Cornell University
Professor, Purdue University
“Homogeneous Iron Catalysts with Redox-Active Ligands: Synthesis and Electronic Structure”
Chris Bradley
Ph.D., January 2006, Cornell University
Program Officer, Department of Energy
“Low-Valent Bis(Indenyl)Zirconium Chemistry: Synthesis and Reactivity of η-9, η-5 Sandwich Complexes”
Jaime Pool
Ph.D., May 2004, Cornell University
“Low Valent Zirconium Complexes and their Application in Dinitrogen Activation: Functionalization and Cleavage of Dinitrogen”
Former Postdoctoral Associates & Fellows
Sam Yruegas
September 2019 – April 2022
Ph.D., Baylor University, 2019
Advisor: Caleb Martin
Yoonsu Park
October 2019 – November 2021
Ph.D., KAIST, 2019
Advisors: Sukbok Chang and Mu-Hyun Baik
Assistant Professor, KAIST
Megan Mohadjer Beromi
March 2019 – May 2021
Ph.D., Yale University, 2019
Advisor: Nilay Hazari
Assistant Professor, US Naval Academy
Jacob Ludwig
June 2019 – December 2020
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2019, Advisor: Corrina Schindler
Senior Scientist at AbbVie
Rebeca Arévalo
September 2017 – May 2020
Ph.D., Universidad de Oviedo, Spain., 2017, Advisor: Julio Perez
Assistant Professor, UC Merced
Marcus Farmer
June 2018 – February 2020
Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute, 2018, Advisors: Jin-Quan Yu and Phil Baran
Staff Scientist at GlaxoSmithKline
Rose Kennedy
January 2017 – December 2019
Ph.D., Harvard University, 2016, Advisor: Eric Jacobsen
Assistant Professor, Rochester University
Florian Loose
June 2017 – May 2019
Ph.D., University of Oldenburg, Germany, 2016, Advisor: Rüdiger Beckhaus
Matthew Joannou
June 2016 – April 2019
Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2016, Advisor: Simon Meek
Senior Scientist II, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Cayetana Zarate
May 2017 – December 2018
Ph.D., Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), 2017, Advisor: Rubén Martín
Scientist at Janssen
Stephan Rummelt
January 2017 – November 2018
Ph.D., Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, 2016, Advisor: Alois Fürstner
Scientist at Roche
Simon Krautwald
March 2016 – January 2018
Ph.D., ETH Zurich, 2016, Advisor: Erick Carreira
Investigator at Novartis
Jamie Neely
October 2014 – June 2017
Ph.D., Colorado State University, 2014, Advisor: Tomislav Rovis
Assistant Professor, Saint Louis University
Chris Schuster
August 2014 – December 2016
Ph.D., Boston College, 2014, Advisor: James Morken
Research Scientist at Merck
Janelle Steves
September 2015 – September 2016
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 2015, Advisor: Shannon Stahl
Research Scientist at GlaxoSmithKline
Valerie Schmidt
August 2013 – June 2016
Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2013, Advisor: Erik Alexanian
Assistant Professor at University of California, San Diego
Margaret Scheuermann
September 2013 – May 2015
Ph.D., University of Washington-Seattle, 2013, Advisor: Karen Goldberg
Assistant Professor at Western Washington University
Tianning Diao
October 2012 – June 2014
Ph.D.,University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012, Advisor: Shannon Stahl
Assistant Professor at New York University
Carsten Milsmann
June 2010 – May 2014
Ph.D., Ruhr University Bochum/MPI for Bioinorganic Chemistry, 2009, Advisor: Karl Wieghardt
Associate Professor at West Virginia University
Zach Brown
August 2012 – January 2013
B.S. Butler University, 2007
Ph.D., University of California – Davis, 2012, Advisor: Philip Power
Invention Associate, Nortwestern University
Zoe Turner
January 2011 – June 2012
M.Chem., Wadham College, University of Oxford, 2007
Ph.D., University of Edinburgh, 2010, Advisor: Polly Arnold
SCG Research Fellow at University of Oxford
Sebastien Monfette
January 2011 – March 2012
B.Sc., University of Ottawa, 2005
Ph.D., University of Ottawa, 2011, Advisor: Deryn Fogg
Research Scientist at Pfizer, Connecticut
Bastian Theis
May 2010 – February 2011
Ph.D., University of Würzburg, 2009
Helen Hoyt
August 2007 – July 2009
B.Sc., Knox College, 2001
Ph.D., University of California – Berkeley, 2007
Associate Professor and Chair of Chemistry, Knox College
David Benito Garagorri
David Benito Garagorri
January 2008 – May 2009
B.Sc., University of the Basque Country
Ph.D., Vienna University of Technology
Sergio Pascual
May 2008 – August 2008
Ph.D., University of the Basque Country
Brad Wile
November 2006 – July 2008
B.Sc., St. Francis Xavier University, 2002
Ph.D., Dalhousie University, 2006, Advisor: Mark Stradiotto
Associate Professor at Ohio Northern University
Marco Bouwkamp
July 2004 – June 2006
Ph.D., University of Groningen, 2004
Evers + Manders Subsidieadviseurs
Eric Hawrelak
January 2003 – August 2004
Ph.D., Virginia tech, 2002
Associate Professor at Bloomsburg University
Former Undergraduate Researchers
Benjamin Freeman
Princeton Class of 2021.
Natalia Soja
Princeton Class of 2021.
Lauren Ehehalt
Princeton Class of 2020.
Kaitlyn MacMillan
Princeton Class of 2020.
Rachel Macaulay
Princeton Class of 2019.
Greg Skrzypek
Princeton Class of 2019.
Summer Ramsay-Burrough
Princeton Class of 2017.
Sean Treacy
Princeton Class of 2016
Graduate Student at Columbia University
Advisor: Tomislav Rovis
Hanley Ong
Princeton Class of 2016.
Krysta Dummit
Princeton Class of 2015
Graduate Student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Advisor: Jeff Van Humbeck
Damon McLean
Princeton Class of 2014.
Emma Kurz
Princeton Class of 2014.
Past Visitors
Connor MacNeil
Visiting Research Collaborator
September 2019 – December 2019
University of Lethbridge
Advisor: Prof. Paul Hayes
Andreu Tortajada Navarro
Visiting Research Collaborator
July 2019 – December 2019
Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ)
Advisor: Professor Rubén Martín
Javier Corpas Pardo
Visiting Research Collaborator
September 2019 – December 2019
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Advisors: Profs. Ramón Gómez Arrayás and Pablo Mauleón
Linda Quach
Visiting Research Collaborator
Sept 2018–Feb 2019
University of Münster
Shunlin Gu
Visiting Research Collaborator
Nov 2017–Nov 2018
Lecturer, Changzhou University.
Ph.D., Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry, 2011
Gisselle Pombar
SURPDC Scholar
Summer 2017 & 2018
University of Central Florida Class of 2018
Yahong Li
Visiting Research Collaborator
Jan–May 2018
Professor, Soochow University.
Ph.D., Lanzhou University, China, 1999
Haifeng Yang
Collaborating Industrial Postdoctoral Fellow at Merck
Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 2016, Advisor: François Gabbaï
Étienne Rochette
Visiting Research Scholar
Sept–Dec 2017
Ph.D. Candidate, Université Laval, Advisor: Frédéric-Georges Fontaine
Angela Wandler
Visiting Research Scholar
Jul–Nov 2016
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Advisor: Stefan Bräse
Yuta Goto
Visiting Research Scholar
Sept–Nov 2016
Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Japan.
Advisor: Kazuaki Ishihara
Xuelu “Sherry” Ma
Visiting Research Scholar
The College of Science/Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Liz Johnson
Visiting Undergraduate Student
Jun–Aug 2014
B.S. The College of New Jersey 2015
Graduate student at Harvard University
Advisor: Theodore Betley