Organic
World-class research at the frontiers of chemical synthesis and reaction development
The organic chemistry division is home to many outstanding faculty who continue to push the frontiers of science. While the focus of our efforts are in traditional research areas such as chemical synthesis and reaction development, many of our interests and applications involve a highly interdisciplinary approach to problem solving. Students can expect a highly engaging, intellectually rewarding and collaborative research environment that will prepare them well for their future careers.
Faculty
Ricardo Javier Vázquez J.P. Gerdt Jared Lewis M. Kevin Brown Silas Cook Amar Flood Liang-shi Li Nicola L. B. Pohl Thomas Snaddon Michael VanNieuwenhze Theodore Widlanski David R. WilliamsResearch
A Broad Base of Education in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Graduate students receive a broad base of education in synthetic organic chemistry. Our research seeks to advance the fundamental understanding of reaction processes, new reagents, and novel reactivity. We devise efficient strategies for rapid assembly ...
Creating Biologically Relevant Small Molecules
Research in the Cook group focuses on the creation of biologically relevant small molecules through the synthesis of natural and unnatural molecules with the potential to illuminate living systems. Paramount to our goal is the development of new strategies...
Developing a Detailed Understanding of Bacterial Cell Wall Biosynthetic Pathways
Research in the VanNieuwenhze lab is focused on developing a detailed understanding of bacterial cell wall biosynthetic pathways and how peptide antibiotics may inhibit these processes. Toward this end, our current research focuses on two distinct...
Developing New and Important Chemical Reactions
Research in the Brown lab is directed towards the development of new and important chemical reactions (which include new catalysts/reagents) for the stereoselective preparation of small organic molecules. Representative research problems include:...
New Ways to Make and Analyze Sugars and Sugar-Containing Materials
Our group is finding new ways to make and analyze sugars and sugar-containing materials to dissect their important roles especially in defenses against disease, in plants, animals, and humans. One major long-term goal is to rationally design biomaterials...