Alumni & Past Visitors

Former Ph.D. Students

Carli Kovel

Ph.D., May 2024, Princeton University.
“Hydrocarbon Upgrading: Iron Catalyst Development, Mechanistic Studies, and Polymer Synthesis“
Lauren Mendelsohn

Ph.D., January 2024, Princeton University
Research Scientist at BMS.
“Bis(Phosphine) Cobalt Catalysis: Mechanism, Method Development, and Applications in Pharmaceutical Synthesis“
Paul Peterson

Ph.D., July 2023, Princeton University
Post-Doc at Yale University with Scott Miller.
“Iron-Catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling: From Fundamental Organometallic Chemistry to Catalysis“
Boran Lee

Ph.D., January 2023, Princeton University
Research Scientist at AstraZeneca
“Benzyldiboronates: Exploring the Reactivity and its Application in Ketone Synthesis & Effects of Pincer Rigidification on the Reactivity of Cobalt Complexes”
Tyler Pabst

Ph.D., May 2022, Princeton University
Scientific Developer at Emerald Cloud Lab
“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
Assistant Professor, Yonsei University
“Catalytic Hydrogenation of Metal Nitrides to Generate Ammonia Using Transition Metal Hydrides”
Aaron Zhong

Ph.D., June 2021, Princeton University
Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University
“Cobalt-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Alkenes: Catalyst Development and Mechanistic Investigations”
Nadia Léonard

Ph.D., June 2019, Princeton University
Assistant Professor, UC Santa Barbara
“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
Patent Attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
“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”

Masters Thesis

“A Systematic Spectroscopic and Computational Examination of the Electronic Structures of Bis(imino)pyridine Iron Alkyl and Halide Compounds”
Jonathan Darmon

Ph.D., February 2012, Cornell University
Manager of Financial Operations, Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, Princeton 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

Priyanka Gupta

Ph.D. Leibniz Institute for Catalysis, 2023
Advisor: Torsten Beweries & Christian Hering-Junghans
Reggie Mills

Ph.D. University of Toronto, 2020
Advisor: Sophie Rousseaux
Assistant Professor at University of Houston
Grace Panetti

Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 2021
Advisors: Eric Schelter & Pat Walsh
Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University
Jose Roque

jroque@princeton.edu
Ph.D. Berkeley, 2020
Advisor: Richmond Sarpong
Assistant Professor at Princeton University
Coralie Duchemin

Ph.D. EPFL, 2020
Advisor: Nicolai Cramer
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Gabriele Hierlmeier

Ph.D. University of Regensburg, 2021
Advisor: Robert Wolf
Assistant Professor at Universität Würzburg, Germany
William Whitehurst

Ph.D. University of Cambridge, 2020
Advisor: Matthew J. Gaunt
Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University
Connor MacNeil

cmacneil@princeton.edu
Ph.D. University of Lethbridge, 2021
Advisor: Paul Hayes
Senior Scientist at Merck
Sam Yruegas

September 2019 – April 2022
Ph.D., Baylor University, 2019
Advisor: Caleb Martin
Assistant Professor, Rice University
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
Deputy Director, SCG-Oxford Centre of Excellence
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

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

Amelia Liu

Princeton Class of 2023.
Maddie Esposito

Princeton Class of 2023.
Francesca DiMare

Princeton Class of 2023.
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.
Natalia Maidique

Princeton Class of 2025.
Carina Baete

Princeton Class of 2023.
Emma Cavendish

Princeton Class of 2024.

Past Visitors

Sebastian Samir Cremer

sc5681@princeton.edu
Visiting Graduate Student from Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg
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
Umay Yildirim

uy2424@princeton.edu
B.Sc., ETH Zürich, 2022.
Visiting student from ETH Zürich.
Diego Alexandre Cabo Palacios Sr.

dc4623@princeton.edu
B. Sc., M. Sc., Cadiz University
Visiting Graduate Student from Cartuja Center at Sevilla University and CSIC, Spain
Pablo Mora Forte

pm4189@princeton.edu
Visiting Student from Universitat Rovira i Virgili & Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) (Advisor: Prof. Antonio Echavarren).
Lola Lopez-Spencer

Visiting High School Student
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart Class of 2025