Upcoming Seminars & Events

Professor Carol Hall
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University

Computational Design of Peptides as Detectors, Sensors and Drugs

We describe our efforts to develop an efficient computational algorithm that searches for peptides that bind strongly and selectively to specific biomolecular targets, and to use that algorithm in the design of peptide- based detectors sensors, and drugs. The algorithm, PepBD, is an iterative procedure that involves as many as 100,000 sequence mutation moves and/or peptide backbone conformation moves to arrive at the peptide sequence and conformation that has the lowest binding energy to the target. The top scoring peptides are then further evaluated by performing explicit-solvent atomistic simulations of the peptide–target complex to determine their binding free energies. We describe the application of this method to three projects: design of peptides to bind to Cardiac Troponin I, a heart attack biomarker, (2) design of peptides to block the action of the toxins secreted by C- difficile bacteria in the large intestine, and (3) design of peptides to capture specific microplastics in the environment.

Carol Hall

Professor Carol K. Hall is the Worley H Clark, Jr, Distinguished University Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. She received her B.A. in physics from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in physics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. After postdoctoral training in the Chemistry Department at Cornell and a brief period as an economic modeler at Bell Laboratories, she joined the Chemical Engineering Department at Princeton University in 1977 as one of the first women to be appointed to a chemical engineering faculty in the U.S. In 1985 she joined the Chemical Engineering Department at North Carolina State University. Hall’s research focuses on applying statistical thermodynamics and molecular-level computer simulation to topics of chemical, biological or engineering interest. Current research topics include protein aggregation, multipolar colloids, peptide design, and remediation of microplastic pollution. The author of over 325 publications, she is a recipient of the AIChE 2015 Founders Award, the 2019 John M Prausnitz Award from the PPEPPD Thermodynamics Conferences, and 2020 AIChE Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hall was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005 and served as its Home Secretary from 2019 to 2023.

Hosted by Professor Sapna Sarupria

Alison Campbell Brewer
Eli Lilly

Process Development and Scale-Up of a PI3Kα- Selective Inhibitor

This seminar will describe the development of an improved process for preparing hundreds of kilograms of a PI3Kα- selective inhibitor to support clinical trials. The evolution of the synthetic route and key process improvements made to position the asset for commercialization, including the elimination of problematic solvents and reagents, a 40-fold reduction in ruthenium loading for a key asymmetric reduction, and suppression of epimerization will be covered.

Alison Campbell Brewer

Alison Brewer received a B.S. in biochemistry from Lafayette College in 2004 and a PhD in inorganic chemistry in 2009 from the University of North Carolina under the supervision or Professor Mike Gagné. She spent two years as an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin with Professor Shannon Stahl. Alison joined the process chemistry group at Lilly in 2011 where she supported the development of a number of portfolio assets and was instrumental in establishing a high-throughput chemistry screening platform in process development. Alison currently serves as the scientific team lead for the Small Molecule Commercialization team, supporting development strategies for late-phase small molecule assets. late-phase small molecule assets.

Hosted by Professor Jessica Lamb
Sponsored by Gassman Funds

Professor Scott Miller
Department of Chemistry
Yale University

Asymmetric Catalysis in Structurally and Mechanistically Complex Molecular Environments

This lecture will describe recent developments resulting from our efforts to develop catalysts for asymmetric reactions, in particular for the preparation of densely functionalized, stereochemically complex structures. Over time, our foci have been on enantioselectivity, site- selectivity and chemoselectivity. In much of our current work, we are studying issues of enantioselectivity as a prelude to the extrapolation of catalysis concepts to more complex molecular settings where multiple issues are presented in a singular substrate. Complex natural products, for example, will be presented as quintessentially complex scaffolds for catalytic modification. Many of the catalysts we have studied are peptide-based, and as such have relied on selectivity that may be traced to decisive multivalent interactions between catalysts and substrates. These mechanistis themes, and their associated ambiguities – especially in light of catalyst or substrate conformational dynamics – will figure strongly in the lecture. Finally, several interesting collaborations – often unanticipated by us – will be discussed.

Scott Miller

Scott J. Miller received his B.A. (1989), M.A. (1989) and Ph.D. (1994) from Harvard University, where he worked with David Evans as a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow. Subsequently, he traveled to the California Institute of Technology where he was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow with Robert Grubbs until 1996. For the following decade, he was a member of the faculty at Boston College, until joining the faculty at Yale University in 2006. In 2008, he was appointed as the Irénée du Pont Professor of Chemistry, and in 2023 as a Sterling Professor of Chemistry. At Yale, he served as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2009-2015, and as the Divisional Director for Science from 2015-2017. Professor Miller’s research program focuses on asymmetric catalysis. His group employs strategies that include catalyst design, the development of techniques for catalyst screening, and the application of new catalysts to the preparation of biologically active agents. Several current interests are (a) the selective functionalization of complex molecules, (b) the exploration of analogies between synthetic catalysts and enzymes, (c) the discovery of effective antibiotics despite increasing resistance, and (d) the engineering of the biosynthetic apparatus for nonextant bond-formation. Scott Miller’s awards and honors include: National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2000), Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2000), Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award of the American Chemical Society (2004), Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Gold Medal of Nagoya University (2009), National Institutes of Health MERIT Award (2011), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012), American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (2016), Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016), Max Tishler Prize, Harvard University (2017), Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2018), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitational Fellowship for Research (2019), Member, National Academy of Sciences (2020), Remsen Award, Maryland Section of the American Chemical Society and Johns Hopkins University (2023), Philadelphia Organic Chemistry Club Allan Day Award (2025), Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis of the American Chemical Society (2026). In 2024, he was also awarded the Wasserman Prize for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Chemistry at Yale University, and in 2026, the Dylan Hixon ‘88 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences, Yale College Professor Miller has served in number of capacities for public and private organizations. For example, he recently completed terms on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Advisory Council for Center for Scientific Review, both convened by the Director of the National Institutes of Health. He now serves as Editor-in- Chief of The Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Hosted by Professor Courtney Roberts

Professor Scott Miller
Department of Chemistry
Yale University

Asymmetric Catalysis at the Interface of Small Molecules and Enzymes

Asymmetric catalysis has advanced rapidly as a discipline as a result of powerful modalities. Transition metal complexes, organocatalysts and biocatalysts have all played critical roles. Probably critical from the start, and in all three of these approaches to the field, noncovalent interactions are now appreciated to play a decisive role as determinants of selectivity. Peptide-based catalysts have also proven to be a central platform for the systematic study of multifunctional interaction arrays as determinants of selectivity in a wide variety of reactions. Design of new catalytic functionalities has been central to expanding the list of selective reactions and mechanistic paradigms that operate amidst the plethora of selectivity-defining interactions that are now signatures of peptide-catalyzed processes. This lecture will focus on some of the newest developments with peptide-based catalysts, with the goal of placing the work in the broad context of catalysis most generally.

Scott Miller

Scott J. Miller received his B.A. (1989), M.A. (1989) and Ph.D. (1994) from Harvard University, where he worked with David Evans as a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow. Subsequently, he traveled to the California Institute of Technology where he was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow with Robert Grubbs until 1996. For the following decade, he was a member of the faculty at Boston College, until joining the faculty at Yale University in 2006. In 2008, he was appointed as the Irénée du Pont Professor of Chemistry, and in 2023 as a Sterling Professor of Chemistry. At Yale, he served as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2009-2015, and as the Divisional Director for Science from 2015-2017. Professor Miller’s research program focuses on asymmetric catalysis. His group employs strategies that include catalyst design, the development of techniques for catalyst screening, and the application of new catalysts to the preparation of biologically active agents. Several current interests are (a) the selective functionalization of complex molecules, (b) the exploration of analogies between synthetic catalysts and enzymes, (c) the discovery of effective antibiotics despite increasing resistance, and (d) the engineering of the biosynthetic apparatus for nonextant bond-formation. Scott Miller’s awards and honors include: National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2000), Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2000), Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award of the American Chemical Society (2004), Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Gold Medal of Nagoya University (2009), National Institutes of Health MERIT Award (2011), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012), American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (2016), Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016), Max Tishler Prize, Harvard University (2017), Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2018), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitational Fellowship for Research (2019), Member, National Academy of Sciences (2020), Remsen Award, Maryland Section of the American Chemical Society and Johns Hopkins University (2023), Philadelphia Organic Chemistry Club Allan Day Award (2025), Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis of the American Chemical Society (2026). In 2024, he was also awarded the Wasserman Prize for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Chemistry at Yale University, and in 2026, the Dylan Hixon ‘88 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences, Yale College Professor Miller has served in number of capacities for public and private organizations. For example, he recently completed terms on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Advisory Council for Center for Scientific Review, both convened by the Director of the National Institutes of Health. He now serves as Editor-in- Chief of The Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Hosted by Professor Courtney Roberts

Professor Scott Miller
Department of Chemistry
Yale University

Comparative Catalysis

At the dawn of asymmetric catalysis, most organic chemists viewed highly selective catalysts as rare needles to be found in haystacks. Decades later, excellent catalysts are still hard to define, and to develop. Yet, progress in the field has been rapid, and it is now often possible to find more than one type of catalyst that is effective for a given enantioselective reaction. When that happens, are the catalysts similar? Are similar functional outcomes born of mechanistic homology? Or are there generally multiple mechanistic scenarios that can lead to highly selective catalysts for the same reaction? What lessons for catalyst design may be extracted from comparative studies of this nature? This lecture will present the results of comparative studies of catalysts that are often viewed as privileged to peptide-based catalysts that have been advanced to catalyze similar reactions.

Scott Miller

Scott J. Miller received his B.A. (1989), M.A. (1989) and Ph.D. (1994) from Harvard University, where he worked with David Evans as a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow. Subsequently, he traveled to the California Institute of Technology where he was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow with Robert Grubbs until 1996. For the following decade, he was a member of the faculty at Boston College, until joining the faculty at Yale University in 2006. In 2008, he was appointed as the Irénée du Pont Professor of Chemistry, and in 2023 as a Sterling Professor of Chemistry. At Yale, he served as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2009-2015, and as the Divisional Director for Science from 2015-2017. Professor Miller’s research program focuses on asymmetric catalysis. His group employs strategies that include catalyst design, the development of techniques for catalyst screening, and the application of new catalysts to the preparation of biologically active agents. Several current interests are (a) the selective functionalization of complex molecules, (b) the exploration of analogies between synthetic catalysts and enzymes, (c) the discovery of effective antibiotics despite increasing resistance, and (d) the engineering of the biosynthetic apparatus for nonextant bond-formation. Scott Miller’s awards and honors include: National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2000), Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2000), Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award of the American Chemical Society (2004), Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Gold Medal of Nagoya University (2009), National Institutes of Health MERIT Award (2011), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012), American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (2016), Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016), Max Tishler Prize, Harvard University (2017), Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2018), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitational Fellowship for Research (2019), Member, National Academy of Sciences (2020), Remsen Award, Maryland Section of the American Chemical Society and Johns Hopkins University (2023), Philadelphia Organic Chemistry Club Allan Day Award (2025), Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis of the American Chemical Society (2026). In 2024, he was also awarded the Wasserman Prize for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Chemistry at Yale University, and in 2026, the Dylan Hixon ‘88 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences, Yale College Professor Miller has served in number of capacities for public and private organizations. For example, he recently completed terms on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Advisory Council for Center for Scientific Review, both convened by the Director of the National Institutes of Health. He now serves as Editor-in- Chief of The Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Hosted by Professor Courtney Roberts

Professor Daniel Huh
Department of Chemistry
University of Rhode Island

Managing Spin Coherence in Molecular Qubits

Molecule-based quantum metal complexes offer a promising and chemically tunable platform for quantum information science yet controlling electron spin coherence in molecular systems remains a central challenge. This seminar will describe the development of a new class of molecular qubits derived from low-valent group 4 metals (Ti, Zr, and Hf). By systematically manipulating metal identity and ligand environment, these studies probe how electronic structure and orbital character influence electron spin decoherence in inorganic complexes. Comparative studies across related metal platforms reveal how subtle changes in molecular structure govern quantum coherence and relaxation pathways. Together, these results highlight design principles for improving spin coherence in molecular systems and illustrate how molecular inorganic chemistry can contribute to the development of next-generation quantum materials.

Daniel Huh

Dan Huh was trained as a classical violinist for 16 years and initially pursued a career in music, majoring in violin performance at the University of San Diego. His path changed after experiencing undergraduate research with Prof. Christopher J. A. Daley, where he developed model complexes for carbon monoxide dehydrogenase/acetyl-CoA synthase and inorganic platforms for nitric oxide sensing. After obtaining his B.A., Dan then completed an M.S. at Illinois State University with Prof. Lisa F. Szczepura, studying luminescent rhenium metalloclusters. He then earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine with Prof. William J. Evans, studying f-element chemistry. Dan subsequently conducted postdoctoral research with Prof. Ian A. Tonks at the University of Minnesota before joining the University of Rhode Island as an Assistant Professor.

Hosted by Professor Ian Tonks

Professor Eric Anslyn
Department of Chemistry
University of Texas at Austin

Professor Todd Hyster
Department of Chemistry
Princeton University

Emergent Mechanisms in Photoenzymatic Catalysis

Enzymes are exquisite catalysts for chemical synthesis, capable of providing unparalleled levels of chemo-, regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity. Unfortunately, biocatalysts are often limited to the reactivity patterns found in nature. In this talk, I will share my groups efforts to use light to expand the reaction mechanisms available to natural enzyme families. In our studies, we found photo excitation of common biological cofactors, such as NADH, PLP, and FMN, to be a general strategy for revealing these novel functions. In many cases, we have identified unexpected mechanisms available to reactions occurring within the protein microenvironment that are not observed in solution- based photochemistry. Using these approaches, we can develop biocatalysts to solve long-standing selectivity challenges in chemical synthesis.

Todd Hyster

Professor Hyster is a native of Minnesota and received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University under Tomislav Rovis. He was a Marie Curie Fellow with Thomas Ward at the University of Basel and an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow with Frances Arnold at Caltech. He began his independent career at Princeton in 2015, moved to Cornell University in 2021, and returned to Princeton as Professor of Chemistry in 2023. Professor Hyster’s research group develops new biocatalytic strategies to address long- standing reactivity and selectivity challenges in organic synthesis. The Hyster lab is broadly focused on enabling enzymes to catalyze reactions that are currently unknown in nature, then applying directed evolution to optimize these catalysts for efficient, selective chemical transformations. The group is particularly known for pioneering photoenzymatic catalysis, using visible light to unlock new catalytic functions from known enzyme families.

Hosted by Professor Christopher Douglas

Sponsored by Organic Syntheses, Inc. 

Sean Ross, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist II
AbbVie

Enabling chemistry at the interface of late discovery and early development

At AbbVie, the process chemistry group works in collaboration with our discovery and product development science and technology groups to develop active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from their discovery to market. Critical early deliveries of API to enable preclinical studies requires the development of enabling routes to accelerate drug development. This talk will describe the rapid development of an enabling route to a preclinical target across discovery and process chemistry. The focus of the talk will include the development of a cross electrophile coupling approach to install a key C-C bond, as well as the development of a C-O cross coupling to form the penultimate intermediate This collaborative effort successfully delivered API that was supported a wide range of pre-clinical studies.

Sean Ross

Sean began his formal chemistry education at the University of Nevada, Reno where he obtained his B.S. in chemistry. During this time, he performed undergraduate research with Professor Bob Sheridan on the matrix isolation of carbenes, and with Professor Mazal on the synthesis of 1.1.1 propellanes. This later led him to pursue a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota. At the University of Minnesota, Sean joined the lab of Professor Tom Hoye working on the development of methodologies utilizing thermally generated benzynes. After defending his Ph.D. in 2011, Dr. Ross moved to the University of Utah where he joined the group of Professor Matt Sigman. There he worked on applying data science techniques to the redox-relay Heck reaction. In 2021, Sean joined AbbVie as a part of the Process Chemistry team. His current work is focused on the development of enabling chemistry to facilitate the kilo-scale manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients for late preclinical and early clinical studies.

Hosted by Professor Christopher Douglas
Sponsored by AbbVie

Professor Zhen-Gang Wang
Department of Chemical Engineering
California Institute of Technology

Self-Assembly of End-Charged Block Copolymers and Blends: Effects of Ion Clustering

Introducing a small number of ionic groups at polymer chain ends — whether within a single diblock copolymer or across two different homopolymers in a blend — has emerged as a promising strategy for directing self-assembly, with applications ranging from compatibilizing immiscible polymer blends to templating functional and ion-conducting nanostructures. We study the effects of these end charges on the self-assembly of diblock copolymers and binary polymer blends using a self-consistent field theory that incorporates strong ion correlations. Under the low-dielectric conditions typical of polymer melts, the charged ends aggregate into multi-ion clusters, which reshapes the self- assembly of both systems. In the case of end-charged diblock copolymers, the resulting clusters act as compact, curvature- favoring foci around which the chains radiate, unlocking complex network morphologies, such as the single primitive and single gyroid phases, that are normally inaccessible to neutral melts. In binary blends with oppositely charged termini, the electrostatic attraction between chain ends suppresses the macroscopic phase separation in the corresponding uncharged blend and results in microphase separation instead. Interestingly, the resulting phase diagram is simpler — dominated by lamellar and cylindrical phases — than expected based on the pairwise-bonded effective diblock picture previously invoked to describe these systems. We attribute this difference to the difference in the location of the ion clusters in the two systems: in the diblock they act as compact foci to organize the chains around them, while in the blend they are confined to the interface separating the two species, where they resist curvature rather than favor it. Finally, for both systems, ordered microphase structures can appear at segregation strengths significantly lower than that required for the corresponding uncharged diblock copolymers.

Zhen-Gang Wang

Zhen-Gang Wang received his B.Sc. in Chemistry in 1982 from Beijing (Peking) University, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1987 from the University of Chicago. He did postdoctoral research first in Exxon Research and Engineering Company and then at UCLA. Since 1991 he has been on the Chemical Engineering faculty at the California Institute of Technology, where he is currently the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor. He has also served as Executive Officer (department chair) for Chemical Engineering for 6 years. 

Wang’s research is the theoretical and computational study of structure, phase behavior, interfacial properties and dynamics of polymers, soft materials, and biophysical systems. His current activities revolve around three main themes: charged systems, including polyelectrolytes, salt-doped polymers, and electric double layers; nucleation or more generally barrier crossing in polymers and soft matter; and nonlinear rheology of polymer gels and entangled polymers. 

Wang is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the U. S. National Academy of Engineering. He is recipient of several significant awards and honors, including the Camille Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Award (1995), the Alfred P. Sloan Award (1996), the Braskem Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) (2018), the AIChE Alpha Chi Sigma Award (2023), and the American Physical Society Polymer Physics Prize (2024). In addition, he was awarded the Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2008), Caltech’s highest teaching honor. 

Wang has served on the editorial advisory boards of Journal of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Macromolecules, ACS Macro Letters, Giant, Acta Physicochimica Sinica, and Science in China B (Chemistry). He is currently an associate editor for the ACS Journal Macromolecules.

Hosted by Professor Timothy Lodge