Education
B.A., Amherst College
Ph.D., University of Colorado - Boulder
Postdoctoral Scholar, North Carolina State University
Research and Teaching
My research is interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of physical, inorganic, and organic chemistry, united by the study of how interactions between light and matter can be harnessed for reactivity. Specifically, I am interested in photoredox catalysis, a process by which organic reactions are catalyzed through photoinduced electron transfer with light absorbing catalysts. Photoredox catalysis finds applications in the sustainable synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs, but the scarcity of the elements that are used in the catalysts limits the application of this technique to relatively small scale synthesis. My research focuses on the development of photocatalysts derived from earth-abundant elements in order to make this powerful catalytic framework more accessible and affordable.
At Haverford, I co-teach the Fall superlab (CHEMH301) and teach a special topics class on photochemistry (CHEMH355) as well our Quantum Chemistry (CHEMH305) and Inorganic Chemistry (CHEMH320) courses. I also co-run the departmental seminar.
I love lasers and glowy molecules, so you can often find me with laser safety goggles or a black-light in hand!
![Glassware containing a solution of a molecule showing teal fluorescence Glassware containing a solution of a molecule showing teal fluorescence](https://www.haverford.edu/sites/default/files/styles/800x537/public/PXL_20220221_235711836.jpg?itok=ORU7HTBx)