Freshman class

Principles of chemistry

Kian L. Tan, assistant professor of chemistry

Ph.D., University of California Berkeley

Specialization: Organic/organometallic chemistry

Representative publication: "Intermediacy of an N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complex in the Catalytic C'H Activation of a Substituted Benzimidazole," Journal of the American Chemical Society

My research program will focus on developing metal catalyzed reactions for the formation of new carbon-carbon bonds. For example, I will be pursuing the development reactions that use carbon dioxide as a building block for the synthesis of organic molecules. My group will focus not only on developing novel reactions, but on the underlying principles that govern these reactions.