Degrees
2000
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, UCLA
Dissertation Title: Theoretical Bioorganic Chemistry of Antibody Catalysis
1995
A.B. Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude, Harvard University
Experience
2011-present
Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis
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2008-2011
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis
2003-2008
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis
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2005-present
Departmental advisor for organic chemistry graduate students, member Graduate Affairs Committee
2018-present
Vice Chair (Academic Affairs), Department of Chemistry, UC Davis
2022-2024
VIce Chair then Chair, Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs (CCGA), UC Academic Senate
2020-2022
Chair, Graduate Council, UC Davis
2017-2019
Associate Editor, ACS Omega
2008-2016
Chair, R. Bryan Miller Symposium Organizing Committee
2000-2003
Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, with Roald Hoffmann
1998-2000
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, with Ken Houk
1997-2000
Teaching Fellow, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
1998-1999
Fellow, Collegium of University Teaching Fellows, UCLA
1998
Instructor, Mathematics and Science Scholars Program (MS2) Pre-Instruction in Science and Mathematics (PRISM), UCLA
1996-1998
Fellow, NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program, UCLA
1995-1996
Teaching Assistant, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
1995
Teaching Assistant, Harvard University Summer School
1994-1995
Research Assistant, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, with James Hogle
Fellowships, Awards, Honors
2023
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society
2022
ADVANCE Scholar Award (UCD) for "advancing diverse perspectives and gender equity in STEMM through teaching, research and service"
2021
Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award (UCD)
2017
Fellow, American Chemical Society (ACSF)
2017
2016
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2016
Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
2016
Plenary Speaker, 27th Symposium on Physical Organic Chemistry (2016, Hiroshima, Japan)
2016
Bertram Dillon Steele Lectureship, University of Queensland
2016
Academic Senate Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award, UC Davis
2014
Andrew Streitwieser Lectureship, UC Berkeley
2014
Soaring to New Heights Diversity and Principles of Community Faculty Diversity Award, UC Davis
2012
Natural Product Reports Lectureship
2011
National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow
2011
Lawrence J. Schaad Lectureship in Theoretical Chemistry, Vanderbilt University
2011
Academic Senate Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, UC Davis
2010
National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow
2007
Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry Award for Early Excellence in the Field of Physical Organic Chemistry
2005
National Science Foundation CAREER Award
2000
Winstein Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research in Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
2000
Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, Academic Senate Committee on Teaching, UCLA
2000
First Prize for Graduate Students, 52nd Annual Robert B. and Blanche Campbell Student Book Collection Competition, UCLA Library
1999
Jacobs Award for Outstanding Research, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
1999
Departmental Prize for Distinguished Teaching in Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
1995-1999
University Fellowship, UCLA
1996-1998
Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program Fellowship, NIH
1996
Departmental Award for Distinguished Teaching in Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
1991-1995
Harvard National Scholarship
1991-1995
National Science Scholarship, United States Department of Education
1993-1994
Harvard College Scholarship
1992-1993
Monroe C. Gutman National Scholarship, Harvard University
Selected Professional Activities
2021-present
Editorial College (Chemistry) Fellow, SciPost
2021-present
Associate Member, American Chemical Society Committee on Chemists with Disabilities
2021-present
Advisory Board, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry
2020-present
Editorial Advisory Board, Chemistry Methods.
2019-present
International Advisory Board, Russian Chemical Bulletin (English version of Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya
2017-present
Associate Editorial Board, Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry
2012-present
Editorial Board, Computational Chemistry Highlights
2011-present
Co-organizer for “Accelerating Reaction Discovery - A TSRC Collaborative” conference
2012-2023
Board of Directors, Accessible Science
2015-2020
Editorial Board, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry
2020
Chair, Sacramento Local Section of the American Chemical Society
2019
Guest co-editor (with Stephanie Hare) of themed issue of Beil. J. Org. Chem. on "Reactive Intermediates - Carbocations"
2018
Editor, Applied Theoretical Organic Chemistry
2018-2019
Guest co-editor (with John Wood) of Tetrahedron "Symposium-in-Print" on "Computational Chemistry in Organic Synthesis"
2016-2017
Guest co-editor (with Mike Gagne and Rongjie Chein) of themed issue of Org. Biomol. Chem. on "Polycylizations in Synthesis and Biosynthesis"
2017
Chair, Sacramento Local Section of the American Chemical Society
2016
Guest editor of Acc. Chem. Res. 2016, 49, special issue on "Computational Catalysis for Organic Synthesis"
2010
Discussion leader at “Isotopes in Biology and Chemistry” Gordon Research Conference
2003-2005
Consultant, Pfizer Inc., La Jolla, California
2003-2004
Co-editor (with Jeehiun Lee) of Topics in Current Chemistry 2004, 238: "Orotidine Monophosphate Decarboxylase: A Mechanistic Dialogue"
Memberships
American Chemical Society (ACS), Fellow since 2017; Member since 1996; ORGN, COMP, HIST divisions
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow since 2016; Member 1997-2003 & since 2012
World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists (WATOC), Life Member since 2010
American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP), Member since 2011
Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow (FRSC) since 2016
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), Member since 2017
International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry (ISHC), Member since 2018
Sigma Xi, Full Member since 2019
Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Quimica Orgánica (SAIQO), Honorary Member since 2023
Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics (IPN), Affiliate Member since 2023
