Abstract
Similar to Dorothy’s journey along the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz, this perspective carves out the path I took from my early childhood fascinations with science through my independent career at the University of Michigan (maize and blue). The influential research projects and mentors are highlighted, including some fortuitous experimental results that drew me into the field of supramolecular chemistry, specifically, and organic materials, broadly. My research group’s efforts toward designing new sensors based on small molecule gelators are described. In particular, I highlight how our design strategy has evolved as we learn more about molecular gelators. This perspective concludes with some predictions about where molecular gels, as well as my personal and professional life, are headed.
Highlights
Cornell had a great selection of professors doing both fundamental and applied physical organic chemistry, I was most interested in working with Professor Dave Collum
We embarked on a project aimed at understanding why a lithium enolate alkylation stalled at 70% conversion during a key step in the preparative scale synthesis of a factor Xa inhibitor at Aventis
At the time, identifying solution structures of lithium enolates by NMR spectroscopy was challenging owing to the absence of Li–O coupling and the high symmetry of most common aggregates
Summary
I was fortunate to have another great, albeit unofficial, mentor at W&M, Dr Carey Bagdassarian He was creative and passionate, and he encouraged, supported, and pushed me to be a better person and scientist. Cornell had a great selection of professors doing both fundamental and applied physical organic chemistry, I was most interested in working with Professor Dave Collum. He was known for unraveling complex mechanisms using a seemingly simple combination of kinetic, spectroscopic, and computational studies. Dave showed me how to balance an academic career with having a family He was a great mentor who knew exactly when to push, when to provide assistance, and when to disappear and let me figure it out on my own
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