Robert S. Paton

Abstract

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVolume 56, Issue 45 p. 13936-13936 Author ProfileFree Access Robert S. Paton First published: 05 July 2017 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201706565AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Graphical Abstract “If I were not a scientist, I would be working in a record store. My favorite piece of music is Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint ...” This and more about Robert S. Paton can be found on page 13936. Robert S. Paton The author presented on this page has recently published his 10th article in Angewandte Chemie in the last 10 years: “Enantioselective Silver and Amine Co-catalyzed Desymmetrizing Cycloisomerization of Alkyne-Linked Cyclohexanones”: R. Manzano, S. Datta, R. S. Paton, D. J. Dixon, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 5834; Angew. Chem. 2017, 129, 5928. Date of birth: December 1981 Position: Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford E-mail: robert.paton@chem.ox.ac.uk Homepage: paton.chem.ox.ac.uk ORCID: 0000-0002-0104-4166 Education: 2004 MSci, University of Cambridge 2008 PhD with Jonathan Goodman, University of Cambridge 2009 Postdoctoral research with K. N. Houk, University of California, Los Angeles Awards: 2015 RSC Harrison–Meldola Memorial Medal; 2015 ACS COMP Division Outstanding Junior Faculty Award; 2014 Silver Jubilee Award, Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society; 2014 ACS Organic Division Academic Young Investigator; 2015 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award Research: Catalysts and ligand design; contact ion pairs; epigenetic mechanisms Hobbies: Music collection; DJing; trivia If I were not a scientist, I would be working in a record store. My favorite piece of music is Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint. My favorite foods are (kal-guksu), (gimbap), and (sujebi). My favorite quote is “It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong” (Feynmann). The most significant scientific advance of the last 100 years has been the discovery of penicillin. The biggest problem that scientists face is that “people have had enough of experts” (Brexiteer politician Michael Gove). My favorite piece of research is John Snow's use of statistics in 1854 to pinpoint the source of a London cholera epidemic to a communal water pump. Guaranteed to make me laugh are Stewart Lee; Aziz Ansari; a dog on a skateboard. If I could go back in time and do any experiment, it would be to discover molecular chirality with Pasteur. My greatest achievement has been meeting my wife. My favorite place on earth is Trinity Hall, Cambridge. My 5 top papers: 1“Computational ligand design in enantio- and diastereoselective ynamide [5+ 2] cycloisomerization”: R. Straker, Q. Peng, A. Mekareeya, R. S. Paton, E. A. Anderson, Nature Communications 2016, 7, 10109. (Theory-led optimization of stereoselective ligands, validated for higher-order cycloisomerizations.) 2“Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of indanes via cation-directed 5-endo-trig cyclization”: C. P. Johnston, A. Kothari, T. Sergeieva, S. L. Okovytyy, K. E. Jackson, R. S. Paton, M. D. Smith, Nature Chem. 2015, 7, 171. (Geometric restriction is not always decisive in competitive kinetically controlled ring-closing reactions.) 3“Enantioselective Desymmetrization of Prochiral Cyclohexanones via Organocatalytic Intramolecular Michael Additions to α,β-Unsaturated Esters”: A. D. Gammack-Yamaguta, S. Datta, K. E. Jackson, L. Stegbauer, R. S. Paton, D. J. Dixon, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 4899; Angew. Chem. 2015, 127, 4981. (Calculations enabled the development of a highly enantioselective primary amine catalyst.) 4“A Counterion-Directed Approach to the Diels–Alder Paradigm: Cascade Synthesis of Tricyclic Fused Cyclopropanes”: E. Kiss, C. D. Campbell, R. W. Driver, J. D. Jolliffe, R. Lang, T. Sergieiva, S. Okovytyy, R. S. Paton, M. D. Smith, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 13813; Angew. Chem. 2016, 128, 14017. (Synthesis and computation show how counterion coordination controls diastereoselectivity.) 5“Correlating Reactivity and Selectivity to Cyclopentadienyl Ligand Properties in Rh(III)-Catalyzed C−H Activation Reactions: An Experimental and Computational Study”: T. Piou et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 1296 (A predictive tool for C−H functionalization.) Volume56, Issue45November 6, 2017Pages 13936-13936 ReferencesRelatedInformation