113th Willard Gibbs Award Celebration

Eric Jacobsen

The Sheldon Emory Professor of Organic Chemistry
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Harvard University

"Selectivity and Generality in
Small-Molecule Catalysis"

ABSTRACT

PROGRAM

DINNER

• Minestrone Soup
• Meridian Salad
• Choice of entree:
- BEEF: Roast top sirloin with rosemary merlot sauce
- FISH: Fresh broiled Norwegian salmon with dill sauce
- VEGETARIAN: Portabello mushroom with zucchini
• Dessert: Hot fudge brownie a la mode

RESERVATIONS

QUESTIONS OR NON-WEB RESERVATIONS?  Please contact the Section Office via phone (847-391-9091) or email ([email protected]). Note that all unpaid reservations will be billed.  The deadline for reservations is Monday, May 13 at noon.

CITATION

For discoveries of fundamentally important catalytic reactions which have led to:

• the redefining of the way molecules are synthesized
• the uncovering of effective methods for a wide variety of stereoselective reactions
• the development of chiral Schiff base complexes of main group and transition metals
• the discovery and application of novel organic catalysts

BIOGRAPHY

Eric Jacobsen was born in New York City of Cuban parents, received his primary and secondary education at the Lycée Français de New York, and graduated from New York University in 1982 with a B.S. in Chemistry. His Ph.D. work was done at U.C. Berkeley under the direction of Robert Bergman. In 1986, he returned to the East Coast of the U.S. for an NIH postdoctoral fellowship with Barry Sharpless. In 1988, he began his independent career at the University of Illinois. He moved to Harvard University as full professor in the summer of 1993.  He was named the Sheldon Emory Professor of Organic Chemistry in 2001, and served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology between 2010 and 2015.

Professor Jacobsen's research group is dedicated to discovering useful catalytic reactions, and to applying state-of-the art mechanistic and computational techniques to the analysis of those reactions. Several of the catalysts developed in his labs have found widespread application in industry and academia. These include metal-salen complexes for asymmetric epoxidation, conjugate additions, and hydrolytic kinetic resolution of epoxides; chromium-Schiff base complexes for a wide range of enantioselective pericyclic reactions; and organic hydrogen bond-donor catalysts for activation of neutral and cationic electrophiles. Eric's mechanistic analyses of these systems have helped uncover general principles for catalyst design, including electronic tuning of selectivity, cooperative homo- and hetero-bimetallic catalysis, privileged catalysis, hydrogen-bond donor asymmetric catalysis, and anion binding catalysis. The recognitions he has received include the Arthur C. Cope Medal of the American Chemical Society, the Chirality Medal, and elections to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Tickets

$50.00 REGISTRATION: Chicago ACS member

$50.00 REGISTRATION: Guest and Non-Chicago ACS member

$0.00 NOTE: 8:30 PM lecture only - no meal provided