CAREER: I. Organocatalyzed cascade reactions as sustainable synthetic methods and II. Sustaining students' interest in science with the help of "WISE" students

纽约市立大学布鲁克林学院化学系的Brenner-Moyer教授将凭借这一由化学系化学催化计划赞助的职业奖项，研究由有机催化剂催化的新型级联反应的开发，这是传统Lewis酸和过渡金属催化剂的环境友好替代品。所提出的级联反应代表了解决有机合成中两个长期存在的问题的新途径：1)如何快速构建分子复杂性；2)如何实现简单醇的高效、不对称共轭加成。建议的级联反应还将提供直接获得有用的合成中间体的途径，目前通过多步合成、昂贵的手性起始材料和/或危险金属来获得这些中间体。开发高效的有机催化方法来生产有用的合成中间体将通过增加绿色实验室中催化剂的可用性、减少废物流动和降低成本，对天然产物和医药化合物的合成产生积极的影响。这些活动将使社会受益，从研究化学家到学术机构和工业工厂所在的社区。此外，研究活动将帮助培训本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员，并将通过参与妇女参与科学和工程(WISE)计划，旨在增加女性在科学领域的留住。首席研究人员将1)协调为在科学领域苦苦挣扎的学生提供同行指导，并通过WISE赞助的研讨会系列和研究博览会，探索绿色化学和其他绿色科学的职业，作为在科学方面出类拔萃的学生的医药职业选择。

With this CAREER award sponsored by the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Brenner-Moyer of the Department of Chemistry at the City University of New York at Brooklyn College will investigate the development of new cascade reactions catalyzed by organocatalysts, which are environmentally benign alternatives to traditional Lewis acid- and transition metal catalysts. The proposed cascade reactions represent new approaches to two persistent problems in organic synthesis: 1) how to rapidly build molecular complexity, and 2) how to achieve efficient, asymmetric conjugate additions of simple alcohols. The proposed cascade reactions will also provide direct access to useful synthetic intermediates that are currently accessed using multiple step syntheses, expensive chiral starting materials, and/or hazardous metals.Development of efficient organocatalytic methods to produce useful synthetic intermediates will have positive implications for the synthesis of natural products and medicinal compounds by increasing the availability of catalysts in greener laboratories and reducing waste streams and also lowering costs. These activities will benefit society, from research chemists to communities that house academic institutions and industrial plants. In addition, the research activities will help train undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral student researchers and will aim at increasing retention of females in the sciences through participation in the program Women In Science and Engineering (WISE). The principal investigator will 1) coordinate peer mentoring for students struggling in the sciences, and explore careers in green chemistry and other green sciences, via a WISE-sponsored seminar series and research fair, as an alternative to careers in medicine for students who are excelling in the sciences.