Valerie Schmidt receives NSF CAREER Award

Valerie Schmidt, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, was named a recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. This prestigious and highly competitive five-year award supports the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. Nearly one-third of the United States Gross National Product is derived from chemical manufacturing. This highly impactful industry relies on innovation to maintain market competitiveness. In this project, Professor Valerie Schmidt seeks to design new chemical reactions that produce unique chemicals of value. The new synthetic processes have potential to be used to design and make new drugs and materials. The research uses laboratory experiments to monitor and characterize all new chemicals made. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a robust and general way to activate carbon-carbon (C=C) double bonds to form cyclic 4-atom patterns in molecules. This research describes the detailed pathways for the new chemical reactions. The research group of Professor Schmidt trains future scientists, particularly students from backgrounds that are under-represented in science. The group also hosts and organizes “All Hands-On!” events on the campus of UCSD, inviting K-12 students in the San Diego county area to participate in hands-on activities designed to generate interest using pop-culture entry points. In light of needs for physical distancing and limiting group gatherings, strategies to provide similar hands-on experiences using virtual means at participants homes are being developed