Michael Robo Email & Phone Number

Indianapolis, In, Us

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Fall 2014 -> Organic Chemistry I LaboratoryWinter 2015 -> Organic Chemistry II LaboratoryFall 2015 -> Organic Chemistry I LaboratoryWinter 2016 -> Organic Chemistry II DiscussionWinter 2017 -> Organic Chemistry II Discussion

Ann Arbor, Michigan

My graduate research has focused on the use of density functional theory to better understand chemical reactions, often involving a strong collaborative relationship with experimental colleagues. Highlights of my accomplishments include: transforming the understanding of catalyst activation for an air-stable nickel catalyst, identifying synergistic interactions in the depolymerization of poly(acrylic acid), and elucidating the mechanism of a three-component coupling reaction. This work has resulted in the filing of several patents, as well as multiple publications that are currently in preparation.Prior to focusing on computation work, I was an experimental chemist in the Montgomery lab. During the course of my graduate work as an experimentalist, I investigated acrylate ligand scaffolds to stabilize NHC-Ni(0) complexes to air. This work resulted in a publication, and also resulted in three different catalysts becoming commercially available.

Beckett Ridge, Oh

I investigated the hydrolysis pathways for fabric softeners. This involved installing and using the growing string method on the P&G servers, and investigating a model system using both quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical methods

Rochester, New York Area

As an undergraduate researcher, I investigated the Pd/C catalyzed synthesis of terpyridines directly from pyridines. I discovered that the introduction of manganese dioxide radically increased the yield of our desired terpyridine product. This work allowed for the synthesis of terpyridines in a single step, whereas such a transformation would previously require 5 steps. The procedure was published, and using the method, large quantities of ligands were prepared and made commercially available.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Chemistry

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Chemistry