Daniel Chase

Biography

Research in the Chase Lab focuses on two general areas of research:

• The design of asymmetric boron difluorides for the creation of tunable fluorescent dyes with broad Stokes shifts.
• The search for novel electrophilic carbenes to examine the activation of industrially important small molecules.

As each project is centered in synthetic organic chemistry, students will have the opportunity to challenge themselves intellectually and grow as scientists while actively contributing to the scientific community. This includes exposure to state–of–the–art techniques and methodologies such as: (1) classic and modern synthetic reactions; (2) specialized air–free Schlenk and glove box techniques; (3) structural characterization methods such as NMR, FTIR, UV–Vis, fluorescence, mass spectrometry, and X–ray crystallography; (4) kinetics experiments to ascertain reaction rates and equilibrium constants to obtain thermodynamic and mechanistic information; and (5) computational programs to evaluate transition states and frontier molecular orbital shapes and energies. Individuals working in the Chase Lab will not only gain valuable skills and knowledge with respect to performing exceptional scientific inquiry but will also gain the confidence and maturity required for continued excellence in professional studies beyond their undergraduate curriculum.