About the Speaker:

Bio:

Professor of Chemistry
Director, Chemistry Graduate Program
Villanova University
NIH-NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, 2000-2002
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 2000
B.S., University of Rochester, 1995

Research:

The Zubris group conducts research at the intersection of inorganic, organic and polymer chemistry.  We design and synthesize organometallic compounds for use as polymerization catalysts. Study of the structure and bonding for these organometallic compounds is a major focal point for our program. Our long-term goal is to better understand how organic ligand modification affects polymerization outcomes. Past work has focused on catalyst development for coordination polymerization (ethylene and alpha-olefin monomers); current projects are directed towards the use of earth-abundant metal catalysts for polymerization.