The Department of Chemistry presents the 2026 Alumni Lecture, featuring Prof. Graham Cooks, Henry B. Hass Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Purdue University as the guest speaker.

Since its first discovery in 2006, Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) have attracted widespread attention for their ability to activate small molecules without transition metals. However, the exact mechanism of this activation remains a subject of debate. This seminar compares the two mechanistic models (the electron transfer (ET) and electric field (EF) models) and investigates the underlying physics governing these systems.

In 2025, the second iteration of a multidisciplinary campaign known as the Georgia WIldland-fire Simulation Experiment (G-WISE 2) was conducted. G-WISE 2 focused on how different wildfire fuel conditions, such as fuel bed moisture, mass loading, and the inclusion of a high organic fuel known as duff (Zhang et al, 2022), influenced the aerosols produced from the combustion of the fuel beds.

We have examined the electronic structure of C₅H₅MgMgC₅H₅, or dimagnesocene, using high-level coupled cluster techniques. This research is suitable in light of the remarkable synthesis of the valence-isoelectronic diberyllocene by Boronski, Crumpton, Wales, and Aldridge. The Mg-Mg bond distance is predicted to be 2.758 Å, and the Mg-Mg bond dissociation energy is predicted to be 51.8 kcal/mol.

Malononitrile is a readily available feedstock chemical distinguished by its high acidity and unusual electronic structure. Guided by a “Freedom of Choice” philosophy in reaction discovery, we are exploring this underutilized reagent as a platform for inventing new, often enantioselective, transformations with the potential to simplify access to sp3-rich drug-like molecules. This lecture will highlight historical milestones in malononitrile chemistry and describe reactions developed in our laboratory.

The Department of Chemistry will its annual alumni events this spring for alumni, faculty, students, and friends of the department. The series of events kicks off on Friday, April 17, with the Alumni Lecture at 4:00 PM followed by the Alumni Appreciation and Awards Banquet beginning at 6:00 PM. Two weeks later, the Alumni Golf Scramble will be held on Saturday, May 2 with a 1:00 PM start at the UGA Golf Course.