Welcome to the Stephenson Group at the University of Michigan.
Our group is interested in developing methodologies that harness the power of visible light to mediate reactions that are useful for the synthesis of biologically active molecules. We conduct photo- and electrochemical reactions in both batch and continuous flow manifolds with the goal of developing methods to access unique chemical space.
The Stephenson lab is dedicated to maintaining a climate of inclusivity, mutual respect, and understanding. We believe that diversity is the cornerstone of innovation as it allows people from distinct backgrounds to contribute their experiences to the chemical problem-solving process, whether it be an idea for a useful synthetic method or a novel way of disconnecting a natural product.
Group News
Cuneanes - a new benzene bioisostere!
Congratulations to former postdoc Jeong-Yu and Alex Harmata for their work on the conversion of cubanes to cuneanes mediated by Ag(I), and evaluation of the products as benzene bioisosteres and energetic materials. Awesome collaboration with the Ess and Paton labs, along with Dr. Jesse Sabatini and colleagues from the US Army. Check it out online now in JACS.
Designing new nitroxide HAT catalysts!
Congratulations to Cheng for putting together an outstanding review on the development of new nitroxide catalysts for hydrogen atom transfer. Check it out in Nature Reviews Chemistry.
A roadmap to understanding the mechanism of reactions induced by EDA complexes
Congratulations Alan for this new invited perspective article on understanding the mechanism of photochemical reactions of EDA complexes. Check it out now in Chem!
Dihydrobenzofuran formation by Bec and Travis in Angewandte!
Check out our latest work related to the biomimetic synthesis of resveratrol-derived natural products. Bec and Travis report the use of a persistent radical equilibrium to form a variety of dihydrobenzofurans. Now online in Angewandte.
Congratulations Dr. Allen!
Anthony defended his thesis today in spectacular fashion. Congratulations on the outstanding work describing a variety of alkene functionalization chemistry predicated on deep mechanistic understanding. Best of luck with your new position at Oberlin College!
Welcome to our new members!
Welcome to our newest group members. Rising 2nd year student Mark joined the group in May and we welcomed new rotators Emily and Ryan, along with undergraduates Abigail, Audrey, Cole, Olivia, and Stefanie over the past few months!
Farewell Alex and Kara!
Farewell to Dr. Alex Davies and his mentee Kara Greene. Alex will be joining the Department of Chemistry at Western Michigan University in the summer as an Assistant Professor. Kara will be joining Merck as a summer intern prior to starting graduate studies at UC-Irvine!
Congratulations Dr. Noten!
Efrey defends his thesis where he developed new photoinduced Smiles-Truce reactions for the synthesis of valuable phenylethylamines! Best of luck at Gilead!