Towards the synthesis and application of polymers with precise primary structure

Nature achieves remarkable functional diversity from macromolecules with precisely defined structures built using only a few monomers. Despite numerous recent advances towards the goal of precision polymer synthesis, there are still very few examples of non-amide- or non-phosphate-based synthetic polymers that simultaneously possess precise mass, sequence, and stereochemistry. In cases where these features are present, the requisite synthesis is not amenable to facile diversification or scale-up. This talk will describe the development of synthetic strategies for the efficient synthesis of macromolecules with precise atomic structures.

Bio:
Jeremiah conducted undergraduate research with Prof. Karen L. Wooley at Washington University where he received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry.  He then moved to Columbia University where he received a PhD in chemistry under the mentorship Prof. Nicholas J. Turro.  He then held a Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship at California Institute of Technology under the guidance of Professors David A. Tirrell and Robert H. Grubbs.  He is now the Firmenich Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemistry at MIT, where he has been since in July 2011. He is also a member of the MIT Program for Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM). Jeremiah has received a Sloan Research Fellowship, the Air Force Young Investigator Award, the Thieme Journal Award for Young Faculty, the DuPont Young Professor Award, the 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award, and an NSF CAREER award. The Johnson research group is focused on the development of new concepts and methods for macromolecular synthesis and surface functionalization.