# Energy ## expand\_more Mechanisms of energy conversion in photosynthetic complexes, in enzymes, and over catalytic surfaces are under investigation in CCB. The production of energy-evolving or energy-interconverting materials ranges from nanostructured biomimetic devices to extended layered compounds suspended over redox sites. Artificial photosynthesis and the creation of anti-biofouling surfaces are among our recent innovations. ## Energy-Related Faculty [### Boris Kozinsky ](/people/boris-kozinsky) Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Gordon McKay Professor of Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering ![kozinsky_200x300.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/kozinsky_200x300.jpg?itok=h6xpKnm-) [### Cynthia Friend ](/people/cynthia-friend) Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science, Emerita (Not Accepting Graduate Students) Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Leah DeFrancesco Controlling the chemical and physical properties of interfaces is central to many technologies and particularly in addressing global challenges in reducing energy costs and in developing alternative... ![c_friend.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/c_friend_1.jpg?itok=njTqCMlB) [### Daniel G. Nocera ](/people/daniel-g-nocera) Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy (Accepting Graduate Students) Daniel G. Nocera is the Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University. A descriptive bio of Professor Nocera can be found here. ![nocera2.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/nocera2.jpg?itok=LpCxgzgZ) [### Frank Keutsch ](/people/frank-keutsch) Stonington Professor of Engineering and Atmospheric Science Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Lori Reck Research in the Keutsch group is aimed at improving our understanding of photochemical oxidation processes of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that produce tropospheric ozone and are central to secondary... ![frank_keutsch.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/frank_keutsch.jpg?itok=j8EssoDy) [### George Whitesides ](/people/george-whitesides) Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Research Professor (Not Accepting Graduate Students) Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Melissa LeGrand George M. Whitesides was born August 3, 1939 in Louisville, KY. He received an A.B. degree from Harvard University in 1960 and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (with J.D. Roberts) in... ![whitesides.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/whitesides.jpg?itok=NQ2d83C3) [### James G. Anderson ](/people/james-anderson) Philip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Rob Stanhope Education: U. Washington — Physics, B.S., 1966 U. Colorado — Physics/Astrogeophysics, Ph.D., 1970 U. Pittsburgh — Department of Physics, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1971-1972 Appointments: 1982– Present — Philip S... ![A headshot of James G. Anderson](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/james_anderson.jpg?itok=qKER178-) [### Jarad Mason ](/people/jarad-mason) Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Accepting Graduate Students) Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Pamela Hernandez The Mason Group applies the tools of coordination chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology to the synthesis of materials that address basic science challenges in energy and sustainable development... ![Mason, Jarad](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/j_mason.jpg?itok=GPR5soL-) [### Joanna Aizenberg ](/people/joanna-aizenberg) Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Marina McLaughlin The Aizenberg lab's research is aimed at understanding some of the basic principles of biological architectures and the economy with which biology solves complex problems in the design of multifunctional... ![Professor Aizenberg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/aizenberg_web.jpg?itok=9YKXgg1W) [### Roy Gordon ](/people/roy-gordon) Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Emeritus (Not Accepting Graduate Students) Professor Gordon studied chemical physics at Harvard with Professor J. H. Van Vleck. Following a Junior Fellowship at Toronto and Brussels, he returned to Harvard, where he has served as Chairman of the Department of Chemistry and is the Thomas D. Cabot... ![gordon.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gordon_1.jpg?itok=_yTkimOW) [### Theodore Betley ](/people/theodore-betley) Erving Professor of Chemistry Director of Graduate Studies (Accepting Graduate Students) Laboratory Manager/Administrator: Pamela Hernandez The Betley group works in the field of synthetic inorganic chemistry to design new complexes capable of activating unreactive chemical bonds. We design catalysts comprised of first-row transition elements... ![A headshot of Professor Ted Betley](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/chemistry/files/betley_bwback_smallsquare.jpg?itok=lq0KyIVV) ## Recent News [### Profile: Environmental engineer inspired by community ](/news/2026/05/profile-environmental-engineer-inspired-community) May 29, 2026 Lizbeth Ibarra grew up next to an oil refinery, and every day she saw its impact on her community of Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her family and friends suffered from asthma and other respiratory illnesses. School days were sometimes cancelled... ![Ibarra](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/SEAS%20Keutch%20Ibarra.png?itok=N0Zj8FAF) [### Gregory H. Robinson (U Georgia) delivers Percy Lavon Julian Prize Lecture ](/news/2026/03/gregory-h-robinson-u-georgia-delivers-percy-lavon-julian-prize-lecture) March 02, 2026 On Thursday, February 26, Gregory H. Robinson, the UGA Foundation Professor at the University of Georgia, delivered his Percy Lavon Julian Prize Lecture, "N-Heterocyclic Carbenes and Dithiolene Radicals: A Counterintuitive Main Group Chemistry Trek."... ![Greg Robinson](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-03/Robinson-nocera.jpg?itok=gQi1FdMe) [### New research: Sky-High Smoke ](/news/2025/12/new-research-sky-high-smoke) December 19, 2025 Some wildfires are so intense, they create their own weather – thunderstorms driven by heat that hurtle smoke as high as 10 miles into the sky like giant chimneys. When these smoke plumes reach the thin, calm air of the upper troposphere and lower... ![Keutch Graphic](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/Keutsch_pyrocb_figure_1.jpg?itok=bMyBXr4_) [ read more arrow\_circle\_right ](/news)