#  Vy Dong 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **May 8, 2025** 

 04:15PM - 05:15PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Pfizer Lecture Hall**  



 

 



 

Title: "Choose Your Own Adventures in Metal-Hydride Catalysis"

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Abstract: Metal hydrides promote a wide-range of organic transformations that include both C-C bond making and C-C bond breaking processes. This lecture will highlight the development of Rh and Co-catalysts for use in enantioselective hydrofunctionalizations (e.g., hydroacylation, hydroamination, hydrothiolation, and/or hydrogenation). In addition, a unique transfer hydroformylation will be described that allows conversion of aldehydes/alcohols to olefins. The presentation emphasizes mechanistic studies that showcase the role of counter-ions for controlling selectivities. Lastly, we disclose applications of these catalysts for transforming feedstocks into more complex building blocks and natural products.

Biography: Vy was born in Big Spring, Texas, and grew up in Anaheim, California. She earned her chemistry degree with high honors at UC Irvine, completing a thesis project with Larry Overman on the Biginelli condensation. She then pursued graduate studies at UC Berkeley with David MacMillan (2021 Nobel Laureate) as one of his first graduate students; she later moved with the Dave’s group to Caltech, where she completed her Ph.D. Her doctoral research focused on zwitterionic-Claisen rearrangements and the total synthesis of erythronolide B. As an NIH postdoctoral fellow, Vy trained in organometallic and supramolecular chemistry with Robert Bergman and Kenneth Raymond at Berkeley. She began her independent career at the University of Toronto, where she was promoted with tenure and named the Adrian Brook Professor. After six winters in Canada, she and her research team relocated to UC Irvine, where she is now a Chancellor’s Professor, a title recognizing academic merit and achievement. Vy’s research has been recognized with national awards including the ACS EJ Corey Award, ACS Cope Scholar Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. She teaches organic chemistry and advanced synthesis labs. Vy serves as an associate editor for *Organic Syntheses* and RSC’s *Chemical Society Reviews*.



 

 



 

 

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