Skip to main content

Gabriel Lovinger

Gabriel Lovinger

The Lovinger group pursues the discovery and mechanistic study of selective chemical reactions. We apply a physical organic approach and modern tools to uncover broadly applicable mechanistic principles and strategies in catalysis.

The discovery of fundamental reactivity and selective catalytic methods to precisely construct molecules is a key driver of human innovation and sustainable synthesis. The Lovinger group draws inspiration from reactive intermediates as branching points in chemical reaction space where catalyst and reagent design can enable new reactivity and selectivity and expand our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of catalysis. We target intermediates that can be diverted to high value structures.

Some of our goals include:

  1. To systematically discover concise starting-material-to-product mappings.
  2. To develop the reactivity of underexplored reactive species.
  3. To elucidate the role of stabilizing interactions to accelerate and precisely control reactions of fundamental and practical importance.

Researchers in the Lovinger group benefit from training in a multidisciplinary approach to research grounded in physical organic chemistry and encompassing computational techniques, high-throughput experimentation, reaction discovery and optimization, air-sensitive synthesis, catalyst development, spectroscopy, kinetics, and mechanistic analysis.

Professional and Educational Experience

  • Harvard, NIH (F32) Postdoctoral Researcher, Prof. Eric N. Jacobsen Group, 2020-2024
  • Boston College, Ph.D., Prof. James P. Morken Group, 2014-2019
  • Boston College, Research Associate, Prof. Shih-Yuan Liu Group, 2013-2014
  • Universidad de País Vasco, San Sebastián, Spain, Student Researcher, Trans-Atlantic Science Student Exchange Program (TASSEP), Prof. Shih-Yuan Liu Group, 2010-2011
  • University of Oregon/Robert D. Clark Honors College, B.A. in Chemistry, Minor in Mathematics, Prof. Shih-Yuan Liu Group, 2008-2013

Selected Awards and Honors

  • MIT Future Faculty Symposium, 2022
  • Reaxys PhD Prize Finalist, 2020
  • Ereztech Young Organometallic Scientists Award, 2019
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NIH F32), 2019
  • Alfred R. Bader Award for Student Innovation in Synthetic Organic Chemistry; Finalist, presented in Darmstadt, Germany; 2018
  • LaMattina Family Graduate Fellowship in Chemical Synthesis, Boston College, 2017-2018
  • The Donald J. White Teaching Excellence Award, Boston College, 2016

Twitter (X)
LinkedIn

Publications

List of publications