Stories

The Tillman research group studies synthetic and mechanistic polymer chemistry, and had a productive first year at SCU.  Last summer, Ching Pan, Jessica Wu, Maya Arce, and Maddie Thursby had productive summers in the research lab.  Together we were able to finish a project and publish it in Macromolecules (all four students were coauthors).  The contribution outlined the unexpected effects that solvent plays in coupling reactions of polymer chain ends when assisted by radical traps and understanding the effect of solvent on reaction rates continues to be a major thrust of our research efforts.  In the academic year, Katherine Heiler and Megan Ching joined the group and were quick learners in the lab. They worked on projects ranging from aggregation of radical traps, macromolecular radicals derived from reversible addition chain transfer fragmentation polymerization, and polymerization initiators from Diels-Alder adducts. Maya Arce, Ching Pan, and Jessica Wu presented their work at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco in April 2017.   Both Katherine and Megan will stay this summer, along with Ching, Jessica, and Alexis Amano.  Projects will include synthesizing polymers and employing them in metal-free reactions and using “click” chemistry to produce macrocycles. It is also worth noting that Maya was awarded a DeNardo Scholar award, and Ching was chosen as the PolyEd winner for outstanding achievement in the Organic Chemistry series.  Pictured is most of the group (minus Alexis and Benn Bluestein) at our favorite crepes restaurant.