The Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program in the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation supports Professor Charles L. Perrin of the University of California, San Diego, who will perform research to elucidate the relation between molecular structure and chemical reactivity. The research covers a wide range of topics, including symmetry of hydrogen bonds; isotope effects, conformational effects, the reactivity of a p-benzyne diradical toward nucleophiles, and the reactivity of malonic anhydrides. The success of these studies will rely on powerful and informative nuclear magnetic resonance methods.
This is all curiosity-driven basic research. The projects are excellent for training students to formulate and test hypotheses, to ask and answer questions, to solve problems, to use modern instrumentation, to analyze data, and to exercise critical thinking. The eventual utility of these studies remains long-range, inasmuch as they are not aimed at practical application but at developing a thorough understanding that will guide further research. Professor Perrin has been appointed as Chair of an international task force charged with revising the online IUPAC Glossary of Terms Used in Physical Organic Chemistry, which provides a major service to students and researchers.
