People
Valerie A. Schmidt
Principal Investigator
Valerie, originally from Maryland, earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Towson University. She then pursued graduate studies under the supervision of Prof. Erik Alexanian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a Burroughs-Wellcome and Venable Fellow she synthesized a series of oxygen-centered radical precursors to achieve olefin difunctionalizations as well as developed an N-haloamide reagent for selective aliphatic C-H bond halogenation. She subsequently moved to the laboratory of Prof. Paul Chirik at Princeton University where she studied as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow. While at Princeton, Valerie synthesized reduced iron and cobalt complexes supported by redox active ligands that catalyze [2+2] cycloadditions of unactivated alkenes. She then made the journey across the country to join the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego in July 2016.
vschmidt at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5224A
Principal Investigator
Valerie, originally from Maryland, earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Towson University. She then pursued graduate studies under the supervision of Prof. Erik Alexanian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a Burroughs-Wellcome and Venable Fellow she synthesized a series of oxygen-centered radical precursors to achieve olefin difunctionalizations as well as developed an N-haloamide reagent for selective aliphatic C-H bond halogenation. She subsequently moved to the laboratory of Prof. Paul Chirik at Princeton University where she studied as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow. While at Princeton, Valerie synthesized reduced iron and cobalt complexes supported by redox active ligands that catalyze [2+2] cycloadditions of unactivated alkenes. She then made the journey across the country to join the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego in July 2016.
vschmidt at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5224A
| schmidt-cv-2018sept-web.pdf |
Kristine Luong
Graduate Student Researcher - Joined in 2020
Kristine was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA before relocating to San Diego to attend UCSD where she recieved a B.S. in Biochemistry/Chemistry. While there, she discovered her affinity for organic chemistry fostered first by Carl Hoeger and then the Schmidt Group whose lab she worked in as an undergraduate. She decided to continue in the Schmidt lab for graduate school to work on developing synthetic methods rooted in the selectivity of heteroatom-centered radicals. In her free time she enjoys listening to internet radio shows and responsibly social distancing with her partner.
krluong at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5121
Graduate Student Researcher - Joined in 2020
Kristine was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA before relocating to San Diego to attend UCSD where she recieved a B.S. in Biochemistry/Chemistry. While there, she discovered her affinity for organic chemistry fostered first by Carl Hoeger and then the Schmidt Group whose lab she worked in as an undergraduate. She decided to continue in the Schmidt lab for graduate school to work on developing synthetic methods rooted in the selectivity of heteroatom-centered radicals. In her free time she enjoys listening to internet radio shows and responsibly social distancing with her partner.
krluong at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5121
Hiya Datta
Graduate Student Researcher - Joined in 2021
Hiya was born and raised in various cities around the San Fransicso Bay Area. She then moved to Pennsylvania to attend Bryn Mawr College where she recieved a B.A. in Chemistry. While there, she recieved guidance from her research advisor, Dr. Patrick Melvin, primarily focusing on synthetic organic chemistry. After graduating in 2021, she returned to California and joined the Schmidt group at UCSD where she works on developing complexes for catalyzing [2+2] carbonyl/imine-olefin photocycloadditions. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, cooking, and exploring new resturants and cuisines.
hdatta at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5121
Graduate Student Researcher - Joined in 2021
Hiya was born and raised in various cities around the San Fransicso Bay Area. She then moved to Pennsylvania to attend Bryn Mawr College where she recieved a B.A. in Chemistry. While there, she recieved guidance from her research advisor, Dr. Patrick Melvin, primarily focusing on synthetic organic chemistry. After graduating in 2021, she returned to California and joined the Schmidt group at UCSD where she works on developing complexes for catalyzing [2+2] carbonyl/imine-olefin photocycloadditions. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, cooking, and exploring new resturants and cuisines.
hdatta at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5121
Victoria Lerda
Graduate Student Researcher - Joined in 2021
Victoria was raised in northern California after immigrating from Argentina at a very young age. In 2021, she earned her B.S. in Chemical Sciences from UC Merced where she conducted research in the lab of Dr. Benjamin Stokes as a UC LEADS Scholar. Her research focused on developing a Bronsted acid catalyzed dearmoative spirocyclization method. Victoria joined the Schmidt group where she is working on developing scalable procedures to sythesize bio-sourced polyurethanes through radical-mediated amination strategies. She is an ACS Bridge Program scholar and her work is supported in part through a UCSD MRSEC Seed Grant.
vlerda at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5121
Graduate Student Researcher - Joined in 2021
Victoria was raised in northern California after immigrating from Argentina at a very young age. In 2021, she earned her B.S. in Chemical Sciences from UC Merced where she conducted research in the lab of Dr. Benjamin Stokes as a UC LEADS Scholar. Her research focused on developing a Bronsted acid catalyzed dearmoative spirocyclization method. Victoria joined the Schmidt group where she is working on developing scalable procedures to sythesize bio-sourced polyurethanes through radical-mediated amination strategies. She is an ACS Bridge Program scholar and her work is supported in part through a UCSD MRSEC Seed Grant.
vlerda at ucsd dot edu
Pacific Hall 5121
