This volume presents work from six different groups working on various aspects of cycloaddition chemistry. José Mascareñas gives us a very interesting account of the chemistry of &Bgr;-alkoxy-&ggr;-pyrones and related species. Al Padwa and Chris Staub discuss further advances in rhodium carbenoid chemistry and the unusual cycloaddition processes possible with these intermediates. Higher order cycloadditions mediated by transition metals highlight Jim Rigby's update on his group's efforts in this area. Lily Lee and John Snyder present us with a detailed account of the indole ring as a dienophile, challenging us to consider the untapped potential in this area. Brian Keay and Ian Hunt discuss the intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions of furan; a report that is both top-notch science, and what could be a great learning tool for students who need to see how fundamental chemical principles can and should be applied to synthetic problems. Finally, Kay Brummond introduces us to a new version of the Pauson-Khand reactions, one that will no doubt be further exploited in productive ways by her group well into the future.
Professor Michael Harmata graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago with honors and highest distinction in chemistry.
In 1980, he began graduate studies in chemistry at the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana where he was awarded a University Teaching Fellowship. He worked with Professor Scott E. Denmark on the invention of the carbanion-accelerated Claisen rearrangement. In his second year of study, he was awarded an Eastman Kodak Research Fellowship.
Upon graduation in 1985, he was awarded an NIH postdoctoral fellowship which he used to study with Professor Paul A. Wender at Stanford University, where he worked on the synthesis of the neocarzinostatin chromophore.
In 1986, Prof. Harmata began his independent career at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He became an Associate Professor in 1992 and a full professor in 1998. In 2000, he was named the Norman Rabjohn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in recognition of his achievements in research and teaching. In 1998, he received a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and stayed for a year at the University of Göttingen where he was affiliated with the groups of Professors Reinhard Brückner and Lutz. F. Tietze. In 2000, he served as chair of the Gordon conference on Organic Reactions and Processes. In 2010, he was named the first Justus Liebig Professor of Chemistry at the Justus Liebig Üniversität in Giessen, Germany. In 2011, he was a JSPS fellow. He has been a visiting professor in Giessen and Strasbourg and has delivered over 180 invited lectures in the United States and Europe. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry, and the Alexander von Humboldt Association of America.
