Lithium Compounds in Organic Synthesis: From Fundamentals to Applications

Renzo Luisi is Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Bari "A. Moro" - Italy. He graduated summa cum laude in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Bari (Italy) in 1996. In 2000 he obtained the PhD in Chemical Sciences (supervisor Prof. S. Florio) and in 2001 was hired as Assistant Professor at the University of Bari. Four years later, in 2005, he was appointed Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the same university. He has been visiting scholar at the University of Illinois (USA) working in the group of Prof. P. Beak, and visiting Professor at the University of Manchester (UK), Brown University (USA) and the University of North Carolina (USA). The main research interests are organometallic chemistry (mainly lithium and boron chemistry), small heterocyles chemistry, asymmetric synthesis and dynamic NMR spectroscopy. In 2010 he has been awarded with a special funding program for young scientists from the Italian Ministry of Education and Research to start researches in the field of sustainable chemistry and microreactor technology. The research activity is highlighted in more than 70 scientific publications in peerreviewed international journals, book chapters, reviews and several international collaborations.

Vito Capriati obtained his M.S. degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology (summa cum laude) from the University of Bari "Aldo Moro"(Italy) in 1990. After working as a forensic chemist officer within the Carabinieri's RIS (Scientific Investigation Department) of Rome and earning a two-year graduate fellowship within the Italian National Research Council (CNR Centre MISO, then merged into ICCOM-CNR), in 1993 he became Assistant Professor before taking up his present appointment as Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry in the University of Bari in 2002. He has been Visiting Scientist at The Ohio State University (USA) (Prof. Fraenkel's group) (2001), and Visiting Professor at the Gothenburg University (Sweden) (2003). He is departmental coordinator of two Erasmus Programmes and co-founder of the academic spin-off SYNCHIMIA srl. His research interests include functionalized organolithiums (structure elucidation, dynamic stereochemistry of chiral compounds, and the discovery of new reactions), strained cycles in organic synthesis, organofluorine and organoboron chemistry, new sustainable chemical processes, cross-coupling reactions, and the development of new drugs for rare diseases. He has (co-) authored over 90 scientific publications including 5 book chapters and 5 reviews. He has been the recipient of the CINMPIS Prize for "Innovation in Organic Synthesis" (2009) and the Italian coordinator of an Italian-German bilateral Vigoni Project (2012-2013).