Robert Gilliard

Robert J. Gilliard, Jr. is an American chemist and researcher who is the Novartis Associate Professor of Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research involves the synthesis of molecules for energy storage, molecular materials, and main-group element mediated bond activation. He is a member of the editorial advisory board at Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical Communications, and Angewandte Chemie, among other scientific journals.

Robert J. Gilliard
Born
Hartsville, South Carolina
Alma materUniversity of Georgia
Clemson University
Scientific career
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Virginia
ETH Zurich
Case Western Reserve University
ThesisGroup 2 organometallic chemistry : an excursion into the chemistry of highly reactive organoberyllium complexes (2014)

Early life and education

Gilliard is from Hartsville, South Carolina.[1] He attended Hartsville High School, where he was president of the student body.[2] He was an undergraduate student at Clemson University, where he studied chemistry and worked on organometallic transition metal compounds.[3][4]

He moved to the University of Georgia for his doctoral research, where he worked alongside Gregory H. Robinson. His doctoral research considered Group 2 organometallic chemistry.[5][6] He was a UNCF Merck Fellow at ETH Zurich and Ford Foundation Fellow Case Western Reserve University, and worked on highly reactive phosphorus species.[7][8]

Research and career

In 2017, Gilliard joined the faculty at the University of Virginia, where he was promoted to associate professor in 2022.[1] He spent 2021 as a Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and moved there in 2022.[9]

Gilliard investigates molecular systems for energy storage and catalysis. He has investigated smart materials that are responsive to external stimuli, such as light, heat and mechanical force. Gilliard has proposed thermochromic materials that could be used in combat uniforms when soldiers adapt to different temperatures or terrains. The thermochromic materials developed by Gilliard contain thermoluminescent air-stable, colour-tuneable borafluorenium ions.[10][11]

Gilliard has also investigated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for energy conversion. He introduces main-group atoms into polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and investigates the optical and electronic properties. He has shown that the introduction of boron can facilitate modulation of electronic structure or the ability to activate gas molecules such as carbon dioxide.[12] He has demonstrated alkaline earth complexes with redox- and coordination-state flexibility that offer new possibilities for bond activation,[13] and bismuth-containing small molecules for C-H activation.[14]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

References
  1. "| Gilliard Research Laboratory". gilliardgroup.chem.virginia.edu. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  2. "Robert Gilliard Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements". www.allamericanspeakers.com. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  3. Reeve, Erin (10 March 2021). "Meet Organometallics' 2021 Distinguished Author Award Recipient". ACS Axial | ACS Publications. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  4. Melvin, Jim (7 September 2020). "Pair of CU chemistry grads named to C&EN's Talented 12 Class of 2020". Clemson News. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  5. "Group 2 organometallic chemistry : an excursion into the chemistry of highly reactive organoberyllium complexes | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  6. Gilliard, Robert J.; Abraham, Mariham Y.; Wang, Yuzhong; Wei, Pingrong; Xie, Yaoming; Quillian, Brandon; Schaefer, Henry F.; Schleyer, Paul v. R.; Robinson, Gregory H. (20 June 2012). "Carbene-Stabilized Beryllium Borohydride". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 134 (24): 9953–9955. doi:10.1021/ja304514f. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 22670857.
  7. Gilliard, Robert J.; Heift, Dominikus; Benkő, Zoltán; Keiser, Jerod M.; Rheingold, Arnold L.; Grützmacher, Hansjörg; Protasiewicz, John D. (2018). "An isolable magnesium diphosphaethynolate complex". Dalton Transactions. 47 (3): 666–669. doi:10.1039/c7dt04539e. ISSN 1477-9226. PMID 29242885. S2CID 4045258.
  8. Gilliard, Robert J.; Suter, Riccardo; Schrader, Erik; Benkő, Zoltán; Rheingold, Arnold L.; Grützmacher, Hansjörg; Protasiewicz, John D. (14 November 2017). "Synthesis of P2C2O2 and P2CO via NHC-mediated coupling of the phosphaethynolate anion". Chemical Communications. 53 (91): 12325–12328. doi:10.1039/C7CC07654A. ISSN 1364-548X. PMID 29095454.
  9. "Visiting Assistant Professor 2021-2022". 2021.
  10. "Air-Stable Thermoluminescent Carbodicarbene-Borafluorenium Ions". dx.doi.org. doi:10.1021/jacs.1c11861.s001. S2CID 245733434. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  11. Wentz, Kelsie E.; Molino, Andrew; Weisflog, Sarah L.; Kaur, Aishvaryadeep; Dickie, Diane A.; Wilson, David J. D.; Gilliard, Robert J. (May 2021). "Stabilization of the Elusive 9‐Carbene‐9‐Borafluorene Monoanion". Angewandte Chemie. 133 (23): 13175–13182. doi:10.1002/ange.202103628. ISSN 0044-8249. S2CID 241226260.
  12. Wentz, Kelsie E.; Molino, Andrew; Freeman, Lucas A.; Dickie, Diane A.; Wilson, David J. D.; Gilliard, Robert J. (14 September 2022). "Activation of Carbon Dioxide by 9-Carbene-9-borafluorene Monoanion: Carbon Monoxide Releasing Transformation of Trioxaborinanone to Luminescent Dioxaborinanone". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 144 (36): 16276–16281. doi:10.1021/jacs.2c06845. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 36037435. S2CID 251931742.
  13. Obi, Akachukwu D.; Frey, Nathan C.; Dickie, Diane A.; Webster, Charles Edwin; Gilliard, Robert J. (12 September 2022). "N‐Heterocyclic Carbene‐Assisted Reversible Migratory Coupling of Aminoborane at Magnesium". Angewandte Chemie. 134 (43). doi:10.1002/ange.202211496. ISSN 0044-8249.
  14. "A Multidimensional Approach to CarbodiphosphoraneBismuth Coordination Chemistry: Cationization, Redox-Flexibility, and Stabilization of a Crystalline Bismuth Hydridoborate". dx.doi.org. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c03337.s001. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  15. "Main-group marvel is solving big problems with cheaper starting materials". cen.acs.org. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  16. "Gilliard Receives 2021 Thieme Chemistry Journals Award | Gilliard Research Laboratory". gilliardgroup.chem.virginia.edu. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  17. Advancement, Research Corporation for Science. "Eight Projects Win Scialog: Negative Emissions Science Funding". Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  18. "5 College Faculty Members Win the NSF's Prestigious Career Award | Giving". give.as.virginia.edu. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  19. "UVa Chemistry Professor Robert J. Gilliard, Jr. Named a 2021 Sloan Fellow | Department of Chemistry". chemistry.as.virginia.edu. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  20. "Beckman Foundation Announces 2021 Beckman Young Investigator Awardees". Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  21. "UVA Chemist Robert Gilliard's Research Earns Him a Packard Fellowship". UVA Today. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  22. "UVA Honors Faculty for Their Research and Scholarship". UVA Today. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  23. "Dr. Lloyd N. Ferguson Professional Award". www.nobcche.org. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  24. "ACS 2023 National Award winners". cen.acs.org. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  25. Advancement, Research Corporation for Science. "RCSA's 1st Holland Awards Celebrate 6 Distinguished Scholars". Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
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