Alexander Miller

Professor, Director of Graduate Studies

   Kenan Laboratories A400
   919-962-4618
   ajmm@email.unc.edu
  Group Website
  Curriculum Vitae

Energy Catalysis, Synthetic Organometallic Chemistry, Metal-Ligand Cooperation

Research in the Miller group revolves around transformations relevant to global energy concerns, including the storage of solar energy in chemical fuels, proton-coupled electron transfer reactions, and hydrocarbon transformations. Our approach starts with the design and synthesis of transition metal catalysts, then shifts to examining catalyst performance with a focus on understanding reaction mechanism in order to inform catalyst improvements. Our catalysts feature multifunctional ligands: beyond simply supporting the metal center, the ligands position additional functionality in the secondary coordination sphere of the metal and work in concert with the metal center to enhance key steps in catalytic cycles.

University of Chicago, BS, 2005; California Institute of Technology, PhD, 2011; Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington, Seattle, 2011-2012; James Moeser Award for Distinguished Research, University Research Council, 2014; NSF CAREER Award, 2016; Sloan Research Fellowship, 2016;