Dean J Tantillo

Dean Tantillo

Position Title
Professor

4465 Chemistry Annex
Bio

Research in the Tantillo group is driven by puzzling mechanistic questions. The group is particularly interested in elucidating the origins of low activation barriers and high regio- and stereoselectivities for various cascade polycyclization reactions used by Nature and by organic chemists to synthesize complex natural products, non-statistical dynamic effects and effects of entropy on selectivity of reactions occurring on both ground state and excited state surfaces, and applying quantum chemical predictions of NMR spectra to structure elucidation. 

Awards and Professional Highlights

  • Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society (2023)
  • ADVANCE Scholar Award, UC Davis (2022)
  • Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award, UC Davis (2021)
  • Inclusion & Diversity Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry (2017)
  • Fellow, American Chemical Society, ACSF (2017)
  • Associate Editor, ACS Omega (2017-2019)
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS (2016)
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, FRSC (2016)
  • Bertram Dillon Steele Lectureship, U Queensland (2016)
  • Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award: Graduate and Professional, UC Davis (2016)
  • Andrew Streitwieser Lectureship, UC Berkeley (2014)
  • Soaring to New Heights Diversity and Principles of Community Faculty Diversity Award, UC Davis (2014)
  • Natural Product Reports Lectureship (2012)
  • Lawrence J. Schaad Lectureship in Theoretical Chemistry, Vanderbilt University (2011)
  • Academic Senate Distinguished (Undergraduate) Teaching Award, UC Davis (2011)
  • Kavli Fellow, US National Academy of Sciences (2010 and 2011)
  • Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry Award for Early Excellence in the Field of Physical Organic Chemistry (2007)
  • NSF CAREER Award (2005)
  • Appointed to UC Davis faculty (2003)

Representative Publications

Education and Degree(s)
  • Postdoc, Applied Theoretical Chemistry, Cornell (2000-2003)
  • PhD, Organic Chemistry, UCLA (2000)
  • AB, Chemistry, Harvard (1995)

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