MacKenzie Lab

Latest News

May '26: Summer Research begins. Welcome Cameryn, Zara, Abby, and Julian!

May '26: Brendan, Peter, Zach, Yana, and Henry all presented posters at the ACS Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting! Dr. M also gave a talk and we had a great time discussing our collective work in Hershey.

May '26: Dr. M's review on HFiPr group methodology has been accepted a special issue of Isr. J. Chem. Link coming soon!

January '26: A new lab group emerges. Welcome Zach, Yana, Henry, Brendan, Peter, and Stoney!

October '25: Our first Muhlenberg paper has been accepted! Check out our review of Cation-Radical SNAr reactions in ChemPhotoChem!

August '25: Day 1 at Muhlenberg College. Excited to be here and get things started!

May '25: The MacKenzie Lab is moving east! Dr. M will be joining the faculty at Muhlenberg College in August. Excited to start a new chapter as we continue our efforts in photomediated organic synthesis.

April '25: Alex C. and Alaina present posters at the annual Posters Day on campus. Also, Sydney won 2nd place in the WiSys QuickPitch Competition! Way To Go!

April '25: Alex C. and Cohen presented our HFIP work at the Research in the Rotunda event at the Capitol in Madison.

Using Light to Power Chemical Reactions

The MacKenzie lab is interested in developing and studying new organic reactions powered by light. We envision that many of these reactions may be used in the development of important pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals among other uses. Our studies focus on the use of acridinium and pyrylium dyes to harvest light energy and convert it to chemical energy through photoinduced single electron transfer (PET). PET results in open-shell radical intermediates which possess unique reactivity that is often orthogonal to traditional closed shell anionic pathways. We are interested in understanding reaction mechanisms and applying this knowledge in the synthesis of bioactive compounds. As a result, our interests lie in the general areas of physical organic chemistry, organic synthesis, and catalysis.

Older News Items

April '25: Dr. M attended the ACS National Meeting in San Diego and gave a talk. It was a great meeting and we now have multiple new and potential collaborators.

March '25: Dr. M had a wonderful visit and talk at the University of Kansas. Incredibly grateful for the invitation and the many new friends in this department. Go Jayhawks!

November '24: Our group's second paper is accepted at Chemistry - A European Journal!! Congratulations to Jenna, McKenna, Alaina, Lazlo, Alex, Madi, Gillianne, Kate, Madison, Natalie, Cory, Sydney and Elizabeth!

October '24: We had a great time at the 2024 Midwest ACS Meeting in Omaha, NE. Alex C., Cohen, Alex O., Sydney, Alaina, Jenna, and McKenna all presented posters and Dr. M gave two talks.

August '24: Our group's first paper is accepted at Chemistry - A European Journal!! Huge congrats to Brooke, Sydney, Natalie, Adia, Cohen, Trevor, Alex C., Alex L., Isaac, Nathan, Alex O., Nicki, and Hannah!