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Latest News
Latest News
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.
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!
Using Light to Power Chemical Reactions
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
Older News Items
July '24: We had a great time at the WiSys SPARK Symposium! Eight (8!) posters, 10 students, 6-hr car ride, and the great Lake Superior. We had a wonderful time!
May '24: Alex Oberbroeckling joins the group as a College of EMS Summer Scholar. Welcome!
May '24: Nicki O'Leary, Hannah Popp, and Kylie Oberbroeckling join the group. Welcome!
May '24: Alex Cutty, Cohen Wojnowiak, and Jacob Seward were accepted into the Summer Undergraduate Scholars Program (SUSP) and will work this summer on Photomediated C-H Abstraction.
April '24: PCARD Poster Day! The group presented 6 different posters detailing our work this spring. Can't wait to see what comes next!
January '24: With the New Year the group has expanded (significantly!). Welcome Alex Cutty, Alex Litza, Cohen Wojnowiak, Isaac Stiles, Kate Jennejohn, Gillianne Wagner, Alaina Wolter, Jenna Konzal, Lazlo Camou, and McKenna Murley!
October '23: The Midwest and Great Lakes Regional Meeting was a huge success! Cory and Sydney presented posters, Dr. M gave a talk on our aryl fluorinated ether chemistry, and Sydney won an Outstanding Poster Award!
Older News
Older News
September '23: Joe Vanness joins the lab. Welcome!
July '23: Trevor's Summer Undergraduate Scholars Program (SUSP) final presentation was fantastic! Well done!
May/June '23: Sydney Tobin and Trevor Taylor join the lab. Welcome!
May '23: Good news keeps coming: Our ACS PRF Undergraduate New Investigator (UNI) proposal was recommended for funding! A huge thanks to ACS and to the students who paved the way for this project. It is definitely ice-cream time!
May '23: Dr. M is awarded the 2023 College of EMS Research Award! Congrats!
May '23: Got our new Kessil Photoreactor with 4 lights and the PR controller. Super excited to see what new chemistry we can illuminate!
May '23: Dr. M and Dr. Levenstein are awarded a WiSys Ignite Grant ($50,000!). Celebrate good times come on! We are excited to see this grant support future students on our project towards new agrochemical development.
April '23: Natalie Hayes, Cory, and Nathan all presented their work at the Pioneer Creative Activities and Research Day (PCARD). Natalie and Cory are spinning pyryliums while Nathan is teaching methylene blue a few new photochemical tricks.
March '23: Adia, Natalie Haen, and Cassie Kniess present our fluorinated ether chemistry at the Research in the Rotunda event in Madison. Way to represent our chemistry to UW System and our state legislators! Check out the photos too. They even have a photo with Chancellor Evetovich!
February '23: Our provisional patent on fluorinated ether synthesis is filed with the USPTO. Congrats to Mark Levenstein and Dr. M!
January '23: Dr. M is awarded the UW-Platteville 2023 Early Career Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence!
October 2022: Dr. M presented a talk and poster at the Midwest Regional ACS Meeting in Iowa City, IA.
Fall 2022: Cory Franklin and Nathan Soehner join the lab. Welcome!
August 2022: We attended the Wisys Spark Symposium at UW-Lacrosse where Dr. MacKenzie gave a talk on novel fluorinated ether synthesis for agrochemical development. The initial patent disclosure has been filed and patent talks are in the works!
July 2022: Anthony Malo and Natalie Haen join the lab, bringing the summer student crew to 4. Welcome Anthony and Natalie!
June 2022: The MacKenzie lab welcomes its youngest member. Emma Hope MacKenzie was born June 2nd and is doing amazing!
May 2022: Brooke graduated with high honors and is off to Purdue for her PhD in Organic Chemistry. Congratulations Brooke!
April 2022: Brooke, Adia, and Natalie presented their work at the Pioneer Creative Activities and Research Day (PCARD) on campus. Congrats!
March 2022: Brooke and Natalie presented their research to legislators and the public at the Research in the Rotunda event in Madison. Way to go!
January 2022: Adia Metz has joined the lab to work with Brooke on our photochemical fluorinated ether synthesis project. Welcome Adia!
December 2021: Celebration! Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Mark Levenstein in Biology was awarded the UW Regent Scholar Grant of $55,000 over two years.
October 2021: Submitted our ACS Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Undergraduate New Investigator (UNI) proposal with a whole day to spare. Now the long wait until the May announcements.
September 2021: After a very productive summer of research (congrats Natalie and Brooke!), we are headed into a busy fall of grant writing and spectroscopy. Thanks ACS WI for your research support this summer!
April 2021: Job opening for summer research here in the MacKenzie lab. Interested students can email Dr. MacKenzie. Deadline April 21st.
April 2021: Hurray! Our proposal on Pyrylium Synthesis and Characterization has been funded through the SAIF program here at UW-Platteville!
March 2021: Brooke has been accepted into the 2021 Summer Undergraduate Scholars Program here at UW-Platteville. Congratulations Brooke!
January 2021: The pandemic continues, but so do we. Brooke Steeno has joined on for research. Welcome Brooke!
December 21, 2020: Rebecca Joy MacKenzie is born! 7lbs 5oz and very healthy.
Fall 2020: We learned a lot from the summer. Pyryliums can be tricky beasts sometimes, but we are working to tame them. Madi Dekker and Elizabeth Becker joined on for research. Welcome Madi and Elizabeth!
June 2020: Aaron Coffey has signed on for summer research. Welcome Aaron!
January 2020: Six new undergraduate researchers have joined the lab. Welcome to Ally, Jared, Emma, Danielle, Emily, and Ian!
December 18, 2019: William Alexander MacKenzie is born. Smallest member of the lab at 2lbs 15oz.
September-December: Surviving first semester. Enjoyed teaching general Chemistry I
August 2019: The MacKenzie Lab has arrived in Platteville. Now getting settled...
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