Article by Patrick Willoughby, student collaborators published in journal

Associate Professor of Chemistry Patrick H. Willoughby and three of his students contributed to an article published in Chemistry: A European Journal. Contributors to “Nitrene C−H Bond Insertion Approach to Carbazolones and Indolones, and a Reactivity Departure for 7-Membered Analogues” included Alexis M. Piette ’26 of Ripon, Wisconsin; Samuel P. Trzebiatowski ’25 of Custer, Wisconsin; Alexander E.K. Henriques ’26 of Kapaa, Hawaii; and professional colleagues of Willoughby’s.

Piette and Trzebiatowski worked on the research during the Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) program during the summer of 2023. Henriques contributed to the project as part of a semester independent study project.

“My collaborator, Mahesh Lakshman, and his students discovered a new class of molecules with an unusual structure,” Willoughby says. “My students modeled the NMR data of these new molecules using quantum mechanical calculations carried out on supercomputers. My students’ data strongly agreed with the experimental findings, suggesting that my collaborators were correct in the structure of the new molecules.”

A previous version of this article was published on Cambridge Open Engage, a collaborative platform to upload, share and advance early and open research.