Neil K. Garg is a Distinguished

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and holds the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. Garg's research is focused on the chemical synthesis of organic compounds, with an emphasis on the development of new strategies to prepare complex molecules possessing unique structural, biological, and physical properties. His group challenges long-standing paradigms of reactivity. The Garg lab is known for making breakthroughs in catalysis, especially strong bond activation of esters and amides using nickel catalysts, and in the understanding and use of distorted, strained intermediates, such as arynes, cyclic alkynes, cyclic allenes, and cyclic 1,2,3-trienes. In 2024, they developed practical synthetic chemistry of anti-Bredt olefins, addressing the 100-year old textbook rule known as

Bredt's Rule In organic chemistry, an anti-Bredt molecule is a Bridged compound, bridged molecule with a double bond at the Bicyclic molecule, bridgehead. Bredt's rule is the empirical observation that such molecules only form in large ring systems. For exam ...

. The Garg laboratory has completed the total syntheses of many natural products, including welwitindolinones, akuammilines, tubingensin alkaloids, and lissodendoric acid A. In 2020, Garg co-Founded ElectraTect, Inc. Garg is also a prominent educator and has received many accolades for his classroom teaching, including the Cherry Award. He has inspired a series of student-created

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to encourage students to learn organic chemistry. He has led other projects, such as the Organic Coloring Book series, The O-Chem (Re)-Activity Book, the Backside Attack smartphone app, QR Chem, RS Chemistry, Virtual Reality Chemistry, ChemMatch, Biology And Chemistry Online Notes (BACON). and #MentorFirst. In 2023, Garg created a successful summer camp called Chem Kids to teach organic chemistry to children.

Career

Sources: Garg received his B.S. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 2000. He went on to earn his Ph.D. at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, where he studied organic chemistry under the supervision of

Brian Stoltz Brian M. Stoltz is currently a professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. The primary focus of his research is chemical synthesis with an emphasis on expanding the scope of allylic alkylation for the preparation of complex ...

as a DoD NDSEG Fellow, completing his studies in 2005. Upon completion of his graduate work, he held an NIH post-doctoral appointment in the

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

of Larry Overman at University of California - Irvine from 2005 to 2007. Garg was promoted to Distinguished Professor at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 2020. In 2018, he became the inaugural holder of the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair in Chemistry & Biochemistry. He has served as Vice Chair for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (2012-2016) and (2023–present) and served as the Department Chair (2019–2023). He also served as Faculty-in-Residence in the UCLA dormitories from 2012-2021.

Awards and honors

Garg has received more than fifty honors and awards for his research and teaching. * ACS David A. Evans Award for the Advancement and Education of Organic Synthesis, 2025 * Horizon Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024 * AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science, 2023 * Mukaiyama Award, 2022 * Horizon Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021 * Edward Leete Award from the ACS, 2019 * James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry, 2019 *

’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2019 * Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, 2018 * ACS Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis, 2017 * Guggenheim Fellowship, 2016 * California’s Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2015 * Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, 2015 * Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, 2013 * AP Sloan Research Fellowship, 2012

References

External links

Garg's research group
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garg, Neil University of California, Los Angeles faculty California Institute of Technology alumni 1978 births Living people 21st-century American chemists