More about moi: a very brief history

Prof. Erik A. Romero
Principal Investigator

Office: Tata Hall 1205
E-mail: earomero@ucsd.edu

Education and Research

01/2019 - 06/2021                 Development of catalytic C-H functionalization methods 

                                             Univ. of Calif. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

                                             Advisor: Dr. John F. Hartwig                             

                                             California Alliance Postdoctoral Fellow


04/2018 - 06/2018                Electrochemical generation of stable organic radicals 

                                             University of Grenoble-Alpes

                                             Advisor: Dr. David Martin 

                                             Grenoble, France


08/2014 - 12/2018                 Applications of carbenes to the stabilization of reactive metal fragments as well as

                                             the development of novel carbene-copper catalyzed transformations

                                             Univ. of Calif. San Diego, La Jolla, CA

                                             Advisor: Dr. Guy Bertrand

                                             Ph.D. in Chemistry

                                            

07/2013 - 09/2013                 Design and characterization of solid lithium-ion electrolyte materials

                                             Los Alamos National Laboratory – LANSCE

                                             Advisor: Dr. Luc Daemon

                                             Los Alamos, NM


01/2012 - 06/2014                Development of chemical hydrogen storage materials

                                            Univ. of Calif. Riverside, Riverside, CA

                                            Advisor: Dr. Thomas H. Morton

                                            B.Sc. in Chemistry

Biography

Erik attended UC Riverside for his undergraduate education. During his time there, he worked in the group of Prof. Thomas Morton on the design of chemical hydrogen storage materials for light-duty automobiles. After his 3rd year, Erik had the opportunity to travel to Los Alamos National Lab to conduct neutron scattering studies on new solid-state electrolyte materials. Following graduation in 2014, Erik moved to Prof. Guy Bertrand's lab at UC San Diego to work with stable carbenes and leverage them as ligands in transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. As part of this research, Erik traveled to Grenoble, France to apply electrochemical techniques to the preparation of organic radical species and to elucidate the mechanisms of radical reactions. For postdoc, Erik moved to Prof. John Hartwig's lab at UC Berkeley to identify conditions enabling silylation and borylation methods of alkyl C-H bonds and to learn the nuances of mechanistic investigations by physical-organic strategies. Upon his move back to UCSD to open his own lab, Erik will bring light into the equation to drive chemical reactions of enthalpically strong bonds. 

Awards and Honors

Independent Career
2023 - Hellman Fellow

Pre-independence
2020 - Chemistry & Biochemistry Outstanding Dissertation Award [UC San Diego]
2019 - Chancellor’s Dissertation Medal [UC San Diego]
2019 - California Alliance Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow [UC Berkeley]
2018 - ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Travel Grant
2016 - Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Fellow [UC San Diego]
2014 - ACS Undergraduate award in Inorganic Chemistry
2012 - Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC-U*) Fellow [UC Riverside]
2010 - University Honors program [UC Riverside]

earomero@ucsd.edu

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