News

Congratulations to Negin, Farzana and Sam on their recent publication in The Journal of Organic Chemistrty! Their work introduces a new carbazole-based photocatalyst to promote radical alkylation reactions from a broad range of alkyl halide precursors. The carbazole catalyst was found to display unique versatility, capable of engaging with substrates under both halogen-bonding and traditional photoredox catalysis mechanisms. You can check out the article here.

Pitre Lab undergraduate researcher Emmie McRorie was recently recognized as one of the OSU Seniors of Significance for the 2026-2027 academic year! The OSU Seniors of Significance Award recognizes students who truly exemplify and embody the Cowboy Code, which honors the University’s land-grant mission and commends academic achievements, character and personal impact. These students represent the top one percent of seniors, including all five OSU undergraduate academic colleges. Congratulations, Emmie!!

Congratulations John and Martin on their recent publication in JACS Au!! Their work leverages Vitamin B₁₂ photocatalysis to promote the direct halocyclopropanation of alkenes in a single step using simple haloforms. The method is highly selective for the formation of cis-halocyclopropanes, which have been traditionally difficult to prepare. You can check out the article here.

Pitre Lab undergraduate researcher Emmie McRorie was recently named a Niblack Research Scholar for the 2026-2027 academic year! This prestigious scholarship, made possible through the generosity of Dr. John Niblack, provides outstanding undergraduate students with valuable research experience at an early stage of their academic career. This award will support Emmie's research on the preparation of strained spirocyclopropanes using Vitamin B₁₂ photocatalysis. Congratulations, Emmie!!

Congratulations Subrata, Martin, and Negin on their recent publication in Organometallics!! This Tutorial Review focuses on the use of base metal photocatalysts in photoredox transformations, discusses their advantages and drawbacks in relation to sustainability, and introduces the reader to the types of excited state reactivity that can be observed for each base metal. You can check out the article here.

Congratulations to John Hayford Teye-Kau for successfully defending his PhD dissertation in November and for his recent graduation!! John's work in the Pitre Lab concentrated on leveraging nucleophilic cobalt photocatalysis to enable the preparation of cyclopropanes using simple feedstock chemicals like dichloromethane and haloforms as methylene sources. Congrats again, Dr. Teye-Kau!!

Congratulations Tarannum, Negin, and Pitre Lab alumni Katelyn and Bailey on their recent publication in The Journal of Organic Chemistry!! Their work demonstrates a dual catalytic approach for radical generation from gem-bromodifluoroesters and amides by combining halogen-bonding photocatalysis and a catalytic Finkelstein reaction. You can check out the article here.

Congratulations to Tarannum Tasnim for successfully defending her PhD dissertation!! Tarannum's work in the Pitre Lab concentrated on leveraging halogen-bonding interactions between hydroquinone catalyts and fluoroalkyl halides to promote radical fluoroalkylation reactions under visible light irradiation. Congrats again, Dr. Tasnim!!

Congratulations to Viraj and Kaitlin on their recent publication in Tetrahedron Chem!! The publication is part of the Photocatalysis in Organic Synthesis Special Issue, and their work introduces an updated intermittent illumination technique using modern LED technologies to study radical chain reactions. You can check out the article here.