Andrew Zahrt

Principal Investigator

About

Andrew was born and raised in Fremont, MI, a small rural town in west Michigan. He graduated from Aquinas College (Grand Rapids, MI) in 2014 with degrees in Biology and Chemistry. Later that year, he began his PhD research with Prof. Scott Denmark at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a graduate student, he developed an interest in using computational methods to guide experimental efforts. During this time, he contributed to the development of a data-driven workflow for catalyst design and used applied quantum chemistry for mechanistic elucidation. With this experience working at the interface of experimental chemistry and data science, Andrew became interested in using automated experimentation to streamline implementation of data-driven methods in organic chemistry. This led him to pursue a postdoctoral position in the the laboratory of Prof. Klavs Jensen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2020. As a member of the Jensen laboratory, Andrew developed a machine-learning-guided workflow for reaction discovery, using it in conjunction with automated experimentation to discover unreported synthetic electrochemical reactions. Andrew’s current interests include developing accessible computational methods to aid experimentalists. This includes developing new data-driven approaches for reaction optimization, catalyst design, analysis, and reaction discovery.

Awards

2022 Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

2020 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

2018-2019: Pines Award, Fuson Award, Voorhees Award (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

2016-2020: Pines Fellowship, Coleman Fellowship, University Fellowship, Hannum Fellowship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)