Grzybowski group has pioneered applications of artificial intelligence and network theory to synthetic chemistry – this work has given rise to the creation of the Chematica/Synthia platform for computerized retrosynthesis of complex molecules, including natural products (Nature 2020a), as well as the Allchemy software for the discovery of new synthetic methodologies and new functional molecules (Science 2020, Nature 2022).
Our current interests in this arena focus on computer-driven discovery of new reactions and catalysts and also on robotized systems in which chemical AI controls and optimizes actual experiments. We are also very active in a quest to develop “smart” systems that, in one vessel, perform multiple chemical reactions and/or processes – for instance, multistep synthetic cascades (Nature 2020b) or processes (Nature 2022c).
We are also working at the intersection of molecular chemistry with nanotechnology to develop platforms for selective catalysis (JACS 2021) as well as therapeutic warheads for selective cancer intervention (Nature Nanotech 2020). Overall, we are a diverse crowd of chemists, physicists, and biologists and we pursue research that we think is paradigm-shifting and/or addresses important societal needs. Our group is a place to consider if you are passionate about science and would like to make chemistry a truly high-tech enterprise!