Daniel J. O'Leary

Carnegie Professor of Chemistry
With Pomona Since: 1994
  • Expertise

    Expertise

    As an organic chemist, Daniel O’Leary is interested in developing new methods for determining the solution conformation of molecules. Students in his laboratory synthesize target compounds designed to mimic motifs found in nature; they then employ the technique of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to probe the solution conformation of the designed systems.

    Research Interests

    Methods for determining the solution conformation of molecules

    Areas of Expertise

    CHEMISTRY

    • Organic Chemistry
    • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Work

    Work

    With others, "On the Origin of Conformational Kinetic Isotope Effects," Angewandte Chemie International Edition, March 7, 2011

    With D. Hickstein and others, "Theoretical and NMR Studies of Deuterium Isotopic Perturbation of Hydrogen Bonding in Symmetrical Dihydroxy Compounds," Journal of Organic Chemistry, 75:5 (2010), pp. 1331–1342; doi: 10.1021/jo902075z. (Sarah Roh '12 designed artwork which appeared in the table of contents and on the journal's cover. URL: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jo902075z)

    With C. Anderson, “Direct Assignment of the Relative Configuration in Acylic 1, 3-Diols by 1H NMR Spectroscopy,” Organic Letters, 5721-5723, 2005

    With B.D. Allen, J.C. Cintrat, N. Faucher, P. Berthault, and B. Rousseau, "An Isosparteine Derivative for Stereochemical Assignment of Stereogenic (Chiral) Methyl Groups using Tritium NMR: Theory and Experiment," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 127, 412-420, 2005

    With M.B. Fierman, W.E. Steinmetz and S.J. Miller, "Structure-Selectivity Relationships and Structure for a Peptide-Based Enantioselective Acylation Catalyst," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 126, 6967-6971, 2004

    With B.D. Allen, "Fomenting Proton Anisochronicity in the CH2D Group," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 125, 9018-9019, 2003

    With M.L. Ferguson and R.H. Grubbs, "Ring-Closing Metathesis Synthesis of N-Boc-3-Pyrroline," Organic Syntheses, 80, 85-92, 2003

  • Education

    Education

    Ph.D.
    University of California, Los Angeles

    Bachelor of Arts
    Linfield College

    Recent Courses Taught

    • Independent Research in Chemistry
    • Organic Chemistry with Lab
    • NMR Spectroscopy
    • Critical Inquiry Seminar
  • Awards & Honors

    Awards & Honors

    Pomona College, Wig Distinguished Professorship Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1997, 2003, 2008 & 2013

    Pomona College, Irvine Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award, 2003

    Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award,1999

    University of California, Los Angeles, Winstein Dissertation Prize, 1991