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Alistair Sterling

Alistair Sterling

Assistant Professor – Chemistry & Biochemistry
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Professional Preparation

Postdoctoral Fellow
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab - 2022
Affiliate Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California, Berkeley - 2022
EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship
University of Oxford - 2021
DPhil - Organic Chemistry
University of Oxford - 2021
MChem - Chemistry
University of Oxford - 2017

Research Areas

The Sterling Lab combines computational modelling, theoretical physical organic chemistry and electronic structure theory to advance our understanding of chemical reactivity. Reactivity fundamentally underpins advances in chemistry, biochemistry, materials science, and pharmaceutical research, and we aim to develop new concepts and computational tools to promote innovation in each of these areas. In particular, we work closely with synthetic chemists to probe reaction mechanisms, focusing on catalysis, molecular editing, and polymer upcycling. Members of the Sterling Lab will learn a variety of skills that include reaction mechanism interrogation, physical organic chemistry, coding and data analysis, and scientific communication. We also encourage outreach and community engagement, and welcome members of the public to get in touch with us to find out more about what we do.

Publications

Mechanistic Insights into the Origins of Selectivity in a Cu-Catalyzed C–H Amidation Reaction 2024 - Journal Article
Beyond Strain Release: Delocalization-Enabled Organic Reactivity 2024 - Journal Article
Chemical Bonding and the Role of Node-Induced Electron Confinement 2024 - Journal Article
Chemical bonding and the role of node-induced electron confinement 2023 - Other
Redox Reorganization: Aluminium Promoted 1,5‐Hydride Shifts Allow the Controlled Synthesis of Multisubstituted Cyclohexenes 2023 - Journal Article
Mechanistic insights into the origins of selectivity in a Cu-catalyzed C–H amidation reaction 2023 - Other
Amino-oxetanes as amide isosteres by an alternative defluorosulfonylative coupling of sulfonyl fluorides 2022 - Journal Article
Single photon double and triple ionization of allene 2022 - Journal Article

Awards

EPSRC Doctoral Prize Award - EPSRC [2021]
Global Young Scientists Summit - NRF Singapore [2021]
Young Modellers' Forum Best Talk Prize - Molecular Graphics & Modelling Society [2019]
Oxford Radcliffe Graduate Scholarship - University College, Oxford [2017]
Bannister Thesis Prize - University of Oxford [2017]
Glaxo-Smith-Kline Thesis Prize - University of Oxford [2017]

News Articles

Towards a unified theory of chemical bonding
Explaining trends across the periodic table with the help of node-induced electron confinement
Chiral 3D cages for drug discovery
The development of reactions that introduce three-dimensionality and chirality into molecules is an important goal in drug discovery. In this Post, we tell the story of the development of one such reaction, and the lessons we learned about photoredox organocatalysis.