On April 17th of 2019, Prof. Li Deng of Westlake University visited the SKLEOC as an invited
speaker of the Nankai University Lectureship on Organic Chemistry. In addition
to academic communications with the faculty members of the institute, he gave a
speech entitled “Wean Bonding Catalysis with Organic Molecules” at 4 PM at the
Lecture Hall of Shixian Building.
Prior to
the talk, Prof. Qilin Zhou first presented to Prof. Deng the Nankai University
Lectureship on Organic Chemistry certificate on behalf of the SKLEOC. During
the talk, Prof. Deng thoroughly demonstrated his research in the field of
organocatalysis, especially focusing on the umpolung reactivities of imines
catalyzed by cinchona based catalysts. His 20 years of work was logically
presented starting from addition of simple alcohols to Michael acceptors to
asymmetric umpolung reactions between trifluoromethyl substituted imines and
unsaturated ketones and aldehydes. Prof. Deng showcased not only his scientific
insights, but also shared his experiences with young researchers among the
audience considering the difficulties and challenges in research processes. The
lecture hall was packed with an enthusiastic audience, as the discussions
session after the speech was full of inspiration.
Prof. Li Deng obtained his bachelor’s degree
from Tsinghua University and earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University. From
1995-2018, he was promoted from associated professor to full professor at
Brandeis University. In 2005, he became Orrie Friedman Distinguished Professor
of Chemistry, and was dean of the department of chemistry at Brandeis
University from 2011-2014. He is currently a professor at Westlake University
and executive dean of the School of Science. Prof. Li Deng’s research has been
recognized by awards such as Sloan Research Fellow, JSPS Fellow and The Chan
Memorial Award in Organic Chemistry.
