Current Position: Venture Scoping Associate, Rainmaking APAC

B.S.E. Thesis Research:

Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) is a type of chain-growth polymerization that uses metal carbene catalysts and olefin monomers to synthesize “living”, well-controlled polymer chains. Early research on ROMP in the 1950s focused on finding effective catalysts for different olefin monomers. Since then, researchers have leveraged the flexibility and precision afforded by ROMP to not only discover interesting polymer functionalities, but to also reproduce commercially used polymers.

My senior thesis aims to expand the architectural functionality of ROMP polymers, specifically the star-shaped polymers. Star-shaped polymers can be synthesized by introducing di-functional, tri-functional or tetra-functional aldehydes as coupling agents. My thesis aims to characterize the kinetics and efficiency of the coupling reaction between different monomers and aldehydes of varying functionalities.