Journey, Ryan, Kara, Baela, Healeam, and Sam show that pyromellitic dihydrazides are a hydrolytically stable upgrade to classic pyromellitic diimides — now published in Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry.

We’ve been awarded a new NSF grant to explore pyrazoloindazoles as long wavelength chromophores and emitters — excited to fund twelve students over the next three years.

Can you cram phosphonium groups onto the smallest diimides? Turns out, yes. Feven, Min Ji, Daniela, Conor, and Steven show how in Chemistry – A European Journal, complete with some striking radical chemistry.

Adam, Daniela, and Xavier expand the diimide family — their synthesis and characterization of 1,2,3,4-naphthalene and anthracene diimides is out in Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Organic Syntheses, Inc. is funding two students this summer to work on cycloadditions of 3-arylmaleimides with maleimides.

How do you make unique organic chemistry exams for every student? Dennis wrote up our approach in a chapter for Engaging Chemistry Students with Real-World Context (ACS Symposium Series).

The ACS Petroleum Research Fund is supporting our work on the synthesis and characterization of novel aromatic dihydrazides.

Dennis contributed a chapter on self-assembly templated by radical-radical interactions to Supramolecular Nanotechnology (Wiley). A fun opportunity to step back and review the field.

The Bunz Lab collaboration continues to be fruitful. This second generation of cata-annulated azaacene bisimides pushes electron affinities even further. Published in ChemPlusChem.

A true team effort — Brian, Kellie, Stella, Feven, Healeam, Cathy, and Adam all contributed to this one. We finally cracked the synthesis of halogenated benzene-1,2,3,4-tetracarboxylic diimides. Out now in J. Org. Chem.

Our teaching project gets the writeup treatment — the paper describing RealOrganicChemistry.org and how we use literature reactions in the classroom is out in Journal of Chemical Education.

Macalester has been awarded a Beckman Scholars Program grant from the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation — a tremendous opportunity for our undergraduate researchers.

We had a busy Spring, with three students successfully defending their honors theses… congrats to Adam, Brian, and Cathy!

Dennis has been named a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar by the Dreyfus Foundation, recognizing accomplishments in both research and teaching.

Our diimides made their way to Germany and the Bunz Lab and turned into a fun series of azaacenes with NIR absorptions and great electron affinities.

Conor fended off the pandemic with a presentation and successful defense of his Honors work. Conor will stick around Macalester for a little, take a gap year, then pursue a PhD at UC Berkeley. Congrats Conor!

It’s official! Dennis has received tenure at Macalester, which was only possible because of the contributions of everyone who spent time in the Cao Lab.

Five alumni accepted PhD offers: Joe (Purdue), Kellie (Georgia Tech), Kofi (UT Austin), Stella I. (Johns Hopkins), and Stella L. (Caltech).

Lab awarded an NSF RUI grant for research on aromatic diimide stabilized acenes and radicals.

Paper on an exceptionally stabilized phosphonium ylide published in Chemistry – A European Journal.

Article on angled aromatic diimide and heteroacenes accepted by Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Kellie Stellmach selected for ACS Organic Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Dennis received the 2019 Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement.

Penny Kahn’s thesis on harvestman mating gifts published in Ecology and Evolution.

First article published in ACS Omega on cationic pyromellitic diimides.

Eman successfully defended her honors thesis on cage synthesis.

Ferroelectric paper published in JACS demonstrating two dimensions of polarization.

Four summer students welcomed through the HHMI Young Researchers program.

The ACS Petroleum Research Fund has funded our proposal on the synthesis and characterization of naphthalene and biphenylene tetraimides. Looking forward to putting six students to work on this.

Penny successfully defended her interdisciplinary Honors thesis on harvestmen secretions.

Kellie Stellmach joined the lab as a first-year student.

Eman awarded the Mindlin Foundation 2017 Undergraduate Mentored Research fellowship.

ACS Petroleum Research Fund approved our research proposal for funding.

Fraser Stoddart, Dennis’s PhD advisor, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

We received funding from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to develop green chemistry lab experiments for introductory and advanced chemistry courses at Macalester.

Six summer students began research through various funding sources.

Dan successfully defended his Honors thesis.

Dan received an NSF GRFP Honorable Mention.

Mohammed Modan joined the lab as a sophomore chemistry major.

Penny Kahn joined the group as a junior studying biology with a chemistry minor.

Combiflash Rf+ automated chromatography instrument operational in the lab.

Dan Lee joined as a senior in the Macalester Honors Program.

Dennis begins his independent career at Macalester officially on August 1, 2015. In the meantime, he has excitedly spent some time creating this rudimentary website. Hopefully it will be filled with interesting news updates as the years go on.