Dr. Robert J. Mayer
Academic Career and Research Areas
Dr. Mayer (b. 1994) conducts research at the interface of physical organic and computational chemistry. His work is focused on developing methods capable of predicting and rationalizing the outcome and mechanism of organic reactions in aqueous solutions by combining experimental studies of reaction kinetics and thermodynamics with methods from data science. This toolset will then be utilized to develop a quantitative approach to understanding the organic chemistry involved in the emergence of life and to investigate the mechanisms and dynamics in complex catalytic systems.
Dr. Mayer studied Chemistry and Biochemistry at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (2012–2017), where he subsequently did his PhD studies in the group of Prof. Herbert Mayr and Dr. Armin Ofial (2017–2020). During his doctorate, he investigated the reactivity of oxygen- and sulfur-nucleophiles with physical-organic and quantum-chemical methods and developed multireference scales to rank the strengths of Lewis acids and bases. In 2021, he joined the lab of Prof. Joseph Moran in Strasbourg (France) for a Postdoc, where he investigated the origins of biochemical amino acid metabolism from prebiotic chemistry. Dr. Mayer was awarded a Liebig fellowship from the Chemical Industry Found (VCI) to start his independent career at TU Munich at the beginning of 2024.
Awards
- Liebig Fellowship of the FCI (2024)
- Walter Benjamin Fellowship of the DFG (2021-2023)
- Römer Award for “outstanding research work in the doctorate studies” (2020)
- Kekulé PhD Fellowship by the FCI (2018-2020)
Key Publications (all publications)
Mayer, R. J.;* Moran, J.* Quantifying Reductive Amination in Nonenzymatic Amino Acid Synthesis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 134, e202212237.
AbstractLi, L; Mayer, P.; Stephenson, D. S.; Ofial, A. R.; Mayer, R. J.;* Mayr, H.* An Overlooked Pathway in 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions of Diazoalkanes with Enamines. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202117047.
AbstractMayer, R. J.;* Hampel, N.; Ofial, A. R.; Mayr, H. Resolving the Mechanistic Complexity in Triarylborane-Induced Conjugate Additions. ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 15298–15309.
AbstractMayer, R. J.; Kaur, H.; Rauscher, S. A.; Moran, J. Mechanistic Insight into Metal Ion-Catalyzed Transamination. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 19099-19111.
AbstractMayer, R. J.;* Ofial, A. R.; Mayr, H.; Legault, C. Y.* Lewis Acidity Scale of Diaryliodonium Ions toward Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Halogen Lewis Bases. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 5221-5233.
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