Gwendolyn A. Bailey

2018 Alumni Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow

Originally from the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, Gwen completed her PhD in chemistry with Prof. Deryn Fogg at the University of Ottawa. There, she studied the intrinsic reactivity and decomposition of the active species in ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis, an exceptionally powerful and "green" technology for building carbon-carbon bonds. She also built on these insights to improve catalyst productivity and reduce waste. Her research was recognized by the Inorganic Division of the Canadian Institute for Chemistry, with its 2018 "AGWIC" award for graduate work in inorganic chemistry, and by a postdoctoral fellowship from Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). At Caltech, Gwen's research focused on new ways to activate carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ using mixed-metal complexes. With emerging technologies for efficiently capturing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, this research could lead to powerful strategies for taking advantage of atmospheric CO₂ to synthesize renewable, carbon-neutral liquid fuels.

Gwen is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota

Faculty Sponsor: Theodor Agapie