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Diego Benitez
PhD California Institute of Technology
Research Topics
Novel Supramolecular Polymeric Architectures
Aqueous Compatible Recognition Host-Guest Pairs
Applications of Olefin Metathesis to Supramolecular Chemistry
More about Diego
I was born in Mexico City in a family of Andalucian and Italian immigrants. I lived in the south part of the city and attended the Modern American School through highschool. I participated in the 28th International Chemistry Olympiad (honorable mention in Organic Chemistry) in Moscow, Russia and the Iberoamerican Chemistry Olympiad (Gold Medal) in Cocoyoc, Mexico. I attended the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico for 5 terms as a chemistry major and the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey for 3 terms as a EE major. I then obtained a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena under the mentorship of John D Roberts. At the end of the summer, I was accepted as a graduate student and completed my PhD degree in May of 2005 under the supervision of Robert H. Grubbs. I enjoy fast cars, faster bikes, and traveling to remote places. I like to listen to Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, die Arzte, Zemfira, and Camaron de la Isla.
Selected Publications
1) "The Isomerization Equilibrium between Cis and Trans Chloride Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalysts from Quantum Mechanics Calculations," Benitez, D.; Goddard, W. A. III., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 12218-12219.
2) "Synthesis of Cyclic Polybutadiene via Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization: The Importance of Removing Trace Linear Contaminants," Bielawski, C. W.; Benitez, D.; Grubbs, R. H., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 8424-8425.
3) "An "Endless" Route to Cyclic Polymers," Bielawski, C. W.; Benitez, D.; Grubbs, R. H. Science 2002, 297, 2041-2044.
4) "Synthesis of End-Functionalized Poly(norbornene)s via Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization," Bielawski, C. W.; Benitez, D.; Morita, T.; Grubbs, R. H., Macromolecules 2001, 34, 8610-8618.
