Bio

Jesse grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate studies, earning degrees in chemistry and economics. At UF, his fascination with inorganic chemistry began through undergraduate research in Prof. Leslie Murray's lab.

After graduation, Jesse pursued graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, where he joined Prof. David Goldberg's synthetic bioinorganic laboratory. His research focused on dioxygen activation by thiolate-ligated iron complexes, serving as synthetic models for sulfur-ligated oxidative nonheme iron enzymes.

Following his Ph.D., Jesse joined Harvard University as an NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow in Prof. Dan Nocera’s laboratory. There, his research encompassed molecular photochemistry, electrochemistry, and synthetic method development. Notably, he investigated highly oxidizing Ag(II) complexes capable of electrophotocatalytic fluoroalkylation of arenes using oxidatively inert fluoroalkylcarboxylate precursors.

Jesse began his independent academic career in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in September 2025.