Dr. Robert Martin

B.Sc., University of Maryland, College Park, 2018

Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 2023

Robert was born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. He initially planned on becoming a high school math/science teacher and earned his B.Sc.’s in Mathematics Education and Chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. After taking a graduate course in advanced physical organic chemistry in his junior year and helping an organic chemistry professor write the lab manual for Organic Chemistry I, he discovered an exciting new passion for chemistry research and changed his trajectory to pursue a Ph.D. He earned his Ph.D. in computational chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park for his computational studies of transition metal-catalyzed and photocatalyzed organic transformations. He joined the MacMillan lab in August 2023 as an NSF MPS-Ascend Fellow to get hands-on experience and perspective in the field of organic synthesis. Outside of lab, Robert enjoys battling Pokémon, playing the Digimon TCG, and listening to music.

Fun Facts

• Robert is certified to teach Math and Chemistry in the State of Maryland.
• Prior to joining the MacMillan lab, the last “wet lab” chemical research experiences Robert had were during an internship in High School.
• Robert has extensive knowledge of the pop music and the Billboard Hot 100 charts of the 2010’s.