About Dan

Dan was born and raised in Oak Creek, WI where he had the opportunity to learn about chemistry, physics, and biology from a series of wonderful teachers. After graduating high school he attended Columbia University in New York where he received his B.A. in Chemistry and conducted research under Prof. Thomas Katz and then-graduate-student Dr. Spencer Dreher. In addition to learning foundational skills, Dan learned an appreciation for the link between creativity and synthetic chemistry. It is only synthetic chemists who can learn about the world by making new molecules! After completing his undergraduate studies, he moved to the west coast to undertake graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley where he worked with Prof. Jonathan Ellman on synthesis and application of tert-butanesulfinamide. At Berkeley, Dan gained an understanding of how synthetic chemistry impacts biology and the pharmaceutical industry as well as discovered his passion for inventing and perfecting new transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. Upon completion of his Ph.D. he began postdoctoral research with Prof. John Hartwig at Yale University, before moving with John to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As an NIH postdoctoral fellow, he worked on enantioselective Ir-catalyzed allylation reactions and gained an appreciation for how mechanistic understanding can drive the invention of new and better chemistry. In 2008, Dan began his independent career at the University of Rochester, receiving tenure in 2014. Dan returned to his home state as an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin in 2017. Currently, Dan is the Wayland E. Noland Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Outside of lab, Dan enjoys watching football, reading, riding his bicycles, and exploring the world with his wife, Stella, and their three children.

Contact Dan:
Shain Tower, Rm 5132
(608) 262-0541
dweix@wisc.edu