Recently, the Chinese Chemical Society announced the recipients of the “2024 Chinese Chemical Society Young Chemist Award.” Assistant Professor Gao Dewei from the School of Physical Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University has been awarded this prestigious honor.
Prof. Gao graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northeast Forestry University in 2011 and earned his PhD at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2016. From 2016 to 2020, he conducted postdoctoral research at Scripps Research and the University of California, Los Angeles. He joined ShanghaiTech University in September 2020.
Prof. Gao focuses on the study of organoboron compounds, investigating how these “chemical building blocks” can precisely “relocate (migrate)” and “transform (reshape)” in reactions while maintaining the correct “left-hand” or “right-hand” shape (chirality). Using diboron reagents and catalysts, he has developed innovative synthetic methods to construct molecular structures that were previously challenging to obtain. These achievements provide chemists with new “smart tools,” enabling faster and more precise production of functional molecules, including fragrances and pharmaceuticals. These advancements open new avenues for the precise synthesis, applications, and mechanistic studies of organoboron compounds.
The Chinese Chemical Society Young Chemist Award, established in 1983, is the society’s earliest academic award. It recognizes outstanding young chemists under the age of 35 who have demonstrated innovation, independent contributions in the fields of fundamental and cutting-edge chemical research, applied and industrial chemistry, or chemical education. The award is evaluated annually, and as of 2024, a total of 382 recipients have been honored with this distinction.