Fernando Gonzalez

Fernando Gonzalez is a 2024-2028 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Kansas. Originally from Brownsville, TX he graduated from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Spring 2024 with his B.S in chemistry. During his undergraduate studies he developed his skills as a synthetic inorganic chemist, working with well-defined organometallic complexes featuring Al and Ni towards the goal of harnessing metal-metal cooperativity in catalysis. He worked in synthesizing, characterizing, and performing catalytic trials with these different metal complexes to promote the conversion of abundant and cheap raw materials into value-added products. He will use his experience as a synthetic chemist during his Ph.D. studies to develop new complexes geared towards small-substrate activation. His goal is to work at a R & D facility to keep producing innovative ways to utilize abundant materials into renewable products of societal interest.