Charles Perrin

Charles L. Perrin is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Biochemistry (recalled to active service) at the University of California, San Diego. He earned an A.B. from Harvard College in 1959 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1963 under F. H. Westheimer. Following an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, he joined UCSD in 1964 as an assistant professor of chemistry. As one of the first members of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Perrin has contributed over six decades to the institution, serving as a Revelle College Faculty Fellow, Academic Senate representative, and mentor in the Revelle Mentorship Program.

Perrin's research in physical organic chemistry investigates molecular structure, mechanisms of organic reactions, and effects of structure on reactivity through NMR studies of hydrogen-bond symmetry, isotope effects, stereoelectronic effects on reactivity including the anomeric effect, steric hindrance, aldol condensations, and nucleophilic addition to p-benzyne diradicals derived from enediynes. Key publications include “Strong” hydrogen bonds in chemistry and biology (Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, 1997), “Are short, low-barrier hydrogen bonds unusually strong?” (Accounts of Chemical Research, 2010), “The Complete Mechanism of an Aldol Condensation” (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016), “Symmetry of Hydrogen Bonds: Application of NMR Method of Isotopic Perturbation and Relevance of Solvatomers” (Molecules, 2023), and co-authorship of the IUPAC Glossary of terms used in physical organic chemistry (Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2022). He authored Principles of Organic Chemistry and has published extensively, with his laboratory receiving continuous NSF funding for nearly 40 years. Perrin taught introductory organic chemistry for four decades to large classes, earning near-perfect evaluations and profoundly influencing generations of students and researchers. His honors include the 2015 ACS James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, 2017 ACS San Diego Section Distinguished Scientist Award, 2022 Distinguished Professor in the Graduate Division, 2001 UCSD Chancellor’s Associates' Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching, 1994 UCSD Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1967), and AAAS Fellow (1984).

Professional Email: cperrin@ucsd.edu