Rate My Professor Rebecca Melen

Her research centers on main group (p-block) chemistry, developing Lewis acid catalysts as sustainable alternatives to transition metals for organic synthesis, including carbene transfer, C-H activation, and frustrated Lewis pair reactions. Key advancements include frustrated radical pairs for bond formation, flow electrosynthesis of phosphinamides, and selective C-H chalcogenation using B(C6F5)3. She has authored influential reviews and papers such as 'Insights into single-electron-transfer processes in frustrated Lewis pair chemistry' (Chemical Reviews, 2023), 'B(C6F5)3-catalyzed selective C-H chalcogenation of arenes and heteroarenes' (Chem, 2024), 'Frontiers in molecular p-block chemistry: From structure to reactivity' (Science, 2019), and 'Advances in CO2 activation by frustrated Lewis pairs' (Chemical Science, 2023). Melen has received the RSC Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Prize (2025), Philip Leverhulme Prize (2022), RSC Harrison Meldola Memorial Prize (2019), Learned Society of Wales Dillwyn Medal (2019), and Thieme Chemistry Journals Award (2018). She serves as Associate Editor for EES Catalysis (RSC), on the ACS Catalysis Editorial Advisory Board, and various journal advisory boards. With 168 invited lectures across continents and industry collaborations in pharmaceuticals, defense, semiconductors, and petrochemicals, her work advances greener synthetic methodologies.