Colin Gould

Contact

Title: 
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Department: 
Chemistry
Bio/CV: 
  • Sc. B. Brown University (2015)
  • Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley (2020)
  • Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow, Princeton University (2021–2024)
  • Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley (starting July 2025)
Research: 

Catalysis, Synthetic Methodology Development, Photochemistry, Electrochemistry

The Gould group aims to address long-standing challenges in pharmaceutical and fine chemical synthesis through an interdisciplinary approach. In particular, we seek to utilize physical stimuli— including light, electricity, and magnetic exchange— to manipulate the chemo-, regio-, or stereoselectivity of chemical reactions and to regulate (or switch) catalyst behavior. This stimulus-based strategy could bypass the time- and resource-intensive screening campaigns associated with conventional synthetic methods, instead allowing reaction selectivity to be dialed in with an appropriate wavelength, voltage, or field orientation. As reaction selectivity offers a precise probe for the energetics of molecular interactions, we also aim to discover fundamental insights into physical phenomena through this research.