Dr. Dennis P. Curran is a distinguished organic chemist and leading authority in synthetic methodology development who currently holds the Covestro Professorship of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. Born in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1953, he earned his BS degree from Boston College in 1975 before completing his PhD at the University of Rochester in 1979 under the guidance of Andrew S. Kende. Following postdoctoral research with Barry Trost at the University of Wisconsin, he joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemistry as an Assistant Professor in 1981, achieving rapid advancement to Associate Professor in 1986 and Full Professor in 1988. His distinguished career trajectory culminated in his appointment as Distinguished Service Professor in 1995, the first Bayer Professor of Chemistry in 1996, and most recently as the Covestro Professor of Chemistry in 2019, reflecting his enduring scholarly excellence and leadership in chemical sciences.
Dr. Curran's pioneering research has fundamentally transformed multiple subdisciplines of organic chemistry through his groundbreaking contributions to radical chemistry, which established novel pathways for carbon-carbon bond formation that have become indispensable in pharmaceutical synthesis. His innovative development of fluorous chemistry techniques created powerful new separation methodologies that significantly enhance the efficiency of complex molecule synthesis, particularly in medicinal applications where purity is paramount. The ligated borane chemistry approaches he pioneered have enabled unprecedented control in hydroboration reactions, providing synthetic chemists with versatile tools for stereoselective synthesis that have been incorporated into standard organic chemistry textbooks. These methodological advances have collectively advanced the field by providing more efficient, selective, and environmentally conscious pathways to complex molecular architectures with applications spanning drug discovery to advanced materials science.
Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Curran has profoundly influenced the chemistry community through his mentorship of generations of chemists, many of whom now hold prominent positions in academia and industry worldwide, continuing his scientific legacy. His scholarly excellence has been recognized with prestigious honors including the Ernest Guenther Award in 2015, the Chaire Blaise Pascal Award in 2006, and his selection as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in the inaugural class of 2009. Dr. Curran's familial connection to chemistry—his father Dr. William V. Curran being the inventor of the third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic cefuzonam—highlights a remarkable multi-generational contribution to chemical science that underscores his deep commitment to the field. As he continues his research at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Curran remains at the forefront of innovative synthetic methodology development, inspiring new approaches that will undoubtedly continue to influence chemical synthesis for decades to come.
