Dr. Jeffrey M. Farrell was born and raised in Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast. After an undergraduate introduction to chemistry research in the laboratory of Professor Robert Singer at Saint Mary’s University, he earned his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Toronto. In Toronto, under supervisor Professor Douglas Stephan, he studied small-molecule activation and hydrogenation catalysis using metal-free borenium ion “frustrated Lewis Pairs.” Following this, Dr. Farrell accepted an Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral fellowship to undertake research in Germany in the group of Professor Frank Würthner. In this group he researched new syntheses of novel π-conjugated molecular structures for use in optical and electronic applications, such as organic photovoltaic devices.
The Farrell group at National Taiwan University will pursue new synthetic pathways to organic π-conjugated structures bearing unique inclusions of main-group elements and non-hexagonal rings. These will be targeted for use in optical and electronic applications as well as in metallomimetic catalysis.