Jin-Quan Yu received a B.Sc. (1987) from East China Normal University, an M.Sc. (1990) from Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, and a Ph.D. (1999) from the University of Cambridge. He was a research fellow (1998–2002) and junior faculty member (2003–2004) at the University of Cambridge, postdoctoral fellow (2001–2002) at Harvard University, and assistant professor of chemistry (2004–2007) at Brandeis University prior to his current affiliation with Scripps Research Institute, where he is the Frank and Bertha Hupp Professor of Chemistry. Jin-Quan Yu is a synthetic chemist pioneering new techniques for the functionalization of carbon-hydrogen (C–H) bonds. In order to create many of the chemical compounds used in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials science, inert C–H bonds in organic molecules must be broken so that a more complex cluster of atoms (the functional group) can be chemically attached—a process known as C–H functionalization. Activation of C–H bonds requires the use of metal-based catalysts that are guided to the targeted bond by other nearby directing functional groups (or ligands), which often must be removed to yield the desired product once the new functional group is attached.
| Types | Person, Academic |
| Gender | Male |