Trevor A. Hamlin FRSC
Assistant Professor, Track-Coordinator Master Chemistry (joint-degree)
I strive to empower those around me with the confidence to advance the scientific field, each and every day. I motivate my students and colleagues to solve problems, which likely seem tough while they do it, but after they make a breakthrough and unravel the problem, I think they feel invincible. I am a trained synthetic organic chemist who is now enthralled by the wonders of computational chemistry. I am interested in truly understanding the mechanism of reactions. Towards that goal, I leverage high-level calculations and elegant experimental techniques to gain insight into the operative mechanism of pericyclic reactions, SN2 vs E2 reactions, catalysis, DNA replication, and many more! Check out my publication list for an idea of the chemistry we actively pursue in my research group.
I enjoy teaching nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, molecular modeling for sustainability, physical organic chemistry (POC) at the MSc level and several other computational chemistry courses. I foster a safe environment for students to hone their scientific investigation ability, increase their writing quality, and perfect their presentation skills. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time with my wife (Mary Kate) and daughter (Emerson), gardening, reading magazines and books, traveling the world, and of course cycling!
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Curriculum Vitae
Assistant Professor (with tenure)
Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 12/2019-present
Assistant Professor
Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 07/2018-12/2019
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 09/2015-07/2018
Supervisor: F. Matthias Bickelhaupt
Ph.D. in Chemistry
Thesis: "Development of New Synthetic Methods, Mechanistic Elucidation of Novel Organic Reactions Using Quantum Calculations, and Harnessing the Power of Continuous Flow Technologies"
Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut,
09/2010-05/2015
Supervisor: Nicholas E. Leadbeater
B.S. in Biochemistry (cum laude, ACS Certification, and Departmental Distinction)
Thesis: "Delocalization of Charge and Electron Density in the Humulyl Cation"
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Albright College, 09/2006-05/2010
Supervisor: Christian S. Hamann
Awards and Memberships
2023 Inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
2023 Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Chemistry – A European Journal
2023 Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ChemPhysChem
2023 Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
2022 Microsoft Research PhD Grant (400,000 euro)
2021 Track Coordinator of the MSc Chemistry Program
2020 Member of the MSc Chemistry Program Committee
2020 University Teaching Qualification (Basiskwalificatie Onderwijs)
2020 Member of the Early Career Advisory Board of Chemistry – A European Journal
2020 Member of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV)
2019 Member of the Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC)
2016 30 Under 30 Award: Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
2014 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (used to visit the Tanillo Group at UC Davis)
2014 Zaiput Flow Technologies Challenge Grant
2013 Poster Award at Zing Conference on Microwave and Flow
Chemistry
2012 Member of the American Chemical Society
2011 Chemistry Alumni Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
2010 Benjamin H. Handorf Chemistry Prize
2010 Eileen Walker Memorial Award
2009 Undergraduate Student Travel Award: Division of Organic Chemistry of the ACS
2006-2010 The Presidential Scholarship
2006-2010 The Cecilia Hand and Morgan Hand, II Memorial Scholarship Award
2006-2010 Ocean City Masonic Club “Foster Karney” Foundation Scholarship
2006-2010 National Honor Society Scholar