"Quantum Mimicry: A New Paradigm in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry"
Assistant Professor Joe Zadrozny - Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University 
Host: Dianne Xiao

My group is a physical inorganic chemistry group devoted to understanding how to control spin (unpaired electrons or magnetic nuclei) through molecular synthetic chemistry. Our efforts are largely fundamental, understanding how different functional groups, counterions, or other features manipulate magnetic properties, much like a synthetic chemist would tune a molecule to enable desired reactivities. In this talk, I will provide an overview of these efforts and focus on a larger fundamental goal, which is a concept we call “quantum mimicry.” To reach this goal, we are asking fundamental questions: “How do we make an electron that will act (magnetically) like a nucleus?” Or, alternatively, “How do we make nucleus that mimics the magnetic properties of an electron?” We will present the results of our synthetic, inorganic chemistry efforts to answer these questions. The larger goals of these mimicry activities are new, transformative molecular imaging probes that convey physiological signatures that conventional (and incredibly powerful) 1H magnetic resonance imaging is blind to. The importance of our results in this context will also be described.