Paul J. Chirik PhD

Paul J. Chirik was born outside of Philadelphia, PA, and obtained his B.S. degree from Virginia Tech in 1995. During that time, he began his career in organometallic chemistry by conducting undergraduate research with Professor Joseph S. Merola. Chirik completed his Ph.D. in 2000 at Caltech working with John Bercaw to understand fundamental transformations relevant to group 4 metallocene-catalyzed alkene polymerization. After a brief postdoctoral appointment with Christopher C. Cummins at MIT, he began his independent career at Cornell University. While in Ithaca, Chirik was promoted to Associate Professor in 2006 and was named the Peter J. W. Debye Professor of Chemistry in 2009. In 2011, he and his research group moved to Princeton University, where he is currently the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Chemistry.

Chirik leads an international research team with collaborations in the chemical industry focused on applications ranging from chemically recyclable plastics to new catalysts for drug discovery and manufacture. In 2015, was named Editor-in-Chief of Organometallics. Chirik and his colleagues have authored more than 200 publications and patents and his research applies organometallic chemistry to problems in sustainable chemistry and catalysis. He is currently the Associate Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton and a member of the leadership team of the Princeton Catalysis Initiative. Away from chemistry, Chirik enjoys spending time with his daughters, is a supporter of the Princeton Girl Choir, and the Princeton Soccer Association, and a devoted fan of both the Princeton University Women’s Basketball and Soccer teams.