Research Sketch

Dr. Darko’s research interests center on developing the scope of reactions involving strained molecules. Specifically, he is interested in the ability of strained molecules to accelerate reactions and influence their stereochemical outcomes. His group investigates this concept in the areas of organometallic catalyst design, cycloaddition reactions, and organocatalysis.

Biography

Dr. Darko received his B.S. in chemistry from Guilford College in 2004 and his Ph.D. in 2010 from the University of Florida, where he studied tungsten-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation of functionalized amines under the direction of Prof. Lisa McElwee-White. He then performed postdoctoral research with Professor Joseph Fox at the University of Delaware studying trans-cyclooctenes and their bioorthogonal reactivity with tetrazines. Darko joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2014.