Neil Garg

Neil K. Garg is currently a Distinguished professor of chemistry and holds the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair at the University of California, Los Angeles. Garg's research is focused on the chemical synthesis of organic compounds, with an emphasis on the development of new strategies for the preparation of complex molecules possessing unique structural, biological, and physical properties. His group has made breakthroughs in catalysis, especially strong bond activation of esters and amides using nickel catalysts, and in the understanding and utilization of strained intermediates, such as arynes, cyclic alkynes, and cyclic allenes. His laboratory has completed the total syntheses of many natural products, including welwitindolinones, akuammilines, and tubingensin alkaloids. Garg is a co-Founder of ElectraTect, Inc.,

He has inspired a series of student-created music videos to encourage students to learn organic chemistry. He has led other projects, such as the Organic Coloring Book series, The O-Chem (Re)-Activity Book, the Backside Attack smartphone app, QR Chem, RS Chemistry, Virtual Reality Chemistry, ChemMatch, Biology And Chemistry Online Notes (BACON). and #MentorFirst.

Career
Garg received his B.S. from New York University in 2000. He went on to earn his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology, where he studied organic chemistry under the supervision of Brian Stoltz as a DoD NDSEG Fellow, completing his studies in 2005. Upon completion of his graduate work, he held an NIH post-doctoral appointment in the laboratory of Larry Overman at University of California - Irvine from 2005 to 2007.

Garg was promoted to Distinguished Professor at UCLA in 2020. In 2018, he became the inaugural holder of the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair in Chemistry & Biochemistry. He has served as Vice Chair for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (2012-2016) and currently serves as the Department Chair (2019–present). He also served as Faculty-in-Residence in the UCLA dormitories from 2012-2021.

Awards and honors

 * James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry, 2019
 * New York University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2019
 * Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, 2018