Christopher C. Cummins

Cummins was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 28, 1966.{{cite web |title=Member Directory - Christopher C. Cummins |url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/20041803.html |website=National Academy of Sciences}} He attended Middlebury College and Stanford University before transferring to Cornell University where he performed undergraduate research under the direction of Peter T. Wolczanski.{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/~chemistry/urop/bios/cummins/cummins.html |title=Professor Christopher C. Cummins |work=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |access-date=17 March 2023}} At Cornell, Cummins conducted research on the reactivity of low-coordinate zirconium and titanium complexes bearing bulky silanamide ligands (^tBu₃SiNH⁻), with small molecules such as methane, benzene, and carbon monoxide.{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Baxter|first2=Steven M.|last3=Wolczanski|first3=Peter T.|date=1988|title=Methane and benzene activation via transient (tert-Bu3SiNH)2Zr:NSi-tert-Bu3|url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja00234a044|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=110|issue=26|pages=8731–8733|doi=10.1021/ja00234a044|bibcode=1988JAChS.110.8731C |issn=0002-7863}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Van Duyne|first2=Gregory D.|last3=Schaller|first3=Christopher P.|last4=Wolczanski|first4=Peter T.|date=1991|title=Carbonylation of zirconium complex [tert-Bu3SiNH]3ZrH and x-ray structural study of [tert-Bu3SiNH]3ZrCH3|url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/om00047a044|journal=Organometallics|volume=10|issue=1|pages=164–170|doi=10.1021/om00047a044|issn=0276-7333}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Schaller|first2=Christopher P.|last3=Van Duyne|first3=Gregory D.|last4=Wolczanski|first4=Peter T.|last5=Chan|first5=A. W. Edith|last6=Hoffmann|first6=Roald|date=1991|title=Tri-tert-butylsilyl)imido complexes of titanium: benzene carbon-hydrogen activation and structure of [(tert-Bu3SiNH)Ti]2(.mu.-NSi-tert-Bu3)2|url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja00008a029|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=113|issue=8|pages=2985–2994|doi=10.1021/ja00008a029|bibcode=1991JAChS.113.2985C |issn=0002-7863}}

After graduating from Cornell with an AB degree in 1989, Cummins went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to obtain his PhD in chemistry in 1993 under the direction of Richard R. Schrock.{{cite thesis |title=Synthetic investigations featuring amidometallic complexes |date=1993 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |degree=PhD. |last=Cummins |first=Christopher Colin |hdl=1721.1/12718|oclc=28863744}} {{free access}} Cummins conducted doctoral research on the synthesis of low-coordinate transition metal complexes bearing trialkylsilated variants of the tris(2-aminoethyl)amine ligand.{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Schrock|first2=Richard R.|last3=Davis|first3=William M.|date=April 1, 1992|title=Synthesis of vanadium and titanium complexes of the type RM[(Me3SiNCH2CH2)3N] (R = Cl, alkyl) and the structure of ClV[(Me3SiNCH2CH2)3N]|url=https://doi.org/10.1021/om00040a011|journal=Organometallics|volume=11|issue=4|pages=1452–1454|doi=10.1021/om00040a011|issn=0276-7333}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Lee|first2=Jenny|last3=Schrock|first3=Richard R.|last4=Davis|first4=William D.|date=1992|title=Trigonal-Monopyramidal MIII Complexes of the Type [M(N3N)] (M = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe; N3N = [(tBuMe2Si)NCH2CH2]3N)|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.199215011|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English|volume=31|issue=11|pages=1501–1503|doi=10.1002/anie.199215011|issn=1521-3773}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Schrock|first2=Richard R.|last3=Davis|first3=William M.|date=1993|title=Phosphinidenetantalum(V) Complexes of the Type [(N3N)Ta=PR] as Phospha-Wittig Reagents|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.199307561|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English|volume=32|issue=5|pages=756–759|doi=10.1002/anie.199307561|issn=1521-3773}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=C. C.|last2=Schrock|first2=R. R.|date=1994|title=Synthesis of an iron(IV) cyanide complex that contains the triamido amine ligand [(tert-BuMe2SiNCH2CH2)3N]3-|url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ic00080a033|journal=Inorganic Chemistry|volume=33|issue=2|pages=395–396|doi=10.1021/ic00080a033|issn=0020-1669}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=Christopher C.|last2=Schrock|first2=Richard R.|last3=Davis|first3=William M.|date=March 1, 1994|title=Synthesis of Terminal Vanadium(V) Imido, Oxo, Sulfido, Selenido, and Tellurido Complexes by Imido Group or Chalcogenide Atom Transfer to Trigonal Monopyramidal V[N3N] (N3N = [(Me3SiNCH2CH2)3N]3-)|url=https://doi.org/10.1021/ic00085a038|journal=Inorganic Chemistry|volume=33|issue=7|pages=1448–1457|doi=10.1021/ic00085a038|issn=0020-1669}} In collaboration with Robert E. Cohen, he also discovered a new technique for synthesizing nanoclusters of metal sulfide semiconductors within block copolymer microdomains.{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=C. C.|last2=Beachy|first2=M. D.|last3=Schrock|first3=R. R.|last4=Vale|first4=M. G.|last5=Sankaran|first5=V.|last6=Cohen|first6=R. E.|date=November 1, 1991|title=Synthesis of norbornenes containing tin(II), tin(IV), lead(II), and zinc(II) and their polymerization to give microphase-separated block copolymers|url=https://doi.org/10.1021/cm00018a036|journal=Chemistry of Materials|volume=3|issue=6|pages=1153–1163|doi=10.1021/cm00018a036|issn=0897-4756}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cummins|first1=C. C.|last2=Schrock|first2=R. R.|last3=Cohen|first3=R. E.|date=1992|title=Synthesis of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide within ROMP block copolymer microdomains|url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/cm00019a011|journal=Chemistry of Materials|volume=4|issue=1|pages=27–30|doi=10.1021/cm00019a011|issn=0897-4756}}

After receiving his PhD in 1993, Cummins was invited to stay at MIT as an assistant professor and was later promoted to full professor in 1996. Cummins became the Henry Dreyfus Professor in Chemistry in 2015.{{cite news |url=http://chemistry.mit.edu/three-faculty-named-chairs |title=Three Faculty named to Chairs |date=March 13, 2015 |work=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |access-date=May 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916002903/http://chemistry.mit.edu/three-faculty-named-chairs |archive-date=September 16, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

In one contribution, Cummins and coworkers described routes to simple phosphorus compounds including a low temperature route to diphosphorus:{{cite journal|last1=Piro|first1=Nicholas A.|last2=Figueroa|first2=Joshua S.|last3=McKellar|first3=Jessica T.|last4=Cumnins|first4=Christopher C.|date=September 1, 2006|title=Triple-Bond Reactivity of Diphosphorus Molecules|url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1129630?sid=36a0bf77-afd2-4306-acae-8774aae98e66|journal=Science|volume=313|issue=5791|pages=1276–1279|bibcode=2006Sci...313.1276P|doi=10.1126/science.1129630|pmid=16946068|access-date=July 21, 2013|s2cid=27740669}}

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In 2007, Cummins was awarded the 2007 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences by Tel Aviv University{{cite news |url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/85/i34/Sackler-Prize-Winners-Announced.html |title=Sackler Prize Winners Announced |date=August 20, 2007 |journal=Chemical & Engineering News |volume=85 |issue=34 |pages=75–76 |first=Linda |last=Wang}} and the 2007 F. Albert Cotton Award by the American Chemical Society.{{cite news |url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/85/i3/F-Albert-Cotton-Award-Synthetic.html?PageSpeed=noscript |title=F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry |date=January 15, 2007 |journal=Chemical & Engineering News |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=60 |first=Ron |last=Dagani}}

In 2008, Cummins was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.{{cite news |url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/86/web/2008/04/American-Academy-Arts-Sciences-Elects.html |title=American Academy Of Arts & Sciences Elects New Fellows |date= April 29, 2008 |journal=Chemical & Engineering News |first=Sophie L. |last=Rovner}}

In 2013, Cummins was awarded the Ludwig Mond Award by the Royal Society of Chemistry.{{cite news |url=http://chemistry.mit.edu/cummins-selected-rsc-ludwig-mond-award |title=Cummins selected for RSC Ludwig Mond Award |work=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |date=April 29, 2013 |access-date=May 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915234821/http://chemistry.mit.edu/cummins-selected-rsc-ludwig-mond-award |archive-date=September 15, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

In 2017, Cummins was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.{{cite news |url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/may-2-2017-NAS-Election.html |title=News from the National Academy of Sciences |work=National Academy of Sciences |date=May 2, 2017}} In the same year, the American Chemical Society awarded Cummins the 2017 Linus Pauling Medal in recognition of his synthetic and mechanistic studies of early-transition metal complexes.{{cite news |url=https://news.mit.edu/2017/mit-chemistry-professor-kit-cummins-wins-acs-linus-pauling-medal-0628 |title=Kit Cummins awarded the American Chemical Society Pauling Medal |work=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |date=June 28, 2017 |first=Danielle |last=Randall}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty

Category:21st-century American chemists

Category:Cornell University alumni

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni

Category:1966 births

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