Biography

    Nathan is a native of Southern Utah. He was born in Cedar City, graduated from Cedar High School, and attended college at Southern Utah University. While at SUU, he was awarded a Department of Energy Undergraduate Laboratory Fellowship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. During his time at ORNL he studied the reducing potential and growth of biopolymers for application in hydrogen fuel cells under the supervision of Dr. Hugh O’Neill.  In 2005, Nathan graduated from SUU with a double major in chemistry and biology and enrolled in the highly respected chemistry graduate program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His first year of graduate school was spent in the laboratory of Prof. David Y. Gin investigating hypervalent iodine mediated, beta-selective glycosylation reactions. In 2006, he joined the laboratory of Prof. Scott E. Denmark where he conducted his doctoral work on the development of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. As a graduate student, Nathan was the recipient of a prestigious and nationally competitive Sigma-Aldrich Graduate Student Innovation Award and Eli Lilly Graduate Fellowship. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2011, Nathan carried out postdoctoral studies on the design and synthesis of potent antibiotics in the laboratory of Prof. Dale L. Boger at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. He joined the faculty of his alma mater as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 2012 and was promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry with tenure in 2019. Nathan was appointed Associate Dean of the Walter Maxwell Gibson College of Natural Sciences in 2024. At SUU, Nathan has been the recipient of a number of research and teaching honors including: 2019 Organic Syntheses Inc. Grant for Summer Research at an Undergraduate Institution, Southern Utah University Outstanding Educator, Southern Utah University Distinguished Educator, and The Journal of the Utah Academy Best Physical Science Paper.

Honors and Awards:

2023  Invited Lecture, Denmark Symposium, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2019  Tenure, Southern Utah University

2019  Organic Syntheses Inc. Grant for Summer Research at an Undergraduate Institution

2018  Outstanding Educator, Southern Utah University

2018  Outstanding Faculty Member, Department of Physical Science

2017  Best Physical Science Paper, The Journal of the Utah Academy

2017  Excellence in Teaching, The National Society of Leadership and Success

2016  Influencer Certificate, Southern Utah University

2016  Distinguished Educator, Southern Utah University

2016  Outstanding Faculty Member, Department of Physical Science

2016  Finalist, Professor of the Year, SUU Thunderbird Awards

2013  Invited Speaker, L. S. & Aline W. Skaggs Center for Health & Molecular Sciences Naming Ceremony

2009  Eli Lilly Synthetic Organic Chemistry Fellowship

2009  Sigma-Aldrich Graduate Student Innovation Award

2009  Seemon H. Pines Travel Award

2009  School of Chemical Sciences Departmental Fellowship

2004  College of Science Outstanding Service Award

2004  The WECCO Scholarship

2004  The Questar Science Scholarship

2004  Zion Natural History Association Scholarship, Reuben & Josephine Jones Endowment

2003  Reed W. Farnsworth Memorial Scholarship

2003  College of Science Outstanding Service Award

2003  Senator, College of Science, Southern Utah University Student Association

2002  Energy Research Undergraduate Laboratory Fellowship, U.S. Department of Energy

Education:

2012 Postdoctoral Fellowship – Medicinal Chemistry

         The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California

2011 Ph.D. – Chemistry

         University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois

2005 B.S. – Double Major: Professional Chemistry & Biology/Zoology

         Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah

Curriculum Vitae