Dr. Tanay Kesharwani

Dr. Tanay Kesharwani, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, focuses his research on developing new synthetic methods that can be used on novel materials and small molecules. Kesharwani earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Iowa State University, where his dissertation examined aspects of electrophilic cyclization, palladium migration, and cationic polymerization. While at Iowa State he won a Teaching Excellence Award.

He had two postdoctoral fellowships – first in the Department of Drug Development at NewLinks Genetics in Ames, Iowa, and then in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. At UWF, Kesharwani’s research examines such topics as the development of Pd catalyzed C-H activation reactions; methodology development and synthesis of biologically interesting heterocycles; new techniques for the solid and liquid phase “combinatorial chemistry;” and design and synthesis of porous materials for gas storage and catalysis applications. One current project looks at environmentally benign electrophilic chlorocyclization reactions.

He shares several patents with colleagues and is an active referee for several academic journals. Kesharwani’s research has been published in numerous publications, including Tetrahedron Letters, Journal of Organic Chemistry, and Polymer Chemistry. Kesharwani taught Chemistry at Bard College in New York before joining UWF in 2013. He has a B.S./M.S. (Integrated) in Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay.