Gretchen Hofmeister, Professor of Chemistry, has been awarded a Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) grant of $65,000 for her project “Transition State Analogues as Mechanistic Probes for Asymmetric Desymmetrization by Cinchona Alkaloid-Based Catalysts.” Professor Hofmeister’s research aims to evaluate reactions and test computational models, enabling rational design of improved catalysts. Funding supports a total of eight undergraduate researchers over three summers and involves collaboration with Professors David Alberg and Daniela Kohen at Carleton, and Professor Keith Kuwata of Macalester College.