Robert J. Gilliard, Jr.

Professor Robert Gilliard, Jr. is a native of Hartsville, South Carolina. He obtained his B.S. degree in chemistry at Clemson University where he was an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Rhett C. Smith. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at The University of Georgia with Prof. Gregory H. Robinson. After graduation, Dr. Gilliard was awarded UNCF-Merck and Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships and he completed his studies working jointly at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) with Prof. Hansjörg Grützmacher and at Case Western Reserve University with Prof. John Protasiewicz. Prof. Gilliard joined the faculty at the University of Virginia (UVA) in the Fall of 2017.

At UVA, Prof. Gilliard has established a research team that focuses on chemical synthesis and new aspects of structure and bonding in main-group organometallic compounds and materials. Recently, the Gilliard laboratory has been investigating the optical properties of boron-doped heterocycles for the development temperature-responsive and light-emitting materials and redox-active radicals. Prof. Gilliard has received several awards and honors: named a Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 in Science (2016), Emerging Investigator by Inorganic Chemistry (2019), Young Investigator by Chemistry-A European Journal (2019), Chemical & Engineering News Talented 12 Scholar (2019), Research Corporation for Science Advancement Negative Emission Science Scialog Fellow (2020), Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award (2020), National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2021), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (2021), Organometallics Distinguished Author Award (2021). He also serves on the editorial advisory board of Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical Communications, and Chem Catalysis.