Oana Luca

Oana Luca is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she leads interdisciplinary research at the intersection of Physical, Inorganic, and Organic Chemistry. Her work focuses on developing scalable, environmentally benign redox processes for solar fuel conversions, CO2 capture, and sustainable chemical synthesis.

• Education: Ph.D. in Inorganic and Physical Organic Chemistry from Yale University (2013)
• Postdoctoral Experience: California Institute of Technology (Staff Scientist), The Scripps Research Institute (CA)

Key research themes include:

• Physical Inorganic Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Organometallic Chemistry
• Solar Fuel Conversions

Recent publications emphasize predictive energetic tuning of nucleophiles for CO2 capture, electrochemical radical generation, and redox-driven recycling of polyesters. Collaborative projects span electrochemical reactor design, thermodynamic sensitivity analysis, and ligand engineering for catalytic systems.

Scientific Awards:

• AAAS Program for Excellence in Science
• Yale University Scientific Teaching Fellow

Her lab trains graduate and undergraduate researchers, with alumni transitioning to industry roles (e.g., Tessa Myren at Amgen). Grants from RASEI SEED, RIO SEED, and NSF support her work on renewable energy technologies.