Maxwell J. Robb
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Max was born and raised in Colorado and obtained his B.S. in Chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines where he began research in synthetic polymer chemistry under the guidance of Prof. Daniel M. Knauss. After graduating in 2009, Max carried out his Ph.D. studies in the laboratories of Prof. Craig J. Hawker at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His doctoral research focused broadly on the synthesis of functional organic materials and was recognized by the American Chemical Society with the 2016 Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry. Max conducted his postdoctoral work with Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign as a Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow prior to joining the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in September 2017.
Education
2014 Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2009 B.S. in Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
Appointments
2017–Present Assistant Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
2014–2017 Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
2009–2014 Graduate student researcher with Prof. Craig J. Hawker, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Honors and Awards
2023 National Fresenius Award
2023 Rose Hills Foundation Innovator Award
2022 ACS Polymers Au Rising Star
2022 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
2022 Sloan Research Fellowship
2022 NSF CAREER Award
2022 PMSE Young Investigator Award, ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering
2022 Academic Young Investigator, ACS Division of Organic Chemistry
2020 Beckman Young Investigator Award
2020 ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award
2018 Caltech Graduate Student Council Teaching Award
2018 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award
2016 ACS Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry
2016 IChemE Global Award (Oil and Gas) for “Autonomous detection of damage in coatings” (BP/ICAM team)
2015 Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship
2012 CSP Technologies Fellowship
2010 Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE SCGF)
2010 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP)
2010 Phi Lambda Upsilon Award
2009 University of California Regents Special Fellowship
2009 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Fellowship
2009 Outstanding Senior Research Award
2009 Outstanding Graduating Senior, Department of Chemistry
2009 ACS Student Travel Grant
2008 Edna H. Dumke Memorial Scholarship
2008 Nutter Memorial Scholarship
2008 Staritzky Scholarship
2008 Outstanding Achievement Award in Analytical Chemistry
2007 Outstanding Achievement Award in Organic Chemistry
2007 CSM President’s Scholarship