Hydrazone-Based Functional Materials

Prof. Ivan Aprahamian is the Roth Family Distinguished Professor at Dartmouth College. He received all his degrees (BSc-1998, MSc-2000, and PhD-2005) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His doctoral research was conducted under the supervision of Professors Mordecai Rabinovitz and Tuvia Sheradsky and focused on NMR spectroscopic studies of alkali metal reduced polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. He then carried out postdoctoral research (2005-2008) in Professor Sir J Fraser Stoddart’s (2016 Chemistry Noble Laureate) Group at UCLA, where he focused on the synthesis of switchable and highly ordered interlocked molecules in the form of bistable [n]rotaxanes.

He joined the Department of Chemistry at Dartmouth College as an Assistant Professor in August 2008 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2014, and Full Professor in 2019, and was the Chair of the Department between 2022 and 2025.

His research focuses on modular hydrazone-based molecular systems for the development of molecular switches, fluorophores, sensors, and adaptive materials. By combining synthetic, physical organic, and supramolecular chemistry with advanced spectroscopy and DFT calculations, his group explores molecular motion, molecular machines, and applications in areas such as energy, healthcare, nanotechnology, sensing, bioimaging, and OLED technologies.

Awards & Honors:

• Return Humboldt Research Fellowship (2026)
• GRC Chair, Artificial Molecular Switches and Motors (2019)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018)
• Humboldt Research Fellowship (2017)
• Liebig-College Visiting Research Professor (Germany) (2016)
• Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry (2016)
• NSF CAREER Award (2013)
• Clara Klein Scholarship for PhD Students in Chemistry (2003)

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