Like a lot of chemists, Marcus Van Engen started off with medical aspirations but found a love for organic chemistry.
“I realized I liked science better than trying to do work on people,” Van Engen says. “It’s a unique challenge, the way it sits between physics, which is very analytical and mathematical, and biology, which requires a lot of memorization. I like that [chemistry] sits between those and bridges both.”
What really captured his interest was organic synthesis. The hands-on, puzzle-like nature of the field gave him a space where problem-solving felt creative. Drawing arrows and mapping the flow of electrons felt intuitive.
“I really like the style of thinking. It really helps me out when you can draw things out, and about 85% of organic chemistry thinking you can figure out by drawing a structure or a model” Van Engen says.
This love for organic synthesis led him to join the Floreancig group. Now a fifth-year PhD student in the Floreancig lab, he is researching the total synthesis of Neomycin B, an antibiotic which is part of the Neomycin family. Neomycin B is commonly used to treat bacterial infections in the skin, eyes, and ears.
“It’s very synthesis heavy and you rely mostly on known reactions,” Van Engen says. “But every now and then you kind of invent your own modifications to your reactions and everything’s a really interesting challenge. Especially since it’s a big project, so you need several steps in a row to work well together.”
Van Engen came to Pitt because he was looking for a university in a small city with a strong organic chemistry department. A huge organic chemistry fan, he was looking for a group that did high level organic chemistry, but also offered a good work-life balance.
“The lab culture is very nice. It's very collaborative,” Van Engen says. “It’s easy to have a work life balance. I’m married and have two kids, so that was important to me, and you don’t find that in every group. It’s been a great place to learn and do a high-level of chemistry.”
Van Engen says he enjoys working under Paul Floreancig both because of the standard Floreancig holds his graduate students to and because there is still a level of flexibility and creativity in the work he does.
“You have to know your stuff and he makes sure of that,” Van Engen says. “He has really exciting projects, and he is really knowledgeable. I like the way he thinks about chemistry. In his lab you’re never a lab machine, you’re doing a project where each step involves thinking.”
