With the support of the Chemical Synthesis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Dr. Brewer of the University of Vermont is studying new reactions to prepare organic structures. These fundamental studies are important because discovering new ways to prepare organic molecules enables advances in many related fields of research including drug discovery and materials science. A key focus of this work is developing a new ring opening reaction that will produce a synthetically useful class of compounds, called encarbamates, that have received minimal attention from chemists and the studies being conducted under this award will enable their use in a variety of syntheses. This research will provide new routes to molecular scaffolds that contain nitrogen atoms, which take advantage of a more stable and easier to isolate intermediate than other systems. This is important because nitrogen containing compounds are ubiquitous in chemistry and common in medicines and this research has the potential to impact the field of medicinal chemistry. This funding will also impact STEM workforce development as the students who work on this project will receive training in synthetic organic chemistry and will learn to conduct mechanistic studies, reaction optimization and development studies, and will become adept at compound characterization and structure elucidation. Professor Brewer will also be engaged in student training and outreach programs. This research is a fundamental investigation in