Distinguished Kenneth N. Trueblood Professor, Neil Garg, has been awarded the 2025 David A. Evans Award for the Advancement and Education of Organic Synthesis. Garg is the inaugural recipient of this prestigious national award given by the American Chemical Society.
Established in 2023, the award honors former UCLA faculty member David A. Evans (1941-2022). Evans began his career at UCLA in 1967, before moving to Caltech, and then ultimately onto Harvard University, where he was the Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry. UCLA honored Evans in 2006 by awarding him the Seaborg Medal.
Evans was a prominent and influential figure in organic chemistry and played an instrumental role in strengthening organic chemistry research at UCLA during his tenure as a faculty member. He was a renowned teacher and mentor throughout his career. As such, the $5,000 award recognizes excellence in both research and education.
A leading figure in modern synthetic organic chemistry, Garg has earned widespread recognition for his innovative research and educational contributions. His lab is known for challenging long-standing paradigms of fundamental reactivity and developing practical synthetic chemistry that is used by others
One of his laboratory’s recent accomplishments is their 2023 synthesis of lissodendoric acid A. The groundbreaking study utilizes an unstable intermediate called a cyclic allene to construct the molecule. The research was published in Science in January 2023, with the unusual cyclic allene featured on the journal’s cover. Garg also co-founded ElectraTect, Inc., a company developing marijuana breathalyzer technology, based on technology developed in his UCLA laboratory.
Like Evans, Garg is a celebrated teacher and mentor. He is known for transforming the way organic chemistry is taught at UCLA and perceived by students. His large course for prehealth students was ranked one of the best classes in Los Angeles by LA Weekly Magazine and has been referred to as UCLA’s Most Beloved Class. He also collaborates with students to develop online educational tools and apps, such as qrchem.net, learnbacon.com, chemmatch.net, rschemistry.com, and the Backside Attack smartphone app. These resources have helped hundreds of thousands of students, across more than 170 countries, embrace the notorious subject of organic chemistry.
Garg has co-authored The Organic Coloring Book series to introduce children to organic chemistry in a fun and accessible way. Beyond the classroom, Garg leads outreach activities, including the “Chem Kids” camp, a summer initiative where he and members of his laboratory introduce children ages 10-12 years old to the fundamentals of organic chemistry.
Supportive mentoring is another area of focus in Garg’s laboratory. The attrition rate for graduate students in his group is 0% and 41 Ph.D. degrees have been awarded to members of his research group to date. Garg also created the #MentorFirst initiative, a pledge-system to encourage positive mentoring practices in academia worldwide.
Some of the awards Garg has received include the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, California’s Professor of the Year Award, the ACS Elias J. Corey Award, the Mukaiyama Award, and several prizes from the Royal Society of Chemistry, including three recent Horizon Prizes for achievements “at the cutting edge of research and innovation”.
“Dave Evans was a giant in our field and an inspiration to all of us. It is an immense honor – not just for me, but also for all members of my lab – for our collective efforts in research and education to be recognized with this award,” said Garg. “Before I accepted my offer to join the UCLA faculty in 2007, I spoke to Evans, who then assured me that UCLA would be the perfect place for my career to flourish.”
The award will be presented to Garg at the ACS Spring 2025 meeting in San Diego, CA, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
Many thanks to Sally Evans for providing the photos for this article.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
