Christopher Goh received a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree majoring in Chemistry from the University of Durham, U.K., and his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University, MA, under the guidance of Prof. Richard Holm. Following graduate work in bioinorganic chemistry studying the cofactors of the enzyme nitrogenase, Chris spent two years as a post-doctoral researcher at the Polymer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, before joining the start-up company Symyx Technologies in Silicon Valley. After working at Symyx for 6 years applying combinatorial research methods to the discovery of speciality polymers and polyolefin catalysts, Chris moved back to MA and joined the Williams College chemistry department in 2008.

Prof. Goh has taught the first-semester courses CHEM 151 Introductory Chemistry and CHEM 155 Principles of Modern Chemistry, and upper-level elective courses in inorganic and organometallic chemistry CHEM 335, bio-inorganic chemistry CHEM 338 and instrumental methods of analysis CHEM 364 as well as winter study classes introducing students to research and a course on interpersonal communication.

Chris’ research interests most broadly center around the role of metals and have included work on mimicking metal-containing active sites of enzymes, on the design of homogeneous metal catalysts and more recently, on polymers for removing heavy metals from the environment. For all projects, our focus is on how we can use our knowledge of coordination chemistry to design and make better catalysts, materials etc. At the heart of each project are the examination of factors that influence the performance and properties of the metal and the iterative process of testing strategies for improving the system. More than 50 Williams undergraduates have participated in research projects to date, and many presented their work at regional and national conferences. Their work led to publications co-authored with students and support from funding agencies such as the ACS-Petroleum Research Fund, the Hellman Foundation and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
Chris has spent sabbaticals with Prof. Geoff Coates at Cornell University and teaching at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

Outside the world of molecules, Chris directs Williams College’s Summer Science Program, a pre-first year experience for incoming Williams students from historically underrepresented groups and first-generation college students. He also just completed a 5-year stint as a Faculty Fellow of the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Davis Center, and has contributed to the efforts of these offices. He advised student groups including BSTEM and OURSTEM+. He grew up in a multicultural household in Europe and South-East Asia, and came to the United States as a graduate student. Formative experiences included high school at the United World College of South-East Asia, participating in Children’s International Summer Villages, Outward Bound, NOLS, Vipassana and the Co-Active Leadership programs, as well as the many interactions with our students, and staff and faculty colleagues here at Williams and elsewhere.

Chris loves the outdoors and working in the garden, he is a life-long fan of Liverpool FC (and gets emotional when he hears YNWA) and the Mannschaft, and supports the USWNT fight for gender equity in sports (and the many other efforts).

• Epoxidation of alkenes bearing a carboxylic acid group by iron complexes of the tetradentate ligand N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-diaminoethane and its derivatives, Morris, L.S;* Girouard, M.P.;* Everhart, M.H.;* McClain, W.E.;* John A. van Paridon, J.A.;* Pike, R.B.; Goh, C., Inorg. Chim. Acta, 2014, 413, 149-159.
• (2S,5R)-2,5-Dimethyl-1,4-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)piperazine, Goh, C.; Morris, L.S.;* Girouard, M.P.;* Chidanguro, T.;* Jasinski, J.P. Acta Crystallogr., Sect. E: Struct. Rep. 2013, E69, o1101.
• Syntheses and Structures of Closely Related Copper(I) Complexes of Tridentate (2-pyridylmethyl)imine and (2-pyridylmethyl)amine Ligands and Their Use in Mediating Atom Transfer Radical Polymerizations, Turner, S.A;* Remillard, Z.D.;* Gijima, D.T.;* Gao, E.;* Pike, R.B.; Goh, C., Inorg. Chem. 2012, 51, 10762.
• Di-μ-bromido-bis{[N,N-dimethyl-N'-(thiophen-2-ylmethylidene)ethane-1,2-diamine] copper(I)]}, Goh, C.; Remillard, Z.D.;* Martinez, A.P.;* Keeley, A.C.; Jasinski, J.P. Acta Crystallogr., Sect. E: Struct. Rep. 2012, E68, m691-m692.
• Bridged bi-aromatic ligands, catalysts, processes for polymerizing and polymers therefrom. Boussie, T.R.; Brummer; O.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Shoemaker, J.A.W., U.S. Patent 7,659,415, February 9, 2010.
• Titanium substituted pyridyl amine complexes, catalysts and processes for polymerizing ethylene and styrene, Boussie, T.R.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Lund, C., U.S. Patent 7,482,301, January 27, 2009.
• Bridged bi-aromatic ligands, catalysts, processes for polymerizing and polymers therefrom, Boussie, T.R.; Brummer; O.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Shoemaker; J.A.W., U.S. Patent 7,241,715, July 10, 2007.
• Batch reactor with injection system, Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; Boussie, T.R.; Murphy, V.; Frank; T. G.; Chandler, Jr.; W. H.; Erden; L. Van, U.S. Patent 7,160,513, January 9, 2007.
• Titanium substituted pyridyl amine complexes, catalysts and processes for polymerizing ethylene and styrene, Boussie, T.R.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Lund, C., U.S. Patent 7,157,400, January 2, 2007.
• Nonconventional catalysts for isotactic propene polymerization in solution developed by using high-throughput-screening technologies.  Boussie, T. R.; Diamond, G. M.; Goh, C.; Hall, K. A.; La Pointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M. K.; Murphy, V.; Shoemaker, J. A. W.; Turner, H.; Rosen, R. K.; Stevens, J. C.; Alfano, F.; Busico, V.; Cipullo, R.; Talarico, G.,  Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2006, 45(20), 3278-3283.
• Batch reactor with injection system.  Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; Boussie, T.R.; Murphy, V.; Frank, T.G.; Chandler, W.H.; Van Erden, L. (Symyx Technologies). U.S. Pat. Appl., 2004, 28 pp., US  2004121448.
• A fully integrated high-throughput screening methodology for the discovery of new polyolefin catalysts: discovery of a new class of high temperature single-site group (IV) copolymerization catalysts.  Boussie, T.R.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; LaPointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.; Lund, C.; Murphy, V.; Shoemaker, J.A.W.; Tracht, U.; Turner, H.; Zhang, J.; Uno, T.; Rosen, R.K.; Stevens, J.C., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2003, 125(14), 4306-4317.
• In-situ injection and materials screening device.  Frank, T.G.; Hall, K.A.; Chandler, W.H.; Boussie, T.; Crevier, T.J.; Matsiev, L.; Goh, C. (Symyx Technologies), U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ., 2003, 28 pp., Cont.-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 895,945.
• Group 4 metal phenol-triazole complexes as catalysts for ethylene-styrene copolymerization.  Brummer, O.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Longmire, J.; Shoemaker, J.A.W. (Symyx Technologies), PCT Int. Appl., 2003, 70 pp., WO 2003087177.
• Olefin polymerization catalysts comprising group 4 metal complexes with bridged bi-aromatic ligands.  Boussie, T.R.; Bruemmer, O.; Diamond, G.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Shoemaker, J.A.W. (Symyx Technologies), PCT Int. Appl., 2003, 138 pp., WO 2003091262.
• Substituted pyridyl amine-titanium complexes as catalysts for polymerization of ethylene and styrene.  Boussie, T.R.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Lund, C. (Symyx Technologies), Eur. Pat. Appl., 2003, 27 pp., EP 1308450.
• Catalysts for copolymerizing ethylene and isobutylene and copolymers.  Boussie, T.R.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; La Pointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Lund, C.; Murphy, V. (Symyx Technologies), PCT Int. Appl., 2002, 147 pp., WO 0246249.
• High-throughput approaches for the discovery and optimization of new olefin polymerization catalysts.  Murphy, V.; Bei, X.; Boussie, T.R.; Brummer, O.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.; Longmire, J.M.; Shoemaker, J.A.W.; Turner, H.; Weinberg, W.H., Chem. Record, 2002, 2(4), 278-289.
• Processes for polymerization catalysts, metal complexes and compositions containing erbium.  Diamond, G.M.; Murphy, V.; Leclerc, M.K.; Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; Lapointe, A.M.; Boussie, T.; Lund, C. (Symyx Technologies), U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ., 2002, 13 pp., US 20020002257.
• Substituted pyridyl amine ligands, complexes, catalysts and processes for polymerizing olefins.  Boussie, T.R.; Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Hall, K.A.; Lapointe, A.M.; Leclerc, M.K.; Lund, C.; Murphy, V. (Symyx Technologies). PCT Int. Appl., 2002, 195 pp., WO 0238628.
• Ether-amine ligand/metal complex polymerization catalysts, compositions, and use for olefin polymerization.  Goh, C.; Diamond, G.M.; Murphy, V.; Leclerc, M.K.; Hall, K.; Lapointe, A.M.; Boussie, T.R.; Lund, C.; Uno, T. (Symyx Technologies).  PCT Int. Appl., 2001, 72 pp., WO 174910.
• High throughput screen for identifying polymerization catalysts from potential catalysts.  Diamond, G.M.; Goh, C.; Leclerc, M.K.; Murphy, V.; Turner, H.W.  (Symyx Technologies), PCT Int. Appl., 2001, 66 pp., WO 0198371.
• Synthesis and structures of the cuboidal iron-sulfur-nitrosyl-phosphine clusters [Fe₄S₃(NO)₄(PR₃)₃]^0,1+ (R = Et, ⁱPr, C₆H₁₁).  Goh, C.; Holm, R.H., Inorg. Chim. Acta, 1998, 270(1,2), 46-54.
• The mixed-valence double-cubanoid cluster [Fe₈S₁₂(^tBuNC)₁₂]: synthesis, structure, and exchange coupling of a new structural array of four Fe(III) sites.  Goh, C.; Nivorozhkin, A.; Yoo, S.J.; Bominaar, E.L.; Muenck, E.; Holm, R.H., Inorg. Chem., 1998, 37(12), 2926-2932.
• Determination of the exchange-coupling constant of an Fe³⁺-Fe³⁺ pair in a cubane-type Fe-S cluster.  Yoo, S. J.; Hu, Z.; Goh, C.; Bominaar, E. L.; Holm, R.H.; Muenck, E., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1997, 119(37), 8732-8733.
• On the existence in solution of doubly thiolate-bridged double cubanes containing the heterometal [MFe₃S₄] core (M = Mo, W).  Huang, J.; Goh, C.; Holm, R.H., Inorg. Chem., 1997, 36(3), 356-361.
• Polycubane clusters: synthesis of [Fe₄S₄(PR₃)₄]^1+,0 (R = ^tBu, Cy, ⁱPr) and [Fe₄S₄]⁰ core aggregation upon loss of phosphine.  Goh, C.; Segal, B.M.; Huang, J.; Long, J.R.; Holm, R.H., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1996, 118(47), 11844-11853.
• The [2:2] site-differentiated clusters [Fe₄S₄L₂(RNC)₆] containing two low-spin iron(II) sites.  Goh, C.; Weigel, J. A.; Holm, R. H., Inorg. Chem., 1994, 33(22), 4861-4868.