Jesse L. Peltier(He/Him)

Biography

Jesse, an Ojibwe (Turtle Mountain) and Nakoda (White Bear) citizen, grew up in Bellevue, Washington. He obtained his A.B. at Dartmouth College where he double majored in chemistry and Native American Studies. While there, he conducted research with Prof. David Glueck. Afterward, he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, San Diego in the group of Prof. Guy Bertrand. His research focused on leveraging ambiphilic singlet carbenes to shift current technologies from expensive metals to more cost-effective earth abundant elements. This approach led to several breakthroughs including organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), nanoclusters, and metal-free catalysis. During this time, he also investigated the design of air-stable radicals while conducting research at the Université Grenoble Alpes with Dr. David Martin, Directeur de Recherche. His graduate work was recognized with a University of California, San Diego Chancellor’s Dissertation Medal for the physical sciences. In October 2020, he was awarded a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship and then, a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research in the laboratory of Prof. Jeffrey Long at the University of California, Berkeley. He created metal–organic frameworks for energy-efficient gas separations. Jesse recently began his independent career as a tenure-track assistant professor at Northeastern University in the department of chemistry and as an affiliate faculty member in the department of chemical engineering. His research program employs a multidisciplinary approach to solve complex challenges that advance green technologies. It blends organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry to design novel materials and molecules for catalysis, energy, and sustainability. During his scholarly pursuits, Jesse has found the convergence of research and service to be his mechanism of reciprocity to his tribes, ancestors, and Indian Country.

Select Awards and Honors

• AISES Most Promising Scientist or Engineer – 2024
• Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship – 2021
• Cottrell Emerging Scholars Program – 2021
• Chancellor’s Dissertation Medal – 2021
• University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship – 2020
• Bouchet Graduate Honor Society – 2020
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship – 2016
• Sequoyah Fellowship – 2015
• Tribal Membership Initiative Fellowship – 2015
• Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM – 2014
• American Institute of Chemists Foundation Student Award – 2014
• Daniel Simon Prize in Native American Studies – 2014
• A.T. Anderson Memorial Scholarship – 2013
• John L. Zabriskie Jr. Undergraduate Research Fellowship – 2013