Rate My Professor Brad Neal

Brad Neal is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Indianapolis, a position he has held since joining the faculty in 2012 within the Department of Chemistry in the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences. He earned a B.A. in 2007 from Bellarmine University and a Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Kansas, where his doctoral thesis focused on the self-assembly of azulenic monolayer films on metallic gold surfaces. Previously serving as Assistant Dean of Faculty and Staff in the Shaheen College, Neal was selected as a Faculty Fellow for the 2021-2022 academic year. He has been actively involved in undergraduate education and mentoring, advising the Chemistry Club, spearheading initiatives for student research presentations at Scholars Day events, and coordinating local chemistry challenges for high school students in collaboration with alumni.

Neal's research specializes in inorganic and organometallic chemistry, particularly the synthesis, redox behavior, complexation, and self-assembly of azulene-based π-linkers with mercapto and isocyano anchoring groups on Au(111) surfaces, as well as ancillary nitrile substituents for spectroscopic monitoring. His key publications include 'Linear 6,6′-biazulenyl framework featuring isocyanide termini: synthesis, structure, redox behavior, complexation, and self-assembly on Au(111)' in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (2010); 'First π-linker featuring mercapto and isocyano anchoring groups within the same molecule: synthesis, heterobimetallic complexation and self-assembly on Au(111)' in Chemical Science (2016); 'Renaissance of Isocyanoarenes as Ligands in Low-Valent Organometallics' and contributions to the book Isocyanide Chemistry (both 2012); and 'Ancillary nitrile substituents as convenient IR spectroscopic reporters for self-assembly of mercapto- and isocyanoazulenes on Au(111)' in Chemical Communications (2011). He has presented on reconfiguring general chemistry laboratories, improving lab skills for undergraduates, and low-valent organometallics incorporating the 2,2′-biazulenyl motif at American Chemical Society meetings. Neal supports teaching through a YouTube channel dedicated to general chemistry courses like Chem 150 and has reviewed open educational resources such as Chemistry 2e. His work has garnered citations in surface and coordination chemistry fields.