Rate My Professor Drasko Vidovic

Drasko Vidovic is an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow in the School of Chemistry within the Faculty of Science at Monash University. He obtained his BSc from Simon Fraser University, Canada, in 2002, followed by a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, USA, in 2007 under the supervision of Professor Alan Cowley. After completing his doctorate, Vidovic joined the research group of Professor Simon Aldridge at the University of Oxford, UK, for postdoctoral studies. He began his independent career in Singapore in the late 2010s and joined Monash University as a Senior Lecturer in December 2017, progressing to his current role. In 2023, he was part of a team recognized with a Faculty of Science Education Award for innovations in teaching.

Vidovic's research focuses on organometallic chemistry, including the synthesis, structure, and application of complexes utilizing carbones as neutral, carbon-centered ligands for isolating electron-deficient main group elements such as phosphorus and bismuth, as well as transition metals like ruthenium. He develops green and sustainable chemistry protocols using earth-abundant aluminium-based Lewis acids as catalysts for organic transformations, encompassing Diels-Alder cycloadditions, Michael additions, borylations, dearomatisations, and polymerization of cyclic dienophiles. His work also extends to medicinal chemistry through collaborations on catalytic site-specific deuteration of polyunsaturated fatty acids for potential treatments of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Key publications include 'A stable two-coordinate acyclic silylene' (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2012), 'Isolation of a Bis(oxazol-2-ylidene)–Phenylborylene Adduct and its Reactivity as a Boron-Centered Nucleophile' (Angewandte Chemie, 2014), 'Synthesis and characterization of a coordinated oxoborane: Lewis acid stabilization of a boron-oxygen double bond' (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2005), 'Lewis acid catalysed polymerisation of cyclopentenone' (Chemical Science, 2024), and 'Hydroboration of imines: intermolecular vs. intramolecular hydride transfer' (New Journal of Chemistry, 2023). He supervises PhD students in organometallic chemistry and teaches units such as CHM2951 Environmental Chemistry: Water.