Mike Strauss is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Mike was born and raised in Wisconsin before obtaining his B.S. in Biochemistry from Winona State University. While at Winona State, Mike conducted research with Professor Robert Koptizke on new polymeric materials for solar cells and Professor Francis Mann on the bioactivity of small molecules found in Kombucha Tea. Mike then moved to Northwestern University for graduate school, where he earned his Ph.D. developing synthetic methods to access high-aspect ratio nanotubes via supramolecular polymerization with Professor William Dichtel. He next moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Stephen Buchwald. While in the Buchwald lab, Mike developed a new class of anionic ligands for Cu-catalyzed C–N and C–O coupling reactions. Outside of the lab, Mike enjoys golfing, playing board and computer games, going for walks with his wife and daughter, and watching sports with his cats.

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Professional Experience and Education

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Honors and Awards

• National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Edmund W. Gelewitz Award
• International Institute for Nanotechnology Ryan Fellowship
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
• Winona State University Biochemistry Graduate of the Year
• ACS Chemistry Graduate of the Year – Winona State University
• Organic Chemistry Lifetime Achievement Award – Winona State University
• ACS Outstanding Organic Chemistry Graduate
• Inorganic Chemistry Student of the Year – Winona State University
• Biochemistry Student of the Year – Winona State University
• Organic Chemistry Student of the Year – Winona State University
• ACS PolyEd Award
• General Chemistry Student of the Year – Winona State University

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Contact Information

Email: straussm@illinois.edu
Phone: