Ben Snyder

bsnyder at illinois dot edu
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Assistant Professor (Affiliate), Materials Research Laboratory
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Postdoc., University of California, Berkeley, 2022 
Ph.D., Stanford University, 2018
B.S., University of Rochester, 2012 

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Biography: Ben received a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Rochester in 2012. While at the U of R, he developed a strong desire to understand the intricacies of inorganic spectroscopy and electronic structure. He therefore decided to pursue a Ph.D. with Prof. Edward Solomon at Stanford University. As a dual NSF Graduate Fellow and Stanford Graduate Fellow, Ben developed site-selective spectroscopic approaches to studying reactive intermediates in metallozeolite catalysis, leading to a series of notable discoveries in the field of selective hydrocarbon oxidation. He then moved to UC Berkeley as a 2019 Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow to work with Prof. Jeffrey Long. While at Berkeley, he led a breakthrough effort to develop structurally dynamic metal−organic frameworks as solid adsorbents used for ‘green’ ammonia production. Professor Snyder then started his independent career in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois in 2023. He is continually inspired by the potential for spectroscopy to revolutionize materials synthesis. In his free time, he likes to play musical instruments (guitar, violin, banjo), rock climbing and lifting weights.