Michael Marshak
Assistant Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
michael.marshak@colorado.edu
(303)-492-0221

Cristol Chemistry Bldg
215 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0215

B.A. Chemistry:听Cornell University, 2006
Ph.D Inorganic Chemistry:听Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012
Postdoctoral Fellow:听Harvard University, 2013-2015

Michael Marshak听was an assistant professor of chemistry at CU-Boulder and fellow at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). His research program spans the fields of organic and inorganic chemistry to make new chemicals and materials. Specifically, he plans to investigate organic reactions featuring new transition metal catalysts, nanoparticle and thin-film materials, and chemical transformations related to batteries, biomass, and carbon dioxide. Michael is also the founder and CEO of , which is developing flow batteries for utility-scale energy storage applications.

Michael received his B.A. in Chemistry at Cornell University and his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at MIT. While at Cornell, he studied organometallic chemistry of early transition metals under the guidance of . These studies focused on olefin-alkylidene rearrangements and C鈥揌 bond activation using niobium, tantalum, and tungsten complexes. At MIT, he joined the lab of studying high-valent first-row transition metals. This research identified redox-activity in 尾-diketiminate ligands, nitrile insertion in metal-aryl bonds, and the spectrochemical properties of chromium (IV) siloxide. After completion of his graduate studies in 2012, Michael听hiked 2668 miles from Mexico to Canada on the . Upon returning to Cambridge, he worked as a听postdoctoral fellow with Profs. , , and 听at Harvard University, where he helped to pioneer the use of organic materials called quinones for flow batteries, a promising new technology that can store massive quantities of energy on the electric grid. Flow batteries can enable greater use of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar by providing power when the sun isn鈥檛 shining and the wind isn鈥檛 blowing.听In his free time, Michael听enjoys being outdoors, preferably skiing, hiking, mountaineering, biking,听or fishing.

Outdoor Activities

  • 1999 Canoed the , from Red Lake to Lake Winnipeg (190 miles)
  • 2000 Canoed across Northern Manitoba, Canada听starting in 听Saskatchewan, traveling up the , down the听 and the to the Hudson Bay. Exited in , the "polar bear capital of the world." (700 miles)
  • 2001 Canoed the North Knife River from to the Hudson Bay
  • 2012 Thru-hiked the 听(2668 miles)
  • 2016 Led team of 4 to summit 听(14,417') in a day (Disappointment Cleaver Route)
  • 2017 - 2022 Completed section-hiking the (486 miles)
  • 2014 - present Section-hiking the (105/271 miles)
  • 2020 - present Section-hiking 听听(611/788 miles)

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Long Day-Hikes:

  • (, NH)
  • , NH
  • , CA (14,505')
  • , CO

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