David Hill

BS, Northeastern University, 2014
PhD, The Scripps Research Institute, 2020
dehill [at] caltech.edu

David Hill was born and raised below the deck of a sailboat in Hingham, Massachusetts, thus destining him to a lifelong love of sailing, boating, and the ocean in general. Just kidding, he was probably born on land, but he sure does love sailing! Enamored with living by the sea, David stayed in Boston for his Bachelors in Chemistry at Northeastern University and spent a year post-graduation as a US Dept. of Energy intern investigating atmospheric chemistry at PNNL and radiochemistry at BNL. With these experiences under his belt, David realized his true passion was the study of chemical kinetics/reaction mechanism. Thus, he traversed the country to pursue his doctoral training with Prof. Blackmond at The Scripps Research Institute, because let’s face it: few things are better than running the same reaction 200 times in a row. In his spare time, David enjoys doing arrow-pushing mechanism problems, reading about and making flashcards on different reaction mechanisms, wearing chemistry shirts with punny jokes, and forming social connections with others who share the aforementioned hobbies. He also enjoys admiring and/or identifying dog breeds at random, walks on the beach, reading and watching manga and anime, downing a nice hot bowl of vegan ramen with a side of tempura veggies, reading the latest in science news via the Twitter/Reddit/ACS apps on his phone, and (of course) the occasional sail.