Chance Lander

Physical Chemistry | Computational Chemistry and Catalysis

About Me

I am a 5th year graduate student at the University of Oklahoma studying physical/computational chemistry. My research is primarily focused on the modeling of reaction mechanisms, allowing for a better understanding of catalytic activity and product formation. I am particularly interested in the chemistry of metal-organic frameworks, surface catalysis, and organometallic chemistry, as well as approaches to make modeling these systems faster, more accurate, and more insightful.


For the most up-to-date list of publications, see my Google Scholar page.


My CV can be found here: Curriculum Vitae

Chance Lander

Education

2021-Present

Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry

University of Oklahoma

Advisor: Prof. Yihan Shao

2020

B.S. in Biochemistry

University of Texas at Dallas

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

[15] Towards a theoretical understanding of excitonic properties of phthalocyanine thin films. I. Low-temperature exciton absorption spectra.

Sengupta, S.; Pei, Z.; Lander, C. W.; Wickizer, C. R.; Homma, Y.; Afshari, H.; Mao, Y.; Huo, P.; Zhang, Y.; Tretiak, S.; Bumm, L. A.; Furis, M. I.; Shao, Y.

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2026, 28, 7021–7034.

[14] Nitric Oxide Insertion into a Metalloporphyrin–Carbon Bond.

Londoño-Salazar, J.; Ye, G.; Lander, C. W.; Kapfunde, T. A.; Yamamoto, N.; Akhmedov, N. G.; Zhang, Y.; Shao, Y.; Richter-Addo, G. B.

JACS Au 2026, 6, 1488–1494.

[13] Proton, Electron, and Hydrogen-Atom Transfer Thermodynamics of the Metal–Organic Framework, Ti-MIL-125, Are Intrinsically Correlated to the Structural Disorder.

Altınçekiç, N. G.; Lander, C. W.; Yu, J.; Roslend, A.; Shao, Y.; Noh, H.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 38, 34777–34790.

[12] Toward an Understanding of Linear Scaling Relations through Energy Decomposition Analysis.

DiCenso, J.; Lander, C.; Pei, Z.; Sengupta, S.; Le, T.; Zhang, Y.; Gunasooriya, G. T. K. K.; Wang, B.; Mao, Y.; Shao, Y.

JACS Au 2025, 5, 3092–3103.

[11] Towards non-blinking and photostable perovskite quantum dots.

Mi, C.; Gee, G. C.; Lander, C. W.; Shin, D.; Atteberry, M. L.; Akhmedov, N. G.; Hidayatova, L.; DiCenso, J. D.; Yip, W. T.; Chen, B.; Shao, Y.; Dong, Y.

Nat Commun 2025, 16, 204.

[10] Iron-Carbene-Mediated Catalytic Activation of Conventional Thioglycosides for Stereoselective 1,2-cis-Furanosylations.

Singh, S. P.; Chaudhary, U.; Lander, C. W.; Daroczi, A.; Shao, Y.; Sharma, I.

ACS Catal. 2025, 15, 9886–9896.

[9] Electrochemically Determined and Structurally Justified Thermochemistry of H atom Transfer on Ti-Oxo Nodes of the Colloidal Metal–Organic Framework Ti-MIL-125.

Altınçekiç, N. G.; Lander, C. W.; Roslend, A.; Yu, J.; Shao, Y.; Noh, H.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 33485–33498.

[8] Training machine learning potentials for reactive systems: A Colab tutorial on basic models.

Pan, X.; Snyder, R.; Wang, J.N.; Lander, C.; Wickizer, C.; Van, R.; Chesney, A.; Xue, Y.; Mao, Y.; Mei, Y.; Pu, J.; Shao, Y.

J Comput Chem 2024, 45, 638–647.

[7] Catalytic Activation of Thioglycosides with Copper-Carbenes for Stereoselective 1,2-cis-Furanosylations.

Ghosh, B.; Alber, A.; Lander, C. W.; Shao, Y.; Nicholas, K. M.; Sharma, I.

Org. Lett. 2024, 26, 9436–9441.

[6] Catalytic Stereoselective 1,2-cis-Furanosylations Enabled by Enynal-Derived Copper Carbenes.

Ghosh, B.; Alber, A.; Lander, C. W.; Shao, Y.; Nicholas, K. M.; Sharma, I.

ACS Catal. 2024, 14, 1037–1049.

[5] Hydrogen Atom Binding Energy of Structurally Well-Defined Cerium Oxide Nodes at the Metal–Organic Framework–Liquid Interfaces.

Ingram, Z. J.; Lander, C. W.; Oliver, M. C.; Altınçekiç, N. G.; Huang, L.; Shao, Y.; Noh, H.

J. Phys. Chem. C 2024, 128, 9556–9565.

[4] Reaction Pathway for the Aerobic Oxidation of Phosphines Catalyzed by Oxomolybdenum Salen Complexes.

Rusmore, T. A.; Lander, C.; Nicholas, K. M.

Eur J Inorg Chem 2024, 27, e202300506.

[3] Visualization of electron density changes along chemical reaction pathways.

Lander, C.; Satalkar, V.; Yang, J.; Pan, X.; Pei, Z.; Chatterji, A.; Liu, C.; Nicholas, K. M.; Cichewicz, R. H.; Yang, Z.; Shao, Y.

Mol. Phys. 2023, 121, e2113566.

[2] Effect of an Amyloidogenic SARS-COV-2 Protein Fragment on ɑ-Synuclein Monomers and Fibrils.

Jana, A. K.; Lander, C. W.; Chesney, A. D.; Hansmann, U. H. E.

J. Phys. Chem. B 2022, 126, 3648–3658.

[1] Computational Evaluation of Potential Molecular Catalysts for Nitrous Oxide Decomposition.

Nicholas, K. M.; Lander, C.; Shao, Y.

Inorg. Chem. 2022, 61, 14591–14605.

Awards & Honors

2025

Excellence in Graduate Research Award

University of Oklahoma Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

In recognition of excellent contributions in scholarly activity and outstanding performance in research

2023

Roger E. Frech Scholarship

University of Oklahoma Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

For outstanding research in the fields of physical, inorganic, or analytical chemistry

2023

Harwell Endowed Scholarship

University of Oklahoma Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

For outstanding academic achievement

2021

Kenneth M. Nicholas Graduate Fellowship

University of Oklahoma Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Awarded to one incoming first-year graduate student studying synthesis/catalysis

2016-2020

Academic Excellence Scholarship with Distinction

University of Texas at Dallas

Scholarship for academically talented first-time freshmen

Presentations

Conference Presentations

Spring 2025

ACS San Diego - Oral

Fall 2024

ACS Southwest Regional Meeting - Poster

Spring 2024

ACS New Orleans - Poster

Fall 2023

ACS Southwest Regional Meeting - Oral

Teaching

Previous Courses

CHEM 3423: Physical Chemistry I - Role: Lecturer

Undergraduate course in physical chemistry covering thermodynamics, phase equilibria, kinetics, and reaction mechanisms.

Summer: 2025

CHEM 3421: Physical Chemistry I Lab - Role: TA Lab Instructor

Undergraduate lab course in physical chemistry emphasizing measurement and calibration, while covering topics in thermodynamics, phase equilibria, kinetics, and reaction mechanisms.

Spring: 2025

CHEM 1415: General Chemistry II Lab - Role: TA Lab/Recitation Instructor

Undergraduate lab and recitation in general chemistry emphasizing scientific writing technique, while covering topics in thermodynamics, acid-base chemistry, kinetics, and electrochemistry.

Fall: 2021, 2022; Summer: 2022