Education:

PhD Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, 2015

BS Chemical Engineering, University of California Riverside, 2010

Research Interests: ^top

The development of novel catalysts and materials has never been more needed than today. The world is facing a growing population, mass consumerism, and rising greenhouse gas levels, all the while people strive to increase their standard of living. Computational modeling of catalysts and materials, and making use of its synergy with experiments, facilitates the process to design new systems since it provides a valuable way to test hypotheses and understand design criteria. Our research team focuses on obtaining a deep understanding of catalytic systems and advanced materials for use in sustainable chemical production, pollution abatement, and energy generation. We use first-principles modeling (e.g., density-functional theory and wave function based methods), molecular simulation, and data analytics tools (e.g., statistical learning and data mining) to extract key insights of catalysts and materials under realistic conditions, and to help create a platform for their design.

Professor Goldsmith’s research interests span topics such as: Heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis; Amorphous materials; Complex metal oxides; Big-data analytics; First-principles modeling; Molecular simulation; and Descriptor identification. The Goldsmith Research Group is involved in collaborations around the world, including Germany and China. Current research thrusts include: (i) Disordered and amorphous materials used as catalysts or catalyst supports; (ii) Atomically dispersed metal-complexes and nanoclusters supported by metal oxides for natural gas conversion; (iii) Homogeneous organometallic catalysis for specialty chemical production, especially for carbon-hydrogen activation reactions; and (iv) Developing and applying big-data analytics tools to discover patterns and descriptors in materials-science and catalysis data. Please see previous research presentations from the Goldsmith Research Group.

Biography: ^top

Professional Experience

University of Michigan
Department of Chemical Engineering
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Assistant Professor, 2017-

Affiliations:

Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering (MICDE)
University of Michigan Energy Institute (UMEI)
Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS)

Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
Theory Department
Berlin, Germany

Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2015-2017
PIs: Matthias Scheffler and Luca M. Ghiringhelli

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dalian, China

Visiting Doctoral Fellow in Wei-Xue Li’s Group, Summer 2012 and 2013

Naval Air Warfare Station
China Lake, California

Naval Research Enterprise Intern in Ben Harvey’s Group, Summer 2010

University of California Los Angeles
Department of Chemistry
Los Angeles, California

Amgen Scholar in Miguel Garcia-Garibay’s Group, Summer 2009

University of California Riverside
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Riverside, California

Research Assistant in Nosang V. Myung’s Laboratory, 1/2008-7/2010

Awards: ^top

Young Scientist in the 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry, 2017

DAAD Travel Award, 2017

Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 2016

Max Planck Society Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 2015

UC Santa Barbara Co-Curricular Activities and Leadership Award, 2014

Schlinger Fellowship for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Research (one per year, UCSB), 2013

International Exchange in Materials Science Extended Research Travel Award, 2013

Amgen Scholar Alumni Travel Award, 2013

National Science Foundation PIRE-ECCI Graduate Research Fellowship, 2012

Academic Excellence Award in Chemical Engineering (one per year, UC Riverside), 2010

Bourns College of Engineering Scholarship, 2009

Tau Beta Pi Record Scholarship, 2009

Publications: ^top

Journal Articles
*corresponding author

12. Beyond ordered materials: understanding catalytic sites on amorphous solids, B. R. Goldsmith*, B. Peters, J. K. Johnson, B. C. Gates, S. L. Scott* ACS Catal. 7, 7543 (2017). (Perspective) [doi]

11. Identifying consistent statements about numerical data with dispersion-corrected subgroup discovery, M. Boley*, B. R. Goldsmith, L. M. Ghiringhelli, J. Vreeken, Data Min. Knowl. Disc. 31, 1 (2017) [doi]

10. Uncovering structure-property relationships of materials by subgroup discovery, B. R. Goldsmith*, M. Boley, J. Vreeken, M. Scheffler, L. M. Ghiringhelli*, New J. Phys. 19, 013031 (2017). [doi]

9. A Cu25 nanocluster with partial Cu(0) character, T-A. D. Nguyen, Z. R. Jones, B. R. Goldsmith, W. R. Buratto, G. Wu, S. L. Scott*, T. W. Hayton*, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 13319 (2015). [doi]

8. Rate-enhancing roles of water molecules in methyltrioxorhenium-catalyzed olefin epoxidation by H2O2, B. R. Goldsmith, T. Hwang, S. Seritan, B. Peters*, S. L. Scott*, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 9604 (2015). [doi]

7. Synthesis and characterization of a Cu14 hydride cluster supported by neutral donor ligands, T-A. D. Nguyen, B. R. Goldsmith, H. Zaman, G. Wu, B. Peters, T. W. Hayton*, Chem. Eur. J. 21, 5341 (2015). [doi]

6. CO and NO-induced disintegration and redispersion of three-way catalysts rhodium, palladium and platinum: an ab initio thermodynamics study, B. R. Goldsmith, E. D. Sanderson, R. Ouyang, W.-X. Li*, J. Phys. Chem. C 118, 9588 (2014). [doi]

5. Water-catalyzed activation of H2O2 by methyltrioxorhenium: a combined computational-experimental study, T. Hwang, B. R. Goldsmith, B. Peters*, S. Scott*, Inorg. Chem. 52, 13904 (2013). [doi] (shared first author)

4. Isolated catalyst sites on amorphous supports: a systematic algorithm for understanding heterogeneities in structure and reactivity, B. R. Goldsmith, E. D. Sanderson, D. Bean, B. Peters*, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 204105 (2013). [doi]

3. Synthesis and micropatterning of photocatalytically reactive self-assembled monolayers covalently linked to Si(100) surfaces via a Si-C bond, M. Lo, M. Gard, B. R. Goldsmith, M. Garcia-Garibay, H. Monbouquette*, Langmuir 28, 16156 (2012). [doi]

2. Solvent-free conversion of linalool to methylcyclopentadiene dimers: a new route to renewable high-density fuels, H. A. Meylemans, R. L. Quintana, B. R. Goldsmith, B. G. Harvey*, ChemSusChem 4, 465 (2011). [doi]

1. Synthesis and characterization of electrodeposited permalloy(Ni80Fe20)/Cu multilayered nanowires, K.Y. Kok, C. M. Hangarter, B. R. Goldsmith, I. K. Ng, N. B. Saidin, N. V. Myung*, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 322, 3876 (2010). [doi]

Book Chapters

1. Goldsmith, B. R., Fong, A., & Peters, B. (2013). Understanding reactivity with reduced potential energy landscapes: recent advances and new directions. In K. Han & T. Chu, Reaction Rate Constant Computations: Theories and Applications (pp. 213-232). Cambridge, U.K., Royal Society of Chemistry. [doi]