Bob Flowers was born in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1964. He received his B.S. in chemistry from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania in 1986. After taking time off from school, he was admitted to Lehigh University in 1987 and received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1991 working with John Larsen on single electron transfer reactions in coal. After graduating from Lehigh, he moved to Duke University as a postdoctoral research associate with Professor Ned Arnett where he worked on several projects including: 1) calorimetric and electrochemical studies of the heterolysis and homolysis energies of C-C and C-heteroatom bonds and their associated radical ions, and, 2) thermochemical studies of the oxygenation of vitamin K. In 1994, Bob moved to his first independent position as an assistant Professor at the University of Toledo. He received tenure and was promoted to associate Professor in 2000. In 2001, he moved to the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Texas Tech University and was promoted to Professor in 2003. In early 2004, he moved to the Department of Chemistry at Lehigh University as Department chair. In 2008, he was appointed the Danser Distinguished Faculty Chair in Chemistry.
Bob’s research group is interested in the mechanistic analysis and development of electron transfer reagents in organic synthesis, organometallic chemistry, calorimetric analysis of protein-ligand interactions, ion transport and molecular recognition, and applications of back-scattering interferometry in molecular recognition. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, a book, and five book chapters. He has given over 70 invited US and international lectures at Universities and professional meetings.
In his free time, Bob enjoys hiking, working out, playing guitar and banjo, and most importantly, spending time with his wife and 2 sons.
