Kwan , Man Lung
Desmond Kwan
Dr. Man Lung Kwan is a chemistry professor researching organometallic reagent-mediated allyl- and vinyl-silane synthesis and fluorinated palladium pincer complexes. He is an associate professor of Organic/Organometallic Chemistry at John Carroll University, where he has been for 22 years. Dr. Kwan is also interested in incorporating “Green Chemistry” laboratory experiments into the organic chemistry curriculum. Dr. Kwan teaches Organic Chemistry, Green Chemistry, Intermediate Organic Chemistry, Organometallic Chemistry and General Chemistry courses.
“A career in the environmental field is just the right thing to do; it is our civic responsibility.” - Man Lung (Desmond) Kwan, 2006.
Schroder, P. M., Spilker, T. F., Luu, W., Updegraff III, J. B., Kwan, M. L., Challen, P. R., & Protasiewicz, J. D. (2009). Improved synthesis of pincer ligand precursor, and synthesis and structural characterization of terphenyl scaffolded S–C–S palladium pincer complex. Inorganic Chemistry Communications, 12(12), 1171-1174.
Kwan, M. L., Mirjafari, A., McCabe, J. R., O’Brien, R. A., Essi IV, D. F., Baum, L., … & Davis Jr, J. H. (2013). Synthesis and thermophysical properties of ionic liquids: cyclopropyl moieties versus olefins as Tm-reducing elements in lipid-inspired ionic liquids. Tetrahedron Letters, 54(1), 12-14.
Kwan, M. L., Yeung, C. W., Breno, K. L., & Doxsee, K. M. (2001). Stereoselective one-pot synthesis of vinylsilanes from aromatic aldehydes. Tetrahedron Letters, 42(8), 1411-1413.
Kwan, M. L., & Battiste, M. A. (2002). A convenient one-pot, organoaluminum mediated vinylsilane synthesis from non-enolizable ketones via the Peterson protocol. Tetrahedron letters, 43(48), 8765-8768.
Kwan, M. L., Battiste, M. A., Macala, M. K., Aybar, S. C., James, N. C., & Haoui, J. J. (2004). Diethylaluminum chloride mediated vinylsilane synthesis: Comparison of different solvent systems. Synthetic communications, 34(11), 1943-1950.
Dr. Man Lung (Desmond) Kwan, the son of a construction worker and a homemaker, was born on October 16, 1968. Dr. Kwan and his sister grew up in Hong Kong, and their mother worked in a factory. Dr. Kwan often visited his mother at work to transport items from the factory to home so that they could work together and make additional money. He remembers the smelly-colored wastewater coming out the drain outside the factory building and often wondered if these liquids were toxic. As a child in the 80s, he rode buses to other suburbs, where everyone could see the smelly, black sludge wastewater released into the sea. Even as a little kid, he often asked the same question - is this ok to do?
Dr. Kwan received his college education in the United States, earning a Bachelor of Science from the University of South Alabama in 1993. He attended the University of Florida for graduate school, completing a doctoral degree in organic chemistry in 1999.
After earning his Ph.D., Dr. Kwan was worried being newley graduated would restrict his job opportunities. However, he quickly received a postdoctoral position at the University of Oregon in Eugene, working on green chemistry. Dr. Kwan describes the school’s social and academic atmosphere as “unique.” He remembers a particular event that sparked his environmental interest: he threw away a bottle of orange juice, only to have a passerby pull it out of the trash and place it in the recycling bin. The incident caused Dr. Kwan to think more deeply about recycling and human environmental impact.
After completing his postdoctoral research study, Dr. Kwan joined the faculty at John Carroll University. He has been working at the university for 22 years and is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry. His research interests center around organometallic reagent-mediated allyl- and vinyl-silane synthesis and fluoridated palladium pincer complexes. Dr. Kwan is also greatly interested in work relating to green chemistry and teaches a green chemistry course.
Despite temporary hardships, Dr. Kwan has remained in academia and promoted Green Chemistry because he believes it is critical to ensuring human survival. He encourages all his students to ask themselves: “Will money solve all of the problems of the future?” (Taylor, 2005). He asserts that it will not: societies need to initiate sustainable, environmentally sound practices or run the risk of extinction.
Dr. Kwan is teaches a green chemistry course that is paired with a communications class. The green chemistry course emphasizes fact-checking, information gathering, sustainability, and pollution history. His colleague, Dr. Brent Brossman, a communication professor, teaches the linked communication course, which focuses on written and oral communication components of sustainability advocacy.
After finishing his postdoctoral work, Dr. Kwan worked briefly in the private sector but was lured back into academia. He cites his undergraduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral advisors as important mentors; they convinced him of the value of educating future generations. Specifically, Dr. Kwan thanks Dr. Norris Hoffman, Dr. Merle Battiste, Dr. Kenneth Doxsee, and Dr. Bruce Branduand as mentors in his career. With their encouragement, Dr. Kwan left the private sector and began teaching.
Dr. Kwan considers his single most significant achievement to be sending students to graduate school. He says it is significant when he can influence a student to pursue green chemistry and tries to offer such students any assistance he can. At John Carroll University, he mentore several minority students. He mentored two female students from the Dominican Republic, who assisted him with laboratory research. Dr. Kwan also participated in John Carroll University Emergency Services (a community service organization) as a faculty advisor, assisted in the University’s recycling program, and worked with Circle K International on the John Carroll University Campus.
Dr. Kwan states that it is important to remember that there are always causes and consequences. He emphasizes, “Our responsibility is to protect the environment and not kick the can down the road. It is not easy. However, it is the right thing to do. We should keep the resources that belong to future generations. We must consider sustainability!” (2023). Dr. Kwan credits much of his success to growing up in an environment that values education. He advises students of color to develop a love of learning and seek out environments where that love will be nurtured.
Desmond Kwan. (2023). Linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/in/desmond-kwan-9728ba7/
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2006. The Paths We Thread: II. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.