Dr. Jonathan Rittle

Biography

Jonathan Rittle received his B.S. in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 2010 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 2016. He has received prestigious fellowships, including the NSF Predoctoral Fellowship and the NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California San Diego, the latter of which he completed in 2018. His research interests primarily lie in the field of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, focusing on utilizing metalloenzymes and transition metal clusters for various applications. Rittle's lab, located at the University of California, Berkeley, emphasizes understanding the active sites of metalloenzymes to develop novel synthetic strategies for organic molecules and reactive inorganic cluster compounds. His group employs synthetic chemistry, structural biology, and spectroscopic methods to elucidate the molecular and electronic structures of reactive compounds. He is particularly interested in diiron enzymes and their ability to selectively convert alkanes into alcohols and alkenes, as well as redox-active metalloclusters that can manipulate protons and electrons in chemical reactions. Rittle is dedicated to advancing the biocatalytic potential of enzymes while exploring computational strategies to enhance their stability and solubility.

Research Interests