PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Current Roles
● Faculty, San Diego State – Fall 2025
● Research Director, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2020–2025
Academic Appointments
● Deputy Director, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2021-2025
● Research Director, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2020–2025
● Research Scientist, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2014–2020
● Research Scientist, CNRS @ Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – 2008–2014
● Research Fellow, CNRS @ Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – 2006–2008
Teaching Positions
● Lecturer, UC San Diego – 2022–2024
● Lecturer, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – 2011–2014
● Lecturer, INSA Lyon – 2010–2011
● Lecturer, CPE Lyon – 2007–2014
Postdoctoral Training
● UC Riverside, with G. Bertrand – 2005–2006
● Univ. of Geneva, with E. P. Kundig – 2003–2005
Recent Contracts and Grants
● 2023–2027: Leveraging Chemoselectivity with Carbene-Derived Earth-Abundant Polynuclear Metal-Hydride
ANR-CarbHydride
(PI: Jazzar; Co-PI: Engle, Payard) – 405,000 €
● 2020–2025: Straightforward access to enantiopure NHC-Transition Metal Complexes: New opportunities for asymmetric catalysis
ANR-cResolu
(PI: Clavier; Co-PI: Mauduit, Jazzar) – 481,000 €
● 2019–2024: Chiral Cyclic Alkyl Amino Carbenes in Asymmetric Catalysis
ANR-CE07-0017-ChiCAAC
(PI: Jazzar; Co-PI: Mauduit, Campagne) – 464,000 €
Recent Award
● 2023: J. M. Lehn Award (French Chemical Society)
Mid-Career Investigator Award – Recognizes scientists with sustained excellence in Organic Chemistry
More about me:
Born and raised in Togo in a multicultural environment shaped by Togolese, French, Lebanese, Armenian, and Belgian influences, I grew up amid financial uncertainty. My parents, small business owners, instilled in our family the values of persistence, self-reliance, and hard work. As the eldest of four children, I’ve always felt a deep responsibility to uplift others along the way.
Education was neither easy,nor linear, yet it proved transformative. As a first-generation college student, I supported myself through many part-time jobs (cook, waiter, barman, seasonal harvester, assembly line worker...) while persuing my academic goals. From a BSc in Poitiers to a MSc in Liverpool (with S. Higgins), this journey led me to a PhD at the University of Bath (with MK Whittlesey). It continued through research positions across Europe (Geneva, Lyon) and the United States (UCR), culminating in my current roles.
Today, my research interests gravitate around the ins and outs of main group chemistry. Yet the journey ahead remains grounded in the same principles that shaped it: perseverance, humility, and a deep belief that knowledge is meant for collective progress.
Hobbies: Playing music, gaming (MarioKart Expert!), cooking, swimming, and most of all spending time with my family.
● Faculty, San Diego State – Fall 2025
● Research Director, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2020–2025
Academic Appointments
● Deputy Director, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2021-2025
● Research Director, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2020–2025
● Research Scientist, CNRS @ UC San Diego – 2014–2020
● Research Scientist, CNRS @ Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – 2008–2014
● Research Fellow, CNRS @ Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – 2006–2008
Teaching Positions
● Lecturer, UC San Diego – 2022–2024
● Lecturer, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – 2011–2014
● Lecturer, INSA Lyon – 2010–2011
● Lecturer, CPE Lyon – 2007–2014
Postdoctoral Training
● UC Riverside, with G. Bertrand – 2005–2006
● Univ. of Geneva, with E. P. Kundig – 2003–2005
Recent Contracts and Grants
● 2023–2027: Leveraging Chemoselectivity with Carbene-Derived Earth-Abundant Polynuclear Metal-Hydride
ANR-CarbHydride
(PI: Jazzar; Co-PI: Engle, Payard) – 405,000 €
● 2020–2025: Straightforward access to enantiopure NHC-Transition Metal Complexes: New opportunities for asymmetric catalysis
ANR-cResolu
(PI: Clavier; Co-PI: Mauduit, Jazzar) – 481,000 €
● 2019–2024: Chiral Cyclic Alkyl Amino Carbenes in Asymmetric Catalysis
ANR-CE07-0017-ChiCAAC
(PI: Jazzar; Co-PI: Mauduit, Campagne) – 464,000 €
Recent Award
● 2023: J. M. Lehn Award (French Chemical Society)
Mid-Career Investigator Award – Recognizes scientists with sustained excellence in Organic Chemistry
More about me:
Born and raised in Togo in a multicultural environment shaped by Togolese, French, Lebanese, Armenian, and Belgian influences, I grew up amid financial uncertainty. My parents, small business owners, instilled in our family the values of persistence, self-reliance, and hard work. As the eldest of four children, I’ve always felt a deep responsibility to uplift others along the way.
Education was neither easy,nor linear, yet it proved transformative. As a first-generation college student, I supported myself through many part-time jobs (cook, waiter, barman, seasonal harvester, assembly line worker...) while persuing my academic goals. From a BSc in Poitiers to a MSc in Liverpool (with S. Higgins), this journey led me to a PhD at the University of Bath (with MK Whittlesey). It continued through research positions across Europe (Geneva, Lyon) and the United States (UCR), culminating in my current roles.
Today, my research interests gravitate around the ins and outs of main group chemistry. Yet the journey ahead remains grounded in the same principles that shaped it: perseverance, humility, and a deep belief that knowledge is meant for collective progress.
Hobbies: Playing music, gaming (MarioKart Expert!), cooking, swimming, and most of all spending time with my family.
Dr. Rodolphe Jazzar
Principal Investigator – Rodolphe leads the React Lab's efforts in main group chemistry and catalysis with a strong focus on promoting transnationnal collaborations and innovations.
