There and back again: the synthetic travels of Gary H. Posner

For the past 50 years, Professor Gary H. Posner has made a significant impact on the field of synthetic organic chemistry. This short review aims to briefly highlight just some of his major contributions, including: (1) early work in the development of organocopper chemistry, specifically cross coupling reactions and the synthesis of non-symmetrical ketones; (2) chiral transfer reactions using both chiral sulfoxides and selenides for the construction of complex products; (3) [4+2]-reactions exploiting 3-substituted pyrones; and (4) novel domino reaction cascades for the synthesis of carbocycles and ring expanded lactones.

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