Matthew Mills is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Terrence Collins. His research focuses on synthesizing and characterizing novel TAML activators to catalyze the degradation of micropollutants like ethinyl estradiol. He has published 7 papers and mentored undergraduates. Mills received his BS from California University of Pennsylvania and is anticipated to earn his PhD in 2016. He has taught at the high school and university level and served 8 years in the Marine Corps.

1. Matthew Mills
mrmills@andrew.cmu.edu
(412) 551-8126
Work: 4400 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Home: 9396 Northgate Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15101
Education
Ph.D. in Chemistry Anticipated 2016
M.S. in Chemistry Dec 2013
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
Thesis Title: Synthesis and mechanistic study of TAML activators for better environmental
performance.
Advisor: Terrence J. Collins
B.S. in Chemistry, B.S. in Secondary Education Dec 2007
California University of Pennsylvania
California, PA
Summa Cum Laude
Awards
Richard King Mellon Foundation Presidential Fellowship Sept 2013-Present
Carnegie Mellon University
Steinbrenner Institute Graduate Fellowship Sept 2012-Aug 2013
Carnegie Mellon University
Research Experience
Research Assistant 2011-Present
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
Research Advisor: Terrence J. Collins
Synthesis and characterization of a novel TAML activator with significant steric hindrance.
 Synthesized a new TAML activator and proved by kinetic analysis that oxidation of the
aromatic moiety of TAML ligands is not a significant contributor to catalyst inactivation.
 Established through kinetic and product analysis the mechanism of formation of high-
valent oxidation states under a variety of conditions, including the formation of a
previously unreported Fe(V)-oxo species in water.
 Discovered evidence for a proton-coupled electron transfer process through
electrochemical studies in water, which were not possible with previous catalysts.

2. Kinetics and environmental and biological impacts of TAML-catalyzed degradation of
micropollutants with hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite.
 Measuring the kinetics of the oxidation of a series of substrates with TAML activators
and compiling data toward developing a structure-activity relationship for substrates.
 Analyzing products of reactions to determine whether TAML catalysts can shift the
mechanism of substrate reactivity with hypochlorite from chlorination to oxidation.
Catalyzed oxidative degradation of ethinyl estradiol with TAML activators and hydrogen
peroxide in water over a wide range of conditions.
 Demonstrated that TAML/peroxide treatment is effective for remediation of ethinyl
estradiol in water by kinetic and biological assays.
 Measured the rate constant of degradation under environmentally relevant conditions.
 Characterized several intermediate products, several of which were novel.
 Collaborated with Prof. Susan Jobling at Brunel University in England to show that
estrogenicity of the reaction mixture was greatly reduced after treatment.
Mentored nine undergraduate students in support of the projects above.
Presentations
Removal of ecotoxicity of 17α-ethinylestradiol using TAML/Peroxide treatment.
 11th Annual Metals in Biology Symposium, Pittsburgh PA. Sept 25, 2015, Oral.
Degradation of Diclofenac in Water with TAML Activators and Hydrogen Peroxide.
 249th ACS National Meeting, Denver, CO. Mar 23, 2015, Poster.
Complex Kinetics of TAML Activators with Tert-butyl Hydroperoxide.
 45th ACS Central Regional Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA. Oct 30, 2014, Poster.
Degradation of Ethinyl Estradiol in Water Using Iron Coordination Compounds.
 44th ACS Central Regional Meeting, Mount Pleasant MI. May 16 2013,Poster.
Degradation of Ethinyl Estradiol in Water Using Iron Coordination Compounds.
 Steinbrenner Institute Environmental Expo, Pittsburgh, PA. Apr 24, 2013, Poster.
Publications
Published:
1. DeNardo, M. A.; Mills, M. R.; Ryabov, A. D.; Collins, T. J., Unifying Evaluation of the
Technical Performances of Iron-Tetra-amido Macrocyclic Ligand Oxidation Catalysts. J. of the
Am. Chem. Soc. 2016.
2. Mills, M. R.; Burton, A. E.; Mori, D. I.; Ryabov, A. D.; Collins, T. J., Iron(IV) or iron(V)?
Heterolytic or free-radical? Oxidation pathways of a TAML activator in acetonitrile at -40 °C. J.
Coord. Chem. 2015, 17-18, 3046-3047.
3. Mills, M. R.; Arias-Salazar, K.; Baynes, A.; Shen, L. Q.; Churchley, J.; Beresford, N.; Gayathri,
C.; Gil, R. R.; Kanda, R.; Jobling, S.; Collins, T. J., Removal of ecotoxicity of 17α-
ethinylestradiol using TAML/peroxide water treatment. Sci. Rep. 2015, 10511.
4. Kundu, S.; Thompson, J. V. K.; Shen, L. Q.; Mills, M. R.; Bominaar, E. L.; Ryabov, A. D.;
Collins, T. J., Activation Parameters as Mechanistic Probes in the TAML Iron(V)-Oxo
Oxidations of Hydrocarbons. Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 1803-1810.

3. 5. Ren, Q.; Guo, Y.; Mills, M. R.; Ryabov, A. D.; Collins, T. J., On the Iron(V) Reactivity of an
Aggressive Tail-Fluorinated Tetraamido Macrocyclic Ligand (TAML) Activator. Eur. J. Inorg.
Chem. 2015, 1445-1452.
6. Warner, G. R.; Mills, M. R.; Enslin, C.; Pattanayak, S.; Panda, C.; Panda, T. K.; Gupta, S. S.;
Ryabov, A. D.; Collins, T. J., Reactivity and Operational Stability of N-Tailed TAMLs through
Kinetic Studies of the Catalyzed Oxidation of Orange II by H2O2: Synthesis and X-ray Structure
of an N-Phenyl TAML. Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 6226-6233.
In Preparation:
7. Mills, M. R.; Ryabov, A. D.; Collins, T. J., Synthesis of a Permethylated TAML Activator;
Comprimised Catalysis Versus Mechanistic Insight. To be submitted for publication.
Skills and Instrumentation
Computer
 Microsoft Office, Topspin NMR software, Chemdraw, Endnote, Sigmaplot.
Experimentation
 Kinetic analysis of reactions for the determination of mechanism.
 Synthesis of organic and inorganic compounds using Schlenk and glovebox techniques.
Instrumentation
 Quantitative and qualitative HPLC
 1D and 2D NMR
 IR spectroscopy
 Electrospray Ionization Mass spectroscopy
 Cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry
 GC-MS
 UV-Vis spectroscopy
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant – Laboratory 1 2011-2012
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
 Instructed students in proper laboratory techniques.
 Delivered presentations on experimental setup.
 Reviewed and corrected laboratory reports.
 Mentored students in group projects.
High School Science Teacher 2009-2010
Andrew Street High School
Pittsburgh, PA
Amicitia American School 2008-2009
Fes, Morocco
 Taught high-school level physical science, biology and chemistry.
 Developed lesson plans, demonstrations and experiments.
 Prepared and evaluated assignments and exams.

4. Related Experience
Analyst 2010-2011
TestAmerica Pittsburgh, PA
 Analyzed environmental samples (soil, water and waste) for a range of analytes using
established protocols.
 Reported data according to client’s needs, and according to strict timeline guidelines.
Sergeant 2000-2008
United States Marine Corps
 Instructed and led groups of up to forty Marines.
 Honorable Discharge after eight years of Reserve duty and two combat deployments to
Iraq.
Memberships
 ACS
 AAAS