Yanek Hebting
Postdoc
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT
E34-246, 42-44 Carleton Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
phone 617.253.7866
email yhebting@mit.edu

Research interests
Synthetic organic chemistry. My interests lie more specifically in the understanding of the mechanisms of chemical reactions naturally occurring in the environment. I am particularly interested in the mechanistic aspect of abiotic organic matter transformations in sulfur-rich Recent sediments. I also enjoy the challenge of organic synthesis as a tool to elucidate new compounds in order to understand their origin and their raison d'être.

 

Current projects


  • Investigate the use of desulfurization techniques as a tool to improve discrimination of sulfur-rich petroleum systems. Desulfurization techniques are applied to samples of the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian petroleum systems of the South Oman Salt Basin, whose understanding is hampered by the geochemical similarity of the oils and associated source rocks. The study is also being extended to a range of other systems, worldwide, in order to explore the wider applicability of such techniques for fingerprinting biodegraded oils.
  • The design and total organic synthesis of novel isomers of phytanol and hydroxyarchaeol. These compounds have been recently tentatively identified as potential new biomarkers in the lipid structures of thermophilic methanogens. Thus, unambiguous structural assignments are of crucial importance to understand their role and function in the organism.
  • The total synthesis of biomarker standards such as alkylcyclopentanes for structural elucidations purposes.

Education
  • Kelowna Secondary School , Kelowna B.C., Canada, 1991
  • Licence de Chimie (B.Sc.) Chemistry, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France, 1995
  • Maîtrise de Chimie (M.Sc.) Chemistry, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg , France, 1996
  • Diplôme d'Études Approfondies (M.Sc. Hon.) in Molecular and Supramolecular Organic Chemistry, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg , France , 1997
  • Ph.D., Organic Chemistry & Geochemistry, Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, France, 2002
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