Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Chemistry B.A., Reed College, Chemistry Postdoctoral work, University of California, San Diego

Kua is interested in how small molecules self-assemble, from the laws of chemistry and physics, into larger highly ordered three-dimensional frameworks. Students in his research lab use quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to understand the thermodynamics and kinetics leading to self-assembly. Systems being studied include covalent organic frameworks, metal-benzene clusters, metal-organic frameworks, oligomer formation in secondary organic aerosols, and weakly bound crystalline systems. In his spare time, Kua ponders the chemistry of the origin of life