The design of novel synthetic processes which maximize the construction of structural complexity while minimizing the number of synthetic operations is of monumental importance to the organic chemist. Modern synthetic methods require maximum efficiency by decreasing the total number of steps necessary to achieve the desired transformation in the highest yield possible. With economic and environmental factors looming large in today’s world of dwindling resources, the development of catalytic procedures, in particular asymmetric catalysis, has been the focus of intense study by a large number of research groups. With these issues as motivation, our group is interested in the development of new synthetic methods which combine the selective, atom economical properties of transition metal catalysis with the efficiency of tandem processes to construct a variety of complex natural products
