Professor Rojas earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1989, where he did research with Ralph O. Allen on neutron activation analysis of archaeological artifacts. He received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Indiana University, working with David R. Williams. Following a postdoc with Julius Rebek at both MIT and The Scripps Research Institute, Professor Rojas joined the faculty at Barnard College, a liberal arts college for women in New York City. His research involves the development of nitrogen atom transfer reactions and their application to the synthesis of 2-amino sugars.