This workshop centers on advancing our understanding of how nitrogenase and a broad family of related biological and synthetic systems activate and reduce dinitrogen (N2) under ambient conditions. N₂ reduction to ammonia (NH3) remains the central scientific challenge, but it also sits within a continuum of nitrogen-cycle chemistry that includes nitrate and nitrite reduction, as well as the distinctive reductive processes mediated by nitrogenase homologs such as Mar, BchNB, and CfbD. By positioning N2 activation within this broader landscape, the workshop highlights how evolution has adapted related cofactors and scaffolds to manage multi-electron, multi-proton transformations across a range of nitrogen substrates. Many of these biological strategies also inspire approaches for other demanding reductions—such as CO2, CN⁻, or C–X bond transformations—underscoring the mechanistic connections among diverse reductive chemistries.

Understanding how nitrogenase achieves selective N2 activation through an associative mechanism remains an outstanding challenge. New insights continue to emerge not only from canonical Mo-, V-, and Fe-nitrogenases but also from nitrogenases in archaea, extremophiles, and other understudied organisms. Comparing these systems with nitrate/nitrite reductases and with homologs like Mar, BchNB, and CfbD provides crucial evolutionary and mechanistic contrasts, revealing how nature tunes cofactor composition, protein environment, and electron–proton delivery pathways to direct reactivity toward N2, N–O species, or alternative substrates. Meanwhile, synthetic molecular complexes, biomimetic architectures, heterogeneous catalysts, and materials-based photocatalysts continue to push the boundaries of non-biological N2 activation, often exposing mechanistic parallels—and divergences—with the biological systems.

A defining feature of this workshop is its deliberate integration of complementary perspectives. We aim to bring together researchers from biochemistry, organometallic and inorganic chemistry, synthetic catalysis, electrochemistry, photo- and photoredox chemistry, spectroscopy, materials science, and computational/theoretical chemistry. Collectively, these communities bring the methodological tools needed to dissect electron/proton delivery, hydride formation, substrate binding, and catalytic turnover in both biological and synthetic environments, enabling a unified examination of N₂ reduction alongside nitrate/nitrite reduction and homolog-driven reductive pathways.

Participants will compare mechanistic strategies across systems, evaluate emerging spectroscopic and computational techniques for probing reactive intermediates, and examine how biological design principles can inform the development of improved synthetic catalysts. By fostering deep cross-disciplinary dialogue, the workshop aims to accelerate the discovery of unifying concepts in N₂ activation and related reductive processes, ultimately contributing to more efficient and sustainable technologies for producing reduced nitrogen and other valuable chemical products.