Brian Jeffrey Cook was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1989 and grew up in the neighboring suburb of Lawrenceville, NJ. An interest in chemistry grew out of proficiency in high school and led to Brian double majoring in Biochemistry and Chemistry/ACS Certification track at Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ campus). While at Seton Hall, Brian received numerous commendations, including the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society Divisions of Polymer Chemistry and Polymer and Materials Science, and the New Jersey Institute of Chemists award. At Seton Hall, Brian was involved in numerous research projects, for example, in the Murphy group, the synthesis of new ruthenium-ruthenium and ruthenium-rhenium tetrametallic dendrimers with previously under-utilized bridging ligands for investigating metal-metal communication.