Selective catalysts that activate small molecules such as hydrocarbons, dioxygen, water, carbon dioxide and dihydrogen are central to new technologies for the use of alternative energy sources. For example, controlled hydrocarbon functionalization can lead to high impact technologies, but such catalysts require a level of molecular control beyond current means. The Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalization facilitates collaborations among research groups in catalysis, materials, electrochemistry, bioinorganic chemistry and quantum mechanics to develop, validate and optimize new methods to rearrange the bonds of hydrocarbons, activate and transform water and carbon dioxide, implement enzymatic strategies into synthetic systems and design optimal environments for catalysis.