Our research interests in the field of carbohydrates are in the construction of new materials, including ligands for metal catalyzed reactions, chiral auxiliaries and the formation of highly functionalized materials. For example, inositol based ligands such as 1 provide excellent regio- and stereoselectivities in asymmetric allylic alkylations. Inositol based auxiliaries also provide excellent de's and ee's in Michael reactions. In the area of materials, numerous metal-catalyzed transformations of carbohydrates have been developed leading to new materials such as 2.