Date: 2009. 11. 3, 5:00 PM Place: International Conference Room, Bldg 25-1 -Abstract- In this lecture, we will discuss the structure and reactivity of allenes and spiroepoxides, their diepoxide derivatives. Little is known about spiodiepoxides, and prior to our work this functional group had not been applied to natural product synthesis. Indeed, most of the transformations that will be discussed are new and the product connectivity is not directly achieved by other methods. The theme of the lecture, therefore, will be on the selective formation and manipulation of spirodiepoxides across a range of conditions and functional contents, their application to the preparation of complex molecular targets, and the mechanistic underpinning of their reactivity.