Chemical synthesis directed at new and/or improved materials and biologically relevant compounds requires constant innovation in the design and application of the chemical tools that allow compound construction. Traditional organometallic reagents have been drawn from a relatively small pool of active metals, thus constraining the diversity of application. The use of magnesium, while ubiquitous, has considerable limitations, and it is in the heavier alkaline earth metals (calcium, strontium and barium), an almost untapped resource, that new reactions, applications and outcomes will be discovered. New active reagents, new structural knowledge and new applications are the focus of our project.