Matt Horwitz '09 Making Chemistry Dreams Come True
Former Greenie has done research in three foreign countries
Have lab coat, will travel.
Matt Horwitz '09 once found his niche in Christ School's Science classrooms. Now he can be found all over the world doing chemical research, whether it is China, Japan, or Tarragona, Spain, where Horwitz unpacked his suitcase last week. He will be a postdoctoral researcher at a Tarragona institute "for a couple of years," and it is very much the means to an end.
"My 10-year plan is to try and become a professor," Horwitz said. "I don't know if I'll do that in Europe or not, but that's a goal. I got very lucky during graduate school. I did research in China and Japan. I was technically proficient in Spanish in college, so that should help as well."
Horwitz was just getting started when he received his B.S. in Chemistry from Columbia University in 2013. He then pursued a PhD at the University of North Carolina. Horwitz just defended his dissertation in Organic Chemistry, which involved developing new reactions that use organic molecules as catalysts as well as working on the synthesis of new drug molecules.
Horwitz, who is originally from Hendersonville, N.C., showed his intellectual potential early on as a state chess champion in middle school. He went on to become president of the Chess Club at Columbia, but only plays the game casually now.
It has been eight years, but Horwitz looks back on his time at Christ School fondly.
"I wasn't very athletic. I just remember the Science teachers at the time were all super-involved and very supportive of my interests there," Horwitz said. "Bryan Martin and James Uhler are two teachers that I remember well. It was such a fun learning environment."
