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Kurtis Carsch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He grew up near Dallas, Texas, where he first developed his interest in chemistry by researching selective methane functionalization with Tom Cundari during his time in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) program. Kurtis obtained a joint B.S./M.S. degree in chemistry, where he conducted both computational and experimental research on bio-inspired clusters related to the oxygen-evolving complex of Photosystem II under the supervision of Bill Goddard. His undergraduate studies also included work with SAFCell Inc. and UOP Honeywell, focusing on coordination chemistry of first-row transition metal ions. Kurtis earned his Ph.D. working on understanding amination catalysis with copper nitrene intermediates, receiving the Hertz Thesis Prize for his research. Following this, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Decarbonization Materials, working on elementary organometallic transformations. In January 2025, he returned to Texas to initiate his independent research program. His research focuses on merging design principles from synthetic inorganic chemistry and organometallic catalysis to manipulate electronic structures in catalysis and material science.
General requirements for the Graduate School at UT Austin apply to all programs unless otherwise specified.