KURTIS CARSCH
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
he/him/his
2012 || University of North Texas (TAMS)
2016 || B.S./M.S., Caltech
2021 || Ph.D., Harvard
2021–2024 || Postdoc, UC Berkeley
Phone: +1 (469) 569-6651
Email: kcarsch[at]utexas.edu
WeChat ID: KurtisCarsch_UT
Address: 105 E 24th St, Austin, TX 87812
CV || ORCID || Google Scholar
ABOUT KURTIS
Kurtis grew up near Dallas, TX, and he began his interest in chemistry by researching selective methane functionalization with Tom Cundari at the University of North Texas as a part of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) program. Kurtis then attended Caltech and received a joint B.S./M.S. in chemistry, where he conducted computational and experimental research on bio-inspired clusters of the oxygen-evolving complex in Photosystem II with Bill Goddard and Theo Agapie. During his undergraduate studies, Kurtis additionally worked at SAFCell Inc., UOP Honeywell, and examined the coordination chemistry of first-row transition metal ions in trigonal ligand fields with Susanne Mossin at the Technical University of Denmark.
As a Hertz Fellow and a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Kurtis conducted his Ph.D. research with Ted Betley at Harvard, where he focused on understanding amination catalysis by copper nitrene intermediates through the lens of inverted ligand fields, receiving the Hertz Thesis Prize for his research. Kurtis was then an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Decarbonization Materials at the University of California, Berkeley, with Jeff Long, where he established elementary organometallic transformations in the context of chemical separations and discovered the field of high-temperature adsorption.
In January 2025, Kurtis returned back to the State of Texas to start his independent research program at The University of Texas at Austin within the Department of Chemistry. Outside of his research, Kurtis enjoys eating spicy foods, hiking in the mountains, and exploring the broader Texas Hill Country area.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCES
January 2025 – current
March 2021 – December 2024
November 2016 – February 2021
September 2012 – June 2016
August 2010 – May 2021
The University of Texas at Austin
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley
Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow
Advisor – Prof. Jeffrey R. Long
Postdoctoral Research – Organometallic Modifications of Porous Materials for Small Molecule Capture
Harvard University
Hertz Fellow and NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Advisor – Prof. Ted Betley
Ph.D. Research – Ligand Field Inversion in Sterically Confined Copper Architectures
Caltech
Joint B.S./M.S. in Chemistry
Advisors – Profs. Bill Goddard and Theo Agapie
B.S./M.S. Research – Bio-Inspired Clusters Relevant to the Oxygen-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II
University of North Texas
Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science Program, TAMS
Advisor – Prof. Thomas Cundari
Research – Computational Modeling of Methane Hydroxylation through Homogeneous Catalysis
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS
• 2022 CAS Future Leader (2022)
• Fannie and John Hertz Thesis Prize (2022)
• Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021)
• Peter Strauss Fellowship – endowed fellowship by the Hertz Foundation (2021)
• Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship (2020)
• Harvard Distinction in Teaching Award (2019)
• 2016 ACS Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry (2016)
• Richard P. Schuster Memorial Prize (2016)
• George W. Green Memorial Prize (2016)
• Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship (2016) • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2016)
• Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2015)
• Arie J. Haagen-Smit Memorial Award (2015)
• Copenhagen Scholars Study Abroad Scholarship (2014)
• American Chemical Society/Society for Chemical Industry Scholarship (2014)
• Renuka D. Sharma Award (2014)
• Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2012)
• Intel Science Talent Search Finalist (2012)
• University of North Texas Dean’s Research Award (2011) • Texas Academy of Math and Science Summer Research Scholarship (2011)
• Jasper High School Friendliest Freshman (2008)
• Various Statewide Awards and Recognitions for Flute and Piccolo Performances