Welcome to our Student Profile series, a project designed to highlight the diverse and fascinating individuals driving innovation within the University of Chicago Department of Chemistry. This initiative aims to go beyond the lab coat, showcasing the unique stories, passions, and perspectives of our students. We've asked them to share not just their research, but also the experiences and insights that have shaped their academic journey.
Today, we're excited to introduce you to Matthew Hennefarth, a 4th-year graduate student in Laura Gagliardi’s group. His story offers a glimpse into the diverse backgrounds that enrich our department, from growing up near Silicon Valley's giants to his current work modeling light-matter interactions. The following provides a deeper look into his experiences and research interests.
Who are you, where are you from, and what was it like growing up there?
I am a 4th year graduate student in Laura Gagliardi’s group developing new multireference electronic structure theories to model light-matter interactions. I was born and raised in a small, rural town in the San Francisco Bay Area; right next to the heart of Silicon Valley. A lot of families in my town raised some farm animals – my own family has some chickens. Yet, I still grew up strongly influenced by the tech giants such as Google or Meta given their proximity. I remember in high school; someone had a prototype of the Google glasses. As such, STEM was an especially important aspect of schooling with my high school offering classes in computer science and animation.
If you could have a conversation with any scientist, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask them?
I would love to have a conversation with either Kurt Gödel or Ernst Zermelo to discuss whether mathematics is invented or discovered. I think both of them would have some interesting perspectives as Zermelo formulated the axioms for which all of mathematics is based on and Gödel showed that there are no set of complete and consistent axioms for which all of mathematics could be based on.
What's a concept or idea that you find endlessly fascinating, even if it's outside the realm of chemistry?
I find the concept of infinity – in the mathematical and physical sense – mindboggling; especially because there are different sizes of infinities, countable and uncountable infinities. It’s amazing that a concept, which we all somewhat intuitively understand, has such a large philosophical ramification on the foundations of mathematics. It’s also interesting because it’s still an open question on if our universe is spatially infinite or not. Conversely, the void, null, vacuum, or emptiness is equally fascinating as infinity’s counterpart. This especially true for the vast emptiness that fills outer space as well as the emptiness between molecules when we are studying them using quantum mechanics.
What's the coolest tool, gadget or technique you get to utilize or play with in your research? Are there any tools or methods you’ve learned that felt like unlocking a superpower?
As a computationalist/theorist, we mainly just interact with computers on a day-to-day basis. But I do have access to some of the worlds most advanced and powerful computers that I can run my calculations on. It can feel like a time-traveling machine as a calculation that I wanted to run on my little laptop might take 30 days non-stop, but these computers can get it done within a day. Also, I am able to actually visualize and watch how a molecule reacts to absorbing light. To be able to see this fundamental process, which is constantly happening all around us, is fascinating.
What's the best 'lab snack' that gets you through a long experiment, and what's a recreation or 'guilty pleasure' that helps you unwind after a long day in the lab
I’m not much of a “snacker” but I definitely enjoy my coffee throughout the day. In the evening, I usually like to go rock climbing with some friends to keep myself grounded.
What's the most collaborative or teamwork-based experience you've had in the lab?
One of the unique things of the Gagliardi group is that every month we compile a list of published papers that are of general interest to the group. I have had the task of organizing this search every month and it is always so interesting to see how many different papers are published each month, as well as the general trend in the scientific literature over the years towards certain topics. It really gives you a big picture of what the “trending topics in chemistry” are each month.
What's the potential impact of your research that you find most compelling?
Since I am studying methods to simulate light-matter interactions, I think being able to better harness the sun’s energy. I hope my research is able to help design new materials and methods to capture and store the sun’s energy efficiently so that we can use it to power our cars, homes, phones, etc. On the other side, it’s important that we also work on mitigating the potentially damaging UV rays from the sun that can cause skin cancer. I hope my methodology can help better understand how light causes cancer as well as ways to mitigate it, whether this is thru designing better sunscreens or materials to protect our body or some other method.
What's a skill you've learned in the department that you think will be valuable in any career?
I think being able to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds – culturally as well as intellectually. This department has students and researchers from all over the globe as well as from various educational backgrounds – chemistry, math, physics, biology, medicine, engineering, etc. While it is very comfortable to always just communicate your work within your own group, who are also very knowledgeable about your subdiscipline, it’s an incredibly valuable skill to be able to communicate your work and its importance to a multicultural and scientifically diverse audience.
What's a perspective shift or mindset change you've experienced that's broadened your approach to problem-solving?
Sometimes I find myself overthinking and overplanning a project to make it as perfect as possible that I spend more time planning than actually doing. During graduate school, I have learned that a little bit of planning is good, but when it comes to finding solutions to problems, its best to just explore and do. It doesn’t have to be perfect on the first attempt, and a suboptimal solution is better than no solution. Once you have a solution, you will understand the problem better and then you can go back and think about more optimal solutions. You will have understood edge-cases or pitfalls that one can fall into as well as how to avoid them.
What is a piece of advice you would give to someone who is nervous about starting research?
Its normal to be nervous when you are doing cutting edge research, the fear of the unknown, the fear of one’s hypothesis or ideas not working out. But if we shy away from that fear, the nervousness of adventuring into the unknown, then we would never progress as a society, in science, or in life. If you are in this department, you are here for a reason: to make an impact. And part of that is to venture into the unknown, the uncharted territories of scientific research, and test out one’s ideas. Overtime, the nervousness will fade as you build confidence in your ideas and vision.
What's a piece of advice you'd give for building strong and supportive relationships with peers and mentors in the department?
Talk with people! There are so many smart and wonderful people in this department that you can learn so much from everyone. Whether it be just grabbing coffee with someone from a different group or taking a walk with a collaborator to discuss life outside the lab, these small interactions can really help solidify a supportive network that will really allow you to thrive.
Looking back on your academic journey so far, what's one thing you're most grateful for?
I am most grateful for everyone who has given me a chance to prove myself as well as given me the tools to succeed. I especially want to shout out Prof. Anastassia Alexandrova at UCLA for taking me on as an undergraduate and believing in me and my ideas as well as my current group here at UChicago (the Gagliardi group) for all their support throughout my PhD. I also would like to acknowledge all the funding I have received from UCLA, UChicago, as well as the NSF to support me throughout my academic career.
To see Matthew’s research impact, find their contributions on Google Scholar.