John Putziger

2021 Astronaut Scholar

Hometown

Falls Church, VA

Major

Physics Honors; Mathematics

College

College of Science; Honors College

 

John Putziger received the Astronaut Scholarship in recognition of his promising undergraduate research in organic synthesis and catalysis development and his vision of novel catalysts leading to the creation of life-saving drugs, biofuels, and agricultural products. At Purdue, John has been recognized for his research, community involvement, and academic achievement through multiple awards and scholarships bestowed by the College of Science, in addition to the 2020 Outstanding Student award from the Department of Chemistry.

Indeed, his dedication to discovery and community are evident both in and outside the lab. Not only did John play first string pitcher and clean-up hitter for Space Group, a summer softball team of undergraduate and graduate student researchers in the Department of Chemistry, but also he credits the development of his culinary skills to his discovery at a young age that the heart of cooking is chemistry.

In pursuit of his career aspiration to work in a National Laboratory, John seeks to complete a Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on organic catalysis research. “I can visualize parallels between organic synthesis and cooking. Similar to when I am synthesizing organic materials, I find myself ruminating on how I might alter elements to innovate new results. Like when I experiment with ingredients to create a personalized dish, I aspire to develop new catalytic materials that can help expand organic synthesis methodologies.”