Dan Schwartz is the Glenn L. Murphy Professor of Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and Interim Director of the Environmental Engineering Program. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Physics, earned his PhD in Physics from Harvard University, and subsequently performed postdoctoral fellowships in Chemical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara and Physical Chemistry at UCLA. He was also a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at Tulane University from 1994-2000. Dan has been a faculty member at CU Boulder since 2001 and a former chair of the Chemical and Biological Engineering department from 2012-16.
Dan's research interests include the dynamic behavior of molecules and nanoparticles at interfaces and in porous media, with applications in separations, biotechnology, and catalysis. His research is primarily experimental, with specialties in single-molecule microscopy and surface modification, and his team often uses computational simulations and statistical modeling to understand and interpret experimental data. He frequently collaborates with his colleagues at CU and elsewhere on research projects, and he has supervised the research of more than 40 PhD students and 20 postdoctoral researchers. In recent years he has been teaching graduate Thermodynamics and undergraduate Fluid Mechanics and has received teaching awards for both graduate and undergraduate teaching from the department and from the students themselves.
Dan’s professional recognitions include the NSF CAREER award, the Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar award, the CU Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Excellence in Research, and selection as a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Chemical Society. Dan was a Senior Editor of the journal Langmuir, the American Chemical Society's journal of interface science from 2004-2019 and has been deeply involved with the ACS Colloid and Surface Chemistry Division (COLL), serving as Division Chair in 2016.
Dan and his wife Maureen (who is retired from a career in the software industry) live in south Boulder with their dogs.
How are [you] getting involved and/or hoping to get involved within the CEAS community?
I have enjoyed being involved in CEAS in many ways over the 20+ years I’ve been a faculty member, including various activities within the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. In recent years, I have increasingly participated in college-wide roles. I’m currently serving as the interim director of the Environmental Engineering Program, and I am really enjoying the opportunity to interact with a new group of colleagues.
Describe one of your favorite traditions.
My wife hates seafood, but each year she takes me out for sushi on my birthday. Great tradition.
What is an ordinary moment in your life that brings you joy?
Every week, I have lunch with my grad students and postdocs before our regular group meeting; it’s wonderful to shoot the breeze casually and hear about their lives. Outside of work, there’s nothing that gives me more joy than being greeted enthusiastically by my dogs when I walk through the door.
What is a motto or quote that you hold dear and why?
This may be apocryphal, but there is a quote attributed to Einstein along the lines of “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” It’s deceptively profound, and I frequently find myself trying to express something similar to my students about their research projects.
What do you most like to do to unwind?
In the summer months, my favorite thing is to totally escape by getting into the mountains on solo backpacking trips, usually with one or two of my dogs. There are a number of Colorado wilderness areas that I’ve visited dozens of times, and I never get tired of them. People often ask how I can be by myself for days at a time in total isolation, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing like it.
What has been your favorite work or personal project so far?
Something I enjoyed recently was teaching a new (to me) lower-level class during the pandemic. I had the opportunity to teach Fluid Mechanics to sophomores on a couple of occasions, once remotely during the height of COVID, and once in-person (mostly) as we were emerging from the pandemic. It was a challenging time for the students, and also for me, as I was learning how to teach new material while also dealing with remote instruction, masks, and illness. But I found that my students were hungry to learn and to have a sense of normality. A little empathy went a long way and was eagerly reciprocated. It was very rewarding.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
This is probably more a cliché than real advice, but I sincerely believe that saying “yes” can lead to good things more often than saying “no.”