Adam Pelzer

Adam was born and raised in northern Wisconsin in a town of 500 people, about an hour south of the Michigan border. After attending Lawrence University and completing degrees in math and physics, he worked at 3M as a materials chemist before attending Northwestern for graduate school.

Upon completing his PhD in computational/theoretical chemistry, he worked as a postdoc at Argonne National Lab in Darien where he worked on understanding reaction mechanisms involving nanoparticle catalysts for green chemical oxidants. He then returned to Northwestern for a second postdoc, this time in the chemical engineering department, where he received the National Science Foundation's "Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability" fellowship for his work on chemical mechanisms involved in lignocellulosic biofuel production.

After completing his second postdoc, Adam moved into data science and has worked in industrial data analytics, digital advertising, and food waste reduction. He lives in Naperville with his son Aaron (14), daughter Quinn (10), and dog Rocket (?). In the winter he enjoys reading and exercise. For the rest of the year, he plays baseball and travels with his kids.