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A Scholar’sstoryFurman faculty are likely to be talkingabout Matt Correnti for years to come.There are people who know a littleabout many things. There are peoplewho know a lot about a few things.And then there’s Matt Correnti.“He’s someone who knows a lot aboutmany things,” says Lon Knight, CharlesEzra Daniel Professor of Chemistry andchair of the department.Correnti, a native of Springfield, Pa.,graduated in May as a triple major, earningdegrees in chemistry, mathematics andphysics. He actually stayed a fifth year topolish off the math degree.It’s a decision he’s glad he made. “I liketo dip my hands in a lot of different pies,”he says. And he did it all while maintaininga perfect 4.00 grade point average.Correnti came to Furman in 2008, followingin the footsteps of his sister, Christina ’07.He says many students from his hometown, asuburb of Philadelphia, end up at Penn StateUniversity, but Correnti was looking for anew experience.After visiting Furman’s campus, meetingthe people and touring the newly constructedBy Erikah HaavieTownes Center for Science, he saw no reasonto look anywhere else. He enrolled at FurmanEarly Decision. “I sealed my fate pretty early,so I really enjoyed my senior year of highschool,” he says.His Advanced Placement credits allowedhim to jump right into mid-level physics andchemistry courses. He figured one of the subjectswould come out the front-runner, but bythe end of his freshman year he had alreadydecided on a double major.As he spent more time taking advancedcourses, his interest in mathematics continuedto grow and he began to see moreconnections between the three fields. Afterdiscussing the matter with friends and mentors,he decided to add the third major.“Matt is the epitome of a student scholar,”says mathematics professor John Harris.“He isn’t taking courses just to graduate.He isn’t choosing majors to pad his résumé.He’s taking courses to learn, and he’smaking high-level connections in thecontext of very deep topics.”Blending the three fields is a pathto discovery, Correnti says, and those discoverieshave led him to a slew of honorsand awards, as well as presentations atnational and international conferences.He came to Furman as a Lay Scholar —the university’s highest academic award —and while on campus has been named aFurman Fellow, a Barry M. GoldwaterScholar (the nation’s most prestigious undergraduateaward for math and science), anda Beckman Scholar, among other honors.“Matt is among the most brilliant studentsI’ve encountered in 30 years of teaching,”says education professor Scott Henderson,Furman’s director of national and internationalscholarships. “His pure intelligenceis incredible.”DOWN IN THE BASEMENT of theTownes Center, Correnti, under Knight’sdirection, has been using and, in somecases, building laboratory equipment thatsimulates temperatures in outer space.The research, says Knight, is designedto create and study new molecules ofastrophysical interest to help understandthe cosmos at the very basic chemicallevel. They use an electron spin resonanceapparatus to examine hydrogen clusterions at temperatures near absolute zero.Correnti was the lead author on a papersharing the results of their research that waspublished in the Journal of Chemical Physicsin November of 2012. He was also the soleundergraduate presenter at a Royal SocietyDiscussion Meeting in London in Februaryof 2012.Despite his intense academic load,Correnti has been diligent about makingtime for play during his college years.He played several intramural sports andcoached an intramural soccer team.As vice president of the Furman chapterof the American Chemical Society, he organizedcommunity outreach events, includinginteractive activities to help encouragechildren to become interested in science.One of his favorite projects for childrenis making ice cream with liquid nitrogen.Correnti received the Scholarship Cup and the Bradshaw-Feaster Medal for General Excellence at Commencement.“I can’t say it tastes as good as Ben andJerry’s, but it’s definitely in the spirit,” he says.Correnti also has a passion for woodworking.“Creating objects of original beautyand craftsmanship is as alluring to me as theprocess of scientific discovery,” he says.Two of his pieces have received majorrecognition. Woodworkers Journal highlighteda contemporary-style desk Correnti built, anda ball-and-claw table he made was showcasedin the Philadelphia Furniture Show. “It’s anopportunity to take ideas, persevere throughit and turn them into reality,” Correnti says.One of his greatest joys has been attendingFurman with his high school sweetheart,Karen Woods. Woods, a health sciencesmajor, finished her studies in December. Theywere married May 25, and they’re headed toRichland, Wash., where Correnti will be partof the National Security Internship Program atthe Pacific Northwest National Lab. There, he’llbe able to continue what he describes as “theessence of Furman” by working collaborativelywith his research advisor, Marvin Warner.The program will give him flexibility ashe decides what course to pursue and whatgraduate program to attend. Eventually hehopes for a career developing practical technologiesto address contemporary internationalissues, such as clean energy production andstorage and pollution reduction.“Matt is simply a delight,” says John Harris.“Furman faculty will be talking about him foryears to come.” |F|Photos by Jeremy Fleming.FURMAN | SPRING 2013 17