Introduction
Matthew Putman is an American scientist, educator, musician and film/stage producer. He is best known for his work in nanotechnology, the science of working in dimensions smaller than 100 nanometers. Putman currently serves as the CEO of Nanotronics Imaging, which provides ultra high-resolution images for industry and science.
Career
After receiving a B.A. in Music and Theater from Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio, Putman worked as Vice President of Development for Tech Pro, Inc., a business launched by his parents, Kay and John Putman, in 1982. He later received a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Physics from Columbia University, where he served as a professor and researcher.
Tech-Pro was acquired by Roper Industries in March 2008. That same year, John and Matthew Putman founded Nanotronics Imaging, which includes Peter Thiel as the 3rd director on the Board.
Putman holds or has contributed to 20 patents, and has published more than 20 technical papers. He has lectured at the University of Paris, USC, University of Michigan, and The Technical University of São Paulo. Along with his scientific and engineering work, Matthew Putman has produced several plays and films. A jazz pianist and composer, he appears on the CDs Perennial (2008) and Gowanus Recordings (2009) and has played with jazz masters Ornette Coleman, Daniel Carter and Vijay Iyer.
He has also published a book of poems, Magnificent Chaos, partly written during his battle with esophagal cancer in 2005 (AuthorHouse, 2011).
Putman serves on the Executive Board of the Montauk Observatory in East Hampton, NY, and on the Advisory Board of MetaMed and Pioneer Works. He is an Artist-in-Residence for Imagine Science Films, which seeks to build relationships between scientists and filmmakers.