Matias Horst

Hi there! I’m a PhD candidate in the Chemistry department at Stanford University. My advisor is Yan Xia. My research explores the influence of forces on chemical reactivity in macromolecules. You can find a list of my publications here.

During my graduate research, I have used organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, polymer characterization, and computational chemistry to develop new polymers that contain force-responsive motifs (mechanophores) and to describe the chemistry of their transformations. By understanding the relationship between molecular structure, polymer properties, and mechanochemistry, I hope to discover design principles for new mechanophores.

I previously studied chemistry at Duke University and worked to develop force-responsive metallopolymers under the guidance of Katherine Franz and Stephen Craig.

Outside the lab, I enjoy gardening and vegetarian cooking. I believe that thinking systematically and scientifically about the societal and material forces that led to our current world is essential to understanding it and successfully working to improve it, which leads me to value reading broadly, critically, and in dialogue with others.