Matthew Kapelewski honored with the Alumni Achievement Award
Matthew Kapelewski, a class of 2012 graduate who majored in chemistry, is one of ten prominent alumni who will be honored by the Penn State Alumni Association at the 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards Ceremony on Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m. The event will be livestreamed; visit the Alumni Association’s website to register.
The award is one of the Alumni Association’s most prestigious honors. Recipients — alumni aged 35 and younger — are nominated by an academic college or campus and invited by the president of the University to return to Penn State to share their expertise with students and the University community. They demonstrate to students that Penn State alumni can succeed in exceptional fashion at an early age.
“Our Alumni Achievement Award recipients show students what’s possible when passion meets purpose,” said Ryan Jones, interim executive officer of the Alumni Association. “Their accomplishments so early in their careers demonstrate the lasting value of a Penn State education and the difference our alumni make around the world.”
Kapelewski is currently the director of chemistry at Orbital, an AI-focused startup. He leads teams developing new materials that help capture carbon dioxide from the air and improve cooling technologies for energy-intensive systems such as data centers. His work combines chemistry and artificial intelligence to support more efficient and sustainable technologies.
During his time at Penn State, Kapelewski spent three and a half years conducting research with Mary Beth Williams, professor of chemistry, and was heavily involved in THON, where he held multiple leadership roles.
“Getting an early chance to learn about research was a huge opportunity for me to develop as a scientist and as a person,” Kapelewski said. “This set me on a path to do research at both Stanford University and UC Berkeley, as well as receive my Ph.D. from Berkeley.”
Visit the Alumni Association website for more information on the honorees and the Alumni Achievement Award.