Retired January 2025
Professor Schwartz joined the department in the analytical and biochemistry paths in 1999. He received his B.A. from Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, and his Ph.D. from Columbia University, New York, NY. Previous faculty appointments were at New York University, New York, NY, and the Carnegie Institution for Science, Baltimore, MD.
Professor Schwartz is well-known internationally for his accomplishments in genomics research. Among his most significant accomplishments are the invention of pulsed field electrophoresis (as an undergraduate/graduate student); his pioneering use of digital light microscopy for studying dynamics of single DNA molecules at Carnegie Institution of Washington, Dept. of Embryology, Baltimore; his invention of the first single molecule system for genome analysis — Optical Mapping — at New York University and his development of single molecule genome analysis systems and applications at UW-Madison.
Professor Schwartz held a joint appointment with Genetics, and he was affiliated with Biophysics and Microbiology. He also founded and served as director of the NHGRI-funded Genomic Sciences Training Program, an interdisciplinary predoctoral and postdoctoral training program. His multidisciplinary research group worked at the intersection of genetics, chemistry, nanotechnology, and computer science with an aim to discover fundamental molecular phenomena and use those discoveries to build integrated systems for genome analysis. Their highly innovative and technical work involved both biological and engineering disciplines. His inventions are covered by approximately 30 patents and have served as the scientific basis for multiple start-up companies. Among Dr. Schwartz’s awards are the Lucille P. Markey Scholar Award; the Biochemical Analysis Prize of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry, awarded jointly with Dr. Charles Cantor; the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation; the Beckman Young Investigator from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation; and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-Amgen Prize. In addition, he served as a permanent member of the National Center of Human Genome Research Study Section (1995-1999), earned a Kellett Mid-Career Award and a Vilas Associate Award (UW-Madison), and, in 2022, he was named the Douglas D. Sorensen Professor.