Frederick Albert (Al) Matsen was born in Racine, Wisconsin July 26, 1913 to Danish Immigrant parents Frederick Albert, Sr. and Karen Madsen. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin in 1937, he was the first member of his family to obtain a college degree. He went on to complete his doctorate in Physics and Chemistry from Princeton University and joined the staff at the University of Texas at Austin in 1943 where he remained as a professor and researcher for over 50 years. During this time, he published over 250 research articles and authored six books. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1950 and a National Science Foundation Fellowship to the Poincare Institute in Paris, France. Matsen is perhaps best known within the UT community for leading the effort to establish UT's first computer center in Welch Hall in 1950 and for developing a unique honors undergraduate class in quantum chemistry that he taught for more than 40 years. Matsen personally endowed two graduate fellowships in Theoretical Chemistry and Physics at UT. In 1988, the first Regent's endowed Presidential Fellowship in Theoretical Chemistry was established by the University in his honor.
From the guide to the Frederick Albert Matsen Papers AR. 2010. 006., 1938-2010, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library)
