Raised just outside of Austin, Texas, Matthew Pena didn’t have to go too far to enjoy a dark sky and bright stars. From an early age, he was interested in both art and science. He went to star parties and visited the McDonald Observatory in the mountains of Ft. Davis. Both of his parents, one a pharmacist and the other a police officer, supported his pursuits in the arts and sciences, and drove him to many tennis lessons during his formative years. He went to the University of Texas at Austin where he earned a degree in Physics, a field of study that could open doors to any area of research. During his time at UT, he was fascinated by early experiments in genetics. The experiments were so elegant, and he felt that the many big discoveries remained in biology that could be worked out by individuals at a laboratory bench. This was different from how he viewed the future of field of physics, which appeared to be moving to ever more massively collaborative experiments. He would go on to graduate school at Rice University where he received a PhD in Biochemistry. Since then, he has continued working as a researcher: studying evolution of microorganisms to environmental stresses, how yeast responds to external stimuli, and how to engineer bacteria to be microscopic factories of useful chemicals. Last year, he became a father. He and his wife look forward to supporting their son’s interests, whatever they may be.