United States Air Force Academy

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Major Max Grossenbacher

Executive Officer & Instructor

Department of Chemistry

Major Max Grossenbacher
Contact Information

(719) 333-4791

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Bio

Major Max Grossenbacher is an instructor of Chemistry at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He instructs undergraduate chemistry courses, mentors cadets on academic and professional topics, and serves as the executive officer for the department.

Maj Grossenbacher commissioned into the U.S. Air Force in 2015 through the University of Texas at San Antonio's AFROTC program in San Antonio, Texas. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, he commissioned into The United States Air Force as a space operations officer with a specialty in Orbital Warfare. After attending training at Vandenburg SFB in California, he served as a Wideband Satellite Vehicle Expert in the 3rd and 4th Space Operations Squadrons on Schriever SFB, Colorado. Afterwards, he received a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from the Air Force Institute of Technology's Civilian Institution program. While receiving his master's degree, he transferred to The U.S. Space Force in 2020. Prior to his current position, he served as a Flight commander with the 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron on Peterson SFB, Colorado. While serving with the 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, he deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield, where he served as a space liaison officer with Special Operations Command Central at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Education

Bachelor of Science, Chemistry, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas (2015)

Masters of Science, Chemistry, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas (2020)

Professional Experience

Instructor, Department of Chemistry, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO (2023- Present)

Flight Commander, 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Peterson Space Force Base, CO (2022-2023)

Space Liaison Officer, Special Operations Command-Central, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, OCONUS (2021-2022)

Officer in Charge, 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Peterson Space Force Base, CO (2020-2021)

Student, AF Institute of Technology, C.I., The University of Texas at San Antonio, TX (2019-2020)

Mission Planner / Deputy Flight Commander, 4th Space Ops Squadron, Schriever Space Force Base, CO (2017-2019)

Satellite Vehicle Expert / Instructor, 3rd Space Ops Squadron, Schriever Space Force Base, CO (2016-2017)

Student, Space Operations, 533rd Training Squadron, Vandenburg Space Force Base, CA (2016-2016)

Honors & Awards

Air and Space Commendation Medal with Two Oak-Leaf Clusters

Research and Scholarly Interests

Bio-Inorganic and catalytic decomposition of phosphoester bonds

Synthesis of small organic molecule enzyme active site mimics

Publications

Grossenbacher, M.; Foley, W.; Musie, G. T. Tetranuclear Iron(III) Complexes with a Carboxylate-Rich Ligand as Synthetic Mimics of Phosphoesterases in Aqueous Media. Inorganica Chimica Acta 2022, 543, 121195. DOI:10.1016/j.ica.2022.121195.