Dr.
Greg Boutis knew his destiny was science at age seven when he attempted
to recharge a standard AA battery in his parents basement using a
plugged in extension cord that he had cut open. Two electric shocks
later cemented his curiosity for understanding how things work, and
today he employs that drive for understanding as an assistant physics
professor at the City University of New York at York College.
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As a young girl in East Berlin, Ilona Kretzschmar tinkered under the
hood of the family’s trusty Trabant, or “Trabi” as these no-frills,
two-stroke cars were affectionately referred to in East Germany, but
she envisioned herself eventually becoming a veterinarian. That is,
until attending her first high school chemistry class where her
professor changed her perspective on science and her future. After
graduation from the Carl-Friedrich Gauss High School for Math, Science,
and Engineering in Frankfurt (Oder) where she excelled in physics and
chemistry, she was torn between pursuing a career in chemistry or
following her long-time passion for things mechanical as a watchmaker
or goldsmith.
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