I grew up in Poland before the fall of the iron curtain. My family was forced to emigrate from Poland as a result of government-organized actions and policies against the Jewish minority, which were silently sanctioned by the population. I came to the United States as a refugee and initially settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where my family joined me a year later. I received an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Washington University of St. Louis and then moved to New York City, where I earned a Doctorate in Chemistry from New York University.