Carl V. Thompson

Carl V. Thompson is the Stavros and Matoula Salapatas Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He specializes in thin films, nanostructures, and their applications in microsystems, focusing on kinetic phenomena controlling material behavior. His work spans energy storage, semiconductors, and device reliability.

Education: B.S. in Materials Science from MIT, M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University. Postdoctoral research at IBM and MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics.

Research interests include solid-state dewetting, GaN-based transistors, integrated circuits, and thin-film batteries. Key projects involve studying lithiation in silicon, reliability of semiconductor devices, and nanowire stability.

Leadership roles include directorships of MIT’s Materials Processing Center (2008–2017) and Materials Research Laboratory (2017–2023). Awards include the Bruce Chalmers Award (2022) and Humboldt Research Award (1997).

Consulting work with IBM, Intel, Motorola, and startups. Active in international collaborations at Cambridge University, Max Planck Institute, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.