David Mitzi

David Mitzi is the Simon Family Distinguished Professor at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering, holding appointments in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and the Chemistry department. His research focuses on developing sustainable materials for energy applications, particularly photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices using perovskites and chalcogenides. Mitzi has a Ph.D. from Stanford University (1990) and a B.S. from Princeton University (1985). Before joining Duke in 2014, he spent 23 years at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center.

His academic roles include Executive Director of the Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF) and adjunct professorships internationally. Mitzi has authored over 200 publications, with recent work emphasizing perovskite structural engineering, spin-splitting in 2D materials, and glass-forming semiconductors. His grants include NSF-funded projects on data-driven materials prediction and nanoscale detective research in perovskites.

Mitzi's awards include multiple Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher recognitions (2018–2024), the ACS Chemistry of Materials Award (2020), and an MRS Fellowship (2018). His research group collaborates globally, advancing solar cell efficiency and low-cost energy solutions.