Benjamin Cotts

Benjamin Cotts is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Middlebury College. He teaches general, physical, and analytical chemistry courses and leads research focused on developing abundant and affordable clean energy materials to address climate change. His work combines experimental techniques with computational analysis to study emerging semiconductors like quantum dots and organic semiconductors.

• Education: Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry (University of California, Berkeley, 2016); B.A. in Chemistry (Carleton College, 2011)
• Professional Experience: Postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University (2016-2021); Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy (2017-2018)

His research explores charge transfer states in organic semiconductors and thermalization/trapping in quantum dots using time-resolved spectroscopies. He collaborates with national facilities like the Advanced Photon Source and SLAC MeV-UED for structural analysis of light-absorbing materials. The Cotts Lab employs Python-based data analysis to interpret photophysical behavior and optimize device efficiency.

Current projects examine solid-state solvation effects on OLED emitters and investigate how microscale molecular arrangements influence device stability. Students in his lab gain hands-on experience with advanced instrumentation and data processing techniques.