Geoffrey Hutchison

Geoffrey R. Hutchison is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on materials chemistry, computational methods, and functional materials design, particularly in piezoelectric materials, organic electronics, and machine learning applications. His group develops novel materials from molecular subunits using combined experimental and computational approaches.

Research Interests: Materials Chemistry, Theoretical/Computational Chemistry, Piezoelectric Materials, Organic Electronics, and Machine Learning in Chemistry. His work includes designing smart materials, optimizing semiconductor properties, and advancing open-source software like Avogadro and Open Babel.

Achievements: Recipient of the Cottrell Scholar Award (2012), IBM Computational Chemistry Award (2002), and Blue Obelisk Award (2006). He has supervised students like Danielle Elsey (PhD), Brianna Greenstein, and Brett Ondich.

Publications: Over 60 peer-reviewed articles since 2006, covering computational screening, genetic algorithms for material discovery, and piezoelectric phenomena. Recent work emphasizes data-driven approaches in photovoltaics and conformer generation.

Grants & Software: Developed open-source tools critical to the field, including Open Babel and Avogadro. Active in NSF-funded projects exploring molecular design and quantum chemistry.