William A. Tisdale

William A. Tisdale is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT, where he has been since 2012. He leads a research group focusing on energy transport phenomena in nanostructured materials, including colloidal nanomaterials, quantum dots, and perovskites. His work integrates advanced optical spectroscopy techniques like ultrafast laser methods and time-resolved microscopy to study exciton, charge, and phonon dynamics.

• Education: Postdoc at MIT (2010-2011), PhD from the University of Minnesota (2010), B.S. from the University of Delaware (2005).
• Awards: Multiple accolades including the Presidential Early Career Award, Sloan Fellowship, and MIT’s Baker Award for teaching.

Research Interests: Renewable energy, nanotechnology, energy transport in nanomaterials, nonlinear spectroscopy, and spectroscopic imaging. His lab develops novel semiconductor nanomaterials and explores their applications in solar energy, optoelectronics, and thermal management.

Publications: Over 100 peer-reviewed articles on topics like perovskite nanocrystals, colloidal quantum dots, and exciton dynamics. Recent work emphasizes ligand engineering, 2D materials, and advanced spectroscopic techniques.

Advising: Mentor to over 30 graduate students and postdocs, many of whom have advanced to academic and industry leadership roles. Current advisees include Eliza Price, Thomas Sheehan, and Nicholas Samulewicz.

Labs: Facilities include laser labs for ultrafast spectroscopy, nanomaterial synthesis wet labs, and advanced characterization tools (e.g., AFM, SEM). Collaborations span MIT’s Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Physics departments.