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David Mitzi

Simon Family Distinguished Professor
Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
363 Gross Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
Box 90300 Hudson Hall, Durham, NC 27708-0300

Overview


David Mitzi received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics from Princeton University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 1990.  Prior to joining the faculty at Duke in 2014, Dr. Mitzi spent 23 years at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, where his focus was on the search for and application of new electronic materials, including organic-inorganic perovskites and inorganic materials for photovoltaic, LED, transistor and memory applications.  For his final five years at IBM, he served as manager for the Photovoltaic Science and Technology Department, where he initiated and managed a multi-company program to develop a low-cost, high-throughput approach to deposit thin-film chalcogenide-based absorber layers for high-efficiency solar cells. Dr. Mitzi’s current research interests involve making emerging photovoltaic materials more effective, cost-efficient and competitive for the energy market. He holds a number of patents, and has authored or coauthored more than 300 papers and book chapters.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2014 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Executive Director of the Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility · 2025 - Present Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Chemistry · 2022 - Present Chemistry, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published February 22, 2024
From Junkyards to a Lab: Grad Student’s Curiosity of Solar Energy
Published November 16, 2023
Which Duke Scholars Made the Most Cited List?
Published September 25, 2023
Building a Better Solar Cell

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Recent Publications


Coexisting Rashba/Dresselhaus Spin Splitting in Solution-Processed Bournonite Films Using Circular Photogalvanic Effect

Journal Article Advanced Functional Materials · April 9, 2026 Spin-split electronic states, such as the Rashba and Dresselhaus effects, are central to the development of energy-efficient spintronic applications, enabling the manipulation of spin information without applying magnetic fields. While validating spin-spli ... Full text Cite

Thermally Activated Circularly Polarized Photoluminescence in a 2D Hybrid Perovskite with Giant Spin Splitting

Journal Article Advanced Functional Materials · March 16, 2026 Circularly polarized light generation and detection are critical for future spin-based technologies that inter-convert circularly polarized photons and electron spins. However, detailed mechanisms in such spin-photon interfaces are often either poorly unde ... Full text Cite

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Electronic and Optical Characterization of Ag<sub>2</sub>(NH<sub>4</sub>)AsS<sub>4</sub>.

Journal Article Inorganic chemistry · March 2026 Multinary chalcogenide semiconductors have the potential for use in various optoelectronic and energy-conversion applications. Understanding how to controllably synthesize these semiconductors is paramount to successful device integration. In this report, ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


REU SITE: Collaborative Research: Nanoscale Detectives -- Elucidating the Structure and Dynamics of Hybrid Perovskite Systems

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2025 - 2028

Collaborative Research: DMREF: Data-Driven Prediction of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Structures

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2023 - 2027

Center for Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Semiconductors for Energy (CHOISE)

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Renewable Energy Laboratory · 2019 - 2026

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Education


Stanford University · 1990 Ph.D.
Princeton University · 1985 B.S.