Cathy Mulzer

Electrochemist
Cathy Mulzer works on the next generation of materials for all those electronic devices you love: your phone, your TV, your electric car.

Why you should listen

Early on during her educational years, Cathy Mulzer investigated one research topic in particular: How can we store even more energy in tinier spaces? As is often the case in research, it took several tries until the lightbulb of invention literally lit up for her -- which, in Mulzer's case, was an LED-bulb powered by special set of new organic polymer materials. Her scientific achievements were documented in several scientific publications, which were highlighted in the Cornell Chronicle in 2016. Her work was recognized with awards such as the DSM Science & Technology award in 2017, and she was named as one of 2018's "Talented 12" by the staff of Chemical & Engineering News.

As a senior scientist at DuPont’s Electronic & Imaging site in Marlborough, MA, Mulzer is part of a team that works in close collaboration with DuPont’s customers, seeking to innovate in material research and application to enable, for example, new sensors and sharper pictures in your smartphones. Moreover, Mulzer likes to engage in scientific discussions with the wider community -- through presentations and essays organized by the American Chemical Society, through seminars at her alma mater Marist College -- and also as part of outreach at local high schools to raise interest in scientific education. 

Cathy Mulzer’s TED talk