Mark Thompson is University Professor and holds the Ray R. Irani, Chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Chair in Chemistry at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry with honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1985 under the guidance of Prof. John E. Bercaw. Following his doctorate, Thompson conducted postdoctoral research at the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University, working with Prof. Malcolm L. H. Green from 1985 to 1987. He joined Princeton University as an Assistant Professor in 1987 and moved to USC in 1995, where he has held the Ray R. Irani Chair of Chemistry. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Chairman of the USC Department of Chemistry. Thompson directs the Center for Awesome Materials, co-directs the Center for Energy Nanoscience Technologies, and is Associate Director of the Center of Energy Nanoscience.

Thompson's research centers on the optical and electronic properties of molecular materials, particularly for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic photovoltaic devices, catalysts for solar fuels, nano-biotic sensors, and abiotic-biotic interfaces. His specialties include inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry; organic optoelectronic devices; materials science; nanoscience; photophysics; and photochemistry. Key publications include 'Eliminating nonradiative decay in Cu(I) emitters: >99% quantum efficiency and microsecond lifetime' (Science, 2019), '“Quick-Silver” from a Systematic Study of Highly Luminescent, Two-Coordinate, d¹⁰ Coinage Metal Complexes' (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019), and 'Highly Efficient Photo- and Electroluminescence from Two-Coordinate Cu(I) Complexes Featuring Nonconventional N-Heterocyclic Carbenes' (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019). Thompson has received major awards such as election to the National Academy of Engineering (2020), the IEEE Nishizawa Medal (2017), IEEE Photonics Award (2016), ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials (2015), Materials Research Society Medal (2006), Jan Rajchman Prize (2006), Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2012), and the 2026 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award. He has delivered invited lectures including the Xing Da Lectureship at Peking University and the Ernest H. Swift lectureship at Caltech.

Professional Email: met@usc.edu