Theodore Moustakas

Theodore Moustakas received his PhD from Columbia University, USA, in 1974. He held research positions at Harvard University and Exxon Corporate Research Laboratory prior to joining Boston University in 1987 as a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is the inaugural Distinguished Professor of Photonics and Optoelectronics at Boston University.

Moustakas’ research contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics in optoelectronic materials and devices, including nitride semiconductors, amorphous semiconductors, III-V compounds, and diamond thin films. Intellectual property that resulted from his work has been licensed to more than 40 companies, including major manufacturers and users of blue / UV LEDs and lasers. He is the co-editor of eight books, the author of chapters in eight books, and more than 360 papers in technical journals and conference proceedings. He has presented 138 invited and plenary talks in national and international conferences and was granted 40 US patents with several pending.

Moustakas is a Fellow of Optica, the American Physical Society, the Electrochemical Society, the IEEE, and the MRS; he was also elected a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Moustakas was granted an honorary doctoral degree from the Aristotle University in Greece (2003). He received the Molecular Beam Epitaxy Innovator Award in 2010 from the North American MBE Society. He also received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the BU College of Engineering in 2011, and the Boston University Innovator of the Year Award in 2013.

In 2024, he received Optica’s Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award, “For pioneering contributions to nitride semiconductor materials and optical devices that helped build the foundation for blue and UV LEDs.”