Mikhail Kats is an Associate Professor and Dugald C. Jackson Faculty Scholar at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, with affiliate appointments in the Departments of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering.

Kats's research interests include optical properties of engineered materials, novel optical and optoelectronic devices, tailoring of thermal emission and radiative heat transfer, enhancement of human vision, and related topics in optics and photonics. Prior to joining UW-Madison, he received his BS in Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 2008, and his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 2014.

In 2018, Kats was identified by Clarivate Analytics as a Highly Cited Researcher, indicating authorship of multiple papers in the top 1% by citations in his field over the last decade. His awards include the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Award, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, and selections to the Forbes “30 Under 30” and ASEE Prism’s “20 Under 40” lists.