Austin L. Mitchell is currently a Ph.D. student in the department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Business. At the University of Dayton, Austin was an intern for the City of Toledo, Department of Public Utilities and an R&D co-op for Eastman Kodak Company. Austin was also part of a research team that investigated large-scale residential energy-efficiency initiatives.

After graduation, Austin continued to support the residential energy-efficiency research and also worked part-time as an energy consultant for net0home, Inc. His current research is focused on the interdependencies of energy and water, in particular, the water demands for hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale.