He completed his schooling at Dreher High School in Columbia, South Carolina. Early on, Mullis demonstrated a passion for chemistry, particularly fascinated with solid-state rocket engines, a curiosity that propelled his future academic work. He later attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1966.

Advanced Studies and Academic Pursuits

Mullis pursued his doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1973. His doctoral research focused on bacterial iron transport proteins. He also completed postdoctoral work in cell biology at the University of Kansas Medical School and later studied pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.

Professional Career and the Invention of PCR

Before fully immersing himself in science, Mullis briefly worked as a fiction writer and at a bakery. His significant scientific contributions began during his tenure at Cetus Corporation, where he worked as a DNA chemist for seven years. In 1983, while at Cetus, he invented the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a revolutionary technique that allows scientists to amplify tiny segments of DNA rapidly and precisely.

He left Cetus in 1986 to join Xytronyx as Director of Molecular Biology. Later, he worked at various research institutes, contributing extensively to the fields of molecular biology, genetics, forensic science, and biochemistry. Mullis also created a UV-sensitive plastic capable of changing color when exposed to ultraviolet light.