Arati Prabhakar

Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy

Arati Prabhakar (born February 2, 1959) is an Indian-born American engineer and politician who has been the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy since 2022.[1] She is a founder and the CEO of Actuate, a nonprofit organization.[2]

Arati Prabhakar
Official portrait, 2024
12th Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Assumed office
October 3, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyAlondra Nelson
Preceded byEric Lander
Science Advisor to the President
Assumed office
October 3, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byEric Lander
Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
In office
July 30, 2012 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byRegina E. Dugan
Succeeded bySteven Walker
Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
In office
1993–1997
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byJohn Lyons
Succeeded byRaymond Kammer
Personal details
Born (1959-02-02) February 2, 1959 (age 65)
New Delhi, India
Children2
EducationTexas Tech University (BS)
California Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsApplied physics
InstitutionsNational Institute of Standards and Technology
U.S. Venture Partners
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
ThesisInvestigation of Deep Level Defects in Semiconductor Material Systems (1985)
Doctoral advisorThomas McGill

In June 2022, Prabhaker was nominated to be Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) by President Joe Biden.[3] She was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 22, 2022 and sworn-in the following week.[4]

She headed National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from 1993 to 1997, and was the first woman to head NIST.[5][6][7]

Prabhakar was born in New Delhi, India and her family moved to the United States when she was three.[8] At first, her family moved to Chicago and later to Lubbock, Texas.[9][10]

References

change
  1. Shachtman, Noah (2012-07-10). "Exclusive: Darpa Gets a New Boss, and Solyndra Is in Her Past". Wired. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
  2. "Actuate".
  3. "Arati Prabhakar set to become Biden's science adviser and his pick to lead science office". www.science.org. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  4. PN2267 — Arati Prabhakar — Executive Office of the President
  5. Holusha, John (1993-08-01). "Profile/Arati Prabhakar; She's Not Just Setting Standards". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
  6. Gibbs, W. W. (1995) Profile: Arati Prabhakar – Engineering the Future, Scientific American 272(4), 44–48.
  7. "Directors of the National Bureau of Standards (1901–1988) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (1988–present)". NIST. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
  8. Joshi, Manoj (2012-07-12). "Delhi-born Arati Prabhakar is new head of US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency". India Today. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  9. Olstein, Katherine (Spring 2008). "Family Expectations Spawn Successful Careers". IEEE SSCS News. IEEE. pp. 34–35. doi:10.1109/N-SSC.2008.4785747.
  10. "Alumni Profile: Arati Prabhakar". Engenious. UC Berkeley College of Engineering. 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2012-08-25.