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Arati Prabhakar
Arati Prabhakar
	Official portrait, 2024
12th Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 3, 2022
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Alondra Nelson (acting)
22nd Science Advisor to the President
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 3, 2022
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Francis Collins (acting)
20th Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
	In office; July 30, 2012 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Regina E. Dugan
Succeeded by	Steven Walker
3rd Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
	In office; 1993–1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	John Lyons
Succeeded by	Raymond Kammer
Personal details
Born	February 2, 1959 (age 65); New Delhi, India
Citizenship	India (1959–67); United States (1967–present)
Political party	Democratic
Children	2
Education	Texas Tech University (BS); California Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)
	Scientific career
Fields	Applied physics
Institutions	National Institute of Standards and Technology; U.S. Venture Partners; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Thesis	Investigation of Deep Level Defects in Semiconductor Material Systems (1985)
Doctoral advisor	Thomas McGill
	Prabhakar's voice Prabhakar on the role of technical experience within a governmental position; Recorded July 20, 2022

Arati Prabhakar (born February 2, 1959) is an American engineer and public official. Since October 3, 2022, she has served as the 12th director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Science Advisor to the President.^[1]^[2]^[3]

From 1993 to 1997, Prabhakar served as Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the first woman to hold the position.^[4]^[5]^[6] Prabhakar served as Director of DARPA (United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) from 2012 to 2017. In 2019, she founded and became CEO of Actuate, a data-focused nonprofit organization.^[7]

Early life and education

Prabhakar's family immigrated to the United States from New Delhi, India, when she was three;^[8] her mother was seeking an advanced degree in social work in Chicago. Prabhakar grew up in Lubbock, Texas, from age ten.^[9]^[4] Her mother encouraged her to pursue a doctorate from a very early age.^[10]^[11]

In 1979, she obtained a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.^[12] She earned an M.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1980 and a Ph.D. in applied physics in 1984, both from the California Institute of Technology.^[9]^[13]^[14]^[15] She was the first woman to earn a PhD in applied physics from Caltech.^[4]

Career

After receiving her PhD, she went to Washington, D.C., on a 1984 to 1986 congressional fellowship with the Office of Technology Assessment.^[12] Prabhakar subsequently worked at DARPA from 1986 to 1993, initially as a program manager but later as founding director of DARPA's Microelectronics Technology Office.^[9]

At the age of 34, Prabhakar was appointed as head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a position she held from 1993 to 1997.^[9]^[4] After NIST, she was the Chief Technology Officer and senior vice president of Raychem from 1997 to 1998.^[16]^[17] She was then the vice president and later president of Interval Research from 1998 to 2000.^[16]^[17]

She joined U.S. Venture Partners from 2001 to 2011, focusing on investment in green technology and information technology startups.^[9] On July 30, 2012, she became the head of DARPA, replacing Regina E. Dugan.^[9] She left DARPA in January 2017.^[18]

Prabhakar was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford 2017–18.^[19] In 2019, she started Actuate, a nonprofit organization focused on issues including climate change and chronic diseases.^[20]

Biden Administration

In 2022, Prabhakar was appointed by President Joe Biden as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President.^[1]^[2] This made her the first woman, person of color, and immigrant, to be the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy,^[21] and the first woman and first person of color to be the Science Advisor to the President.^[22]

Prabhakar has notably advised Biden on matters regarding artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, where she has endorsed AI safeguards.^[23]

Awards and memberships

Prabhakar is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was named IEEE Fellow in 1997 for "leadership in partnering between industry and government to promote economic growth through the development of manufacturing technologies for semiconductor devices".^[16]^[24] She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.^[25] She has also been named a Texas Tech Distinguished Engineer and a Distinguished Alumna of California Institute of Technology.^[16]

She is a member of the governing board for the Pew Research Center^[26] and a member of the U.S. National Academies' Science Technology and Economic Policy Board.^[27] She was a member of the board of directors of SRI International in 2012,^[28] and was also a member of the U.S. National Academies' Science Technology and Economic Policy Board and the College of Engineering Advisory Board at the University of California, Berkeley.^[16]^[29]

Prabhakar is featured in the Notable Women in Computing cards.^[30]

References

^ ^a ^b "White House unveils 'AI bill of rights' as 'call to action' to rein in tool". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
^ ^a ^b "Senate Confirms Prabhakar to Lead White House Science Office". bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
^ "AAMC Statement on the Nomination of Arati Prabhakar, PhD, to be White House Science Advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy". AAMC.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Holusha, John (1993-08-01). "Profile/Arati Prabhakar; She's Not Just Setting Standards". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ Gibbs, W. W. (1995) Profile: Arati Prabhakar – Engineering the Future, Scientific American 272(4), 44–48.
^ "Directors of the National Bureau of Standards (1901–1988) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (1988–present)". NIST. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
^ "President Biden to Nominate Dr. Arati Prabhakar to Lead Office of Science and Technology Policy". The White House. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2023-10-30. In 2019, she founded Actuate, a non-profit organization bringing new actors to the table to develop solutions to the challenges of climate, health, trustworthy data and information technology, and opening access to opportunity for every person.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Shachtman, Noah (2012-07-10). "Exclusive: Darpa Gets a New Boss, and Solyndra Is in Her Past". Wired. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ Olstein, Katherine (Spring 2008). "Family Expectations Spawn Successful Careers". IEEE SSCS News. IEEE. pp. 34–35. doi:10.1109/N-SSC.2008.4785747.
^ "Alumni Profile: Arati Prabhakar". Engenious. UC Berkeley College of Engineering. 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ ^a ^b "Dr. Arati Prabhakar" (PDF). Efficiency & Renewables Advisory Committee. United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ "Dr. Arati Prabhakar". The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action. ibiblio. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
^ Kim, Hyung-Chan (1999). Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 289–292. ISBN 978-0313289026. Arati Prabhakar 1959.
^ Prabhakar, Arati (1985). Investigation of deep level defects in semiconductor material systems (Ph.D.). California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/BNQT-B222. OCLC 31089816. ProQuest 303375005.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Arati Prabhakar". DARPA. Archived from the original on 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ ^a ^b "Arati Prabhakar". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ Nicholas, Scott (2017-12-29). "DARPA Appoints Steven Walker Full-Time Director". Retrieved 2023-10-30. He succeeds Arati Prabhakar, who left DARPA in January and now serves as a fellow at Stanford University's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences...
^ "Arati Prabhakar | Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences". casbs.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
^ Southwick, Ron (2022-06-27). "How Biden's nominee for science adviser would make history". OncLive. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
^ "Prabhakar Confirmed to Head White House OSTP – Elements for Berkeley Lab". Elements. September 27, 2022.
^ "Who is Arati Prabhakar? Indian-Origin Physicist Set To Become US President's Science Adviser". news.abplive.com. June 14, 2022.
^ "White House science adviser calls for more safeguards against artificial intelligence risks". AP News. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
^ "Women Fellows". IEEE. Archived from the original on April 7, 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ "Dr. Arati Prabhakar". NAE Website. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
^ "Our Governing Board". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
^ "Membership". sites.nationalacademies.org. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
^ "Dr. Arati Prabhakar Joins SRI International Board of Directors". SRI International. 2012-03-26. Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
^ "Achievements: August 2012". The Institute. IEEE. 2012-08-27. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
^ "Notable Women in Computing".

External links

Government offices
Preceded by John W. Lyons	Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 1993–1997	Succeeded by Raymond G. Kammer
Preceded by Regina E. Dugan	Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 2012–2017	Succeeded by Steven Walker
Political offices
Preceded by Alondra Nelson Acting	12th Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 2022–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Francis Collins Acting	Science Advisor to the President 2022–present	Incumbent