Arati Prabhakar — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Serves as the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President.
First woman, person of color, and immigrant to direct OSTP; first woman and person of color to be Science Advisor to the President.
Cofounder and CEO of Actuate (2019), a data-focused nonprofit.
Directed DARPA (2012-2017) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (1993-1997), where she was the first woman to hold the position.
Earned a PhD in applied physics from California Institute of Technology (1984), becoming the first woman to do so.
Served as Partner at U.S. Venture Partners (2001-2011), investing in green technology and information technology startups.

Biography

Arati Prabhakar serves as the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Science Advisor to the President, a role she has held since October 2022. She is the first woman, person of color, and immigrant to direct OSTP, and the first woman and person of color to be the Science Advisor to the President. Born in India, her family immigrated to the United States when she was three, and she grew up in Lubbock, Texas.

She earned a B.S.