Arati Prabhakar | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| 12th Director of theOffice of Science and Technology Policy | |
| In office October 3, 2022 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Alondra Nelson (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Michael Kratsios |
| 22ndScience Advisor to the President | |
| In office October 3, 2022 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Francis Collins (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Michael Kratsios |
| 20th Director of theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency | |
| In office July 30, 2012 – January 20, 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Regina E. Dugan |
| Succeeded by | Steven Walker |
| 10th Director of theNational Institute of Standards and Technology | |
| In office 1993–1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | John Lyons |
| Succeeded by | Raymond Kammer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1959-02-02)February 2, 1959 (age 66) 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 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. From October 3, 2022 to January 20, 2025, she served as the 12th director of theWhite House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Science and Technology Advisor to the President,[1] which is calledScience Advisor to the President.[2][3][4] in other administrations. She also served in thePresident's cabinet.
From 1993 to 1997, Prabhakar served as the 10th Director of theNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the first woman to hold the position.[5][6][7] Prabhakar served as 20th Director ofDARPA (United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) from 2012 to 2017. In 2019, she founded and became CEO of Actuate,[8] a data-focused nonprofit organization.
Prabhakar's family immigrated to the United States fromNew Delhi, India, when she was three;[9] her mother was seeking an advanced degree in social work in Chicago. Prabhakar grew up inLubbock, Texas, from age ten.[10][5] Her mother encouraged her to pursue a doctorate from a very early age.[11][12]
In 1979, she obtained aB.S. degree in electrical engineering fromTexas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.[13] She earned anM.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1980 and aPh.D. in applied physics in 1984, both from theCalifornia Institute of Technology.[10][14][15][16] She was the first woman to earn a PhD in applied physics from Caltech.[5]
After receiving her PhD, she went toWashington, D.C., on a 1984 to 1986 congressional fellowship with theOffice of Technology Assessment.[13] Prabhakar subsequently worked at DARPA from 1986 to 1993, initially as a program manager but later as founding director of DARPA'sMicroelectronics Technology Office.[10]
At the age of 34, Prabhakar was appointed as head of theNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a position she held from 1993 to 1997.[10][5] After NIST, she was theChief Technology Officer and senior vice president ofRaychem from 1997 to 1998.[17][18] She was then the vice president and later president ofInterval Research from 1998 to 2000.[17][18]
She joinedU.S. Venture Partners from 2001 to 2011, focusing on investment ingreen technology andinformation technology startups.[10] On July 30, 2012, she became the head ofDARPA, replacingRegina E. Dugan.[10] She left DARPA in January 2017.[19]
Prabhakar was a Fellow at theCenter for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford 2017–18.[20] In 2019, she started Actuate, a nonprofit organization focused on issues including climate change and chronic diseases.[21]
In 2022, Prabhakar was appointed by PresidentJoe Biden as Director of theWhite House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Science and Technology Advisor to the President.[3] This made her the first woman and person of color to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Director of theWhite House Office of Science and Technology Policy,[22] and the first woman and first person of color to be the top science and technology advisor to the President.[23]
Prabhakar has notably advised Biden on matters regardingartificial intelligence (AI) regulation, where she has endorsed AI safeguards.[24]She is credited for shaping digital policies and the semiconductor industrial strategy under the Biden administration. Under her leadership, OSTP contributed to improving health outcomes with the Biden Cancer Moonshot,[25] promoting research and strategies to address climate and nature, and strengthening federally funded research and development.[26][27]
On July 25, 2025, Prabhakar filed an amicus brief[28] in the case ofNew York v. Trump (25–1236 and 25-1314),[29] the case brought by 23 attorneys general and the governor of Kentucky against the Trump administration’s federal funding freezes and grant cancellations. Many of the plaintiffs and amicus filers challenged the authority of the president to redirect Congressionally appropriated funds. Prabhakar’s brief details the lasting harms that the freeze will have on the efforts of scientific researchers who innovate for the nation’s health, security, and economy.[30] It further warns that the freeze has created lasting damage to the United States’ status as a leader in scientific innovation, weakening the nation’s pipeline of scientists and engineers and depriving Americans of future scientific advancements.
Prabhakar was a University of California Berkeley Executive Fellow in Applied Technology Policy in 2025,[31] and delivered the 2025 commencement address for UC Berkeley’s School of Information.
Prabhakar is a member of theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was namedIEEE Fellow in 1997 for "leadership in partnering between industry and government to promote economic growth through the development of manufacturing technologies for semiconductor devices".[17][32] She is a member of theNational Academy of Engineering.[33] She has also been named aTexas Tech Distinguished Engineer and a Distinguished Alumna ofCalifornia Institute of Technology.[17]
She was a member of the governing board for thePew Research Center[34] and a member of the U.S. National Academies' Science Technology and Economic Policy Board.[35] She was a member of the board of directors ofSRI International in 2012,[36] and was also a member of theU.S. National Academies' Science Technology and Economic Policy Board and theCollege of Engineering Advisory Board at theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[17][37]
Prabhakar is featured in the Notable Women in Computing cards.[38]
In 2024,TIME magazine listed Prabhakar among 100 most influential people in AI.[39]
Arati Prabhakar 1959.
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...
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Lyons | Director of theNational Institute of Standards and Technology 1993–1997 | Succeeded by Raymond Kammer |
| Preceded by | Director of theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency 2012–2017 | Succeeded by Steven Walker |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Alondra Nelson Acting | Director of theOffice of Science and Technology Policy 2022–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Francis Collins Acting | Science Advisor to the President 2022–2025 | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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