Cyrus Wadia
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab - Directorate & Guest Scientist
UC Berkeley Haas Energy Institute - Co-Director, Clean Tech to Market on appointment as White House OSTP - Assistant Director, Clean Energy & Materials R&D Dr. Cyrus Wadia is the Assistant Director for Clean Energy & Materials R&D with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he works on Federal policies to accelerate innovation and deployment of advanced material systems for clean energy, national security, and human welfare. Cyrus is on leave from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) and the Haas School of Business where he holds a dual appointment as: Co-Director of Clean Tech to Market and Research Scientist. His research has been motivated by the pursuit of new low cost energy technologies using earth abundant materials. For his work with novel solar cells, Cyrus was a recipient of the MIT TR35 Young Innovator award. Prior to his work at LBNL, he spent seven years in Silicon Valley launching new technology to market. First as an engagement manager with R.B. Webber & Co where he worked with over 15 different venture backed startups; and next as a Senior Product Manager with AvantGo, where he completed several successful new product introductions. Cyrus earned his PhD in Energy & Resources from U.C. Berkeley and holds both an M.S. and S.B. in Chemical Engineering from MIT. Scaling Clean Energy Production - A Materials Grand Challenge Dr. Cyrus Wadia will reflect on his experiences in government, academia and industry to articulate a new set of grand challenges toward the expansion of clean-energy and accelerated deployment of advanced materials. He will draw on his past work in all three sectors including: his research in the nano-sciences that led to the discovery of a new generation of earth-abundant solar cell technology; insights from his work on critical minerals; and the design and launch of the Materials Genome Initiative, a Presidential effort that has already mobilized over $300 million and 60 institutions across the country. |