MIT Scholar to Lead the Advanced Research Projects Agency at the U.S. Department of Energy

Evelyn Wang, the Ford Professor of Engineering and head of the department of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been confirmed by the United States Senate as the director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Wang is stepping down as department head and will take a temporary leave as a faculty member at MIT while she serves in this public service role.

“I am deeply honored by the opportunity to serve as the director of ARPA-E.  I am thrilled to be joining the incredibly talented team at ARPA-E and look forward to helping bring innovative energy technologies that bolster our nation’s economy and national security to market,” said Professor Wang.

As director of ARPA-E, Dr. Wang will advance the agency’s mission to fund and support early-stage energy research that has the potential to impact energy generation, storage, and use. The agency helps researchers commercialize innovative technologies that, according to ARPA-E, “have the potential to radically improve U.S. economic prosperity, national security, and environmental well-being.”

Dr. Wang joined the faculty at MIT in 2007. She is an internationally recognized expert in applying nanotechnology to heat transfer. Professor Wang has developed a number of high-efficiency, clean energy, and clean water solutions.

Dr. Wang is a 2000 graduate of MIT, where she majored in mechanical engineering. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.