Arati Prabhakar

Arati Prabhakar is a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, where she is examining the role of technology in our society in light of the powerful new capabilities emerging from research today. Her work takes a fresh look at long-standing issues – how our society creates technology and how we make wise choices about its use – for this era of global, fast-paced advances.

Arati’s perspective is shaped by a career spanning multiple roles in public service and in Silicon Valley. She was the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 2012-17. Previously, she was a partner at the early-stage venture capital firm U.S. Venture Partners, a senior executive at Interval Research and at Raychem, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a DARPA program manager and office director, and a Congressional fellow at the Office of Technology Assessment.

She holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University and an M.S. in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology. She is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.